Tag Archives: Jason Moloney

Posted on 07/19/2020

By: Hans Themistode

Jason Moloney sat alone in a hotel room, sequestered from the rest of the world. From the looks of it, you would have no idea that he just destroyed an opponent inside of the boxing ring just three weeks prior on ESPN.

Yet, that is exactly what happened. 

On June 25th, at the MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, Moloney made it look easy against Leonardo Baez. The Australian born contender needed only seven rounds on the night to take care of business. But while most victories are welcomed with a night of partying and hugs from loved ones, Moloney’s was met with the quietness of a hotel room. 

The new COVID-19 induced world we live in, forced Moloney to stay quarantined for 14 days after his contest. 

Sacrificing time away from both his fiancé and newborn was difficult in the beginning, but with a peak crowd of 430 thousand watching him beat the living daylights out of Baez from the comforts of their homes, Moloney can live with his decision. 

The fanfare and attention he’s receiving for his performance is appreciated, but the bantamweight contender could care less about the near half million that tuned in. He’s just hoping that WBO title holder John Riel Casimero had his eyes glued to the television screen. 

“That’s the fight that I want,” said Moloney to BoxingInsider.com. “I feel like I’m ready and I’ve earned it. He’s the champion and he doesn’t have an opponent so I feel like I deserve that shot. That’s the fight that I want. It’s my dream to be world champion and I believe that I’m ready.”

This isn’t the first time that Moloney believed he was ready for a world title opportunity. In March of 2018, the Australian contender came up just short in his matchup against then champion, Emmaunel Rodriguez, losing via split decision. The heart breaking defeat only fueled him however, as he began to break the faces of his opponents. 

With four straight victories coming before the final bell, Moloney has a whole different perspective of how things would play out in a rematch. 

“I think I would win that fight comfortably right now. I think I’ll even stop him.”

Nevertheless, with no world title wrapped around his waist, a rematch with Rodriguez isn’t exactly appealing. Revenge is always enticing, but at the moment, Moloney has bigger things in mind. 

“My goal is to become number one in my weight division,” explained Moloney. “First and foremost is to become world champion and then my dream is to become the undisputed champion at 118.”

Defeating the likes of Casimero and Rodriguez will give Moloney both a world title and credibility as a great fighter but the boxing world will collectively point its finger to one man when asked who is the best in the division. 

Naoya Inuoe. 

The WBA, IBF and Ring magazine champion has shown exactly why he was nicknamed “The Monster”. But while the rest of the world watches in awe, Moloney sits back, squints and mutters to himself “I can beat him.” 

“I don’t think he’s as good as other people do,” said Moloney. “Don’t get me wrong, I think he is an excellent fighter. I’ve watched him over the years and liked watching him fight. I’m a fan of his, but I just believe in what I can do. If I get the opportunity to fight him, then I’ve got what it takes to beat him. I want to be number one in the division so common, let’s go.”

No matter how badly Moloney wants to jump into the express elevator and hit the up button to face Inoue right away, he has chosen to slow his roll and take the stairs instead. The bantamweight contender has mapped out his entire career, and sooner rather than later, he’ll find himself face to face with Inuoe. 

“If I end up getting the fight that I want against Casimiro, I can win the WBO title. Once I do that, then I know that Inoue would want to try and get my belt off me. So that is how I would love things to play out. I would love to be champion and beat Casimero. Then I can finish off the year by facing Inoue and take two of his belts. From there, I would become the number one bantamweight in the world.”

The road to becoming the best is oftentimes camouflaged. Fighters have eschewed the competition on numerous occasions in order to avoid defeat. But to Moloney, he could care less. The money and fame that are associated with wins are important, but if the bantamweight contender continued his career without testing his limits, he wouldn’t be able to live with him.

“I’m willing to test myself against the best which I believe a lot of guys aren’t. I’ll face anyone, I’m not afraid to take a loss. I just want to see how good I can be. Whether you make it or not at least I won’t go out wondering. I gave this sport everything that I got and there will be absolutely no regrets. If that’s the top, then fantastic, if I don’t reach the top then at least I know that I gave it everything that I got.”

Posted on 06/25/2020

Jason Moloney vs Leonardo Baez

Jason Moloney (21-1, 18 KOs) took home a unanimous decision victory tonight against Leonardo Baez. Both men headlined Top Ranks summer series at the MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Moloney started off the contest coming in close and kept the fight there all night long. His opponent on the night in Leonardo Baez (18-3, 8 KOs) was the rangier and taller fighter of the two but couldn’t use his reach to his advantage. On the inside, Moloney manhandled his opponent and eventually forced a corner stoppage at the end of the seventh round.

Abraham Nova vs Avery Sparrow

Undefeated Abraham Nova (19-0, 14 KOs) got all that he could handle from Avery Sparrow (10-2, 3 KOs).

With Sparrow coming into this contest off a 15 month layoff and only a few weeks notice, not much was expected of him. Yet, he proved his doubters wrong with the performance he put forward tonight.

He fought Nova tooth and nail for much of the night but unfortunately for him, the judges viewed his efforts in a negative light as they all turned in their scorecards in favor of Nova.

The final tally was as follow: 99-91, 97-93 and 96-94 all for Nova on the night.

Orlando Gonzalez-Ruiz vs Luis Porozo

Orlando Gonzalez-Ruiz (15-0, 10 KOs) may have walked out of the ring at the MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas, Nevada a winner when he took on Luis Porozo (15-3, 8 KOs), but there is a bettor who truly won tonight.

An unnamed man threw down a cool $192,000 on Gonzalez-Ruiz to win. His reward was $14,000 and he is happily cashing his betting ticket as his man won on the night.

It didn’t take long for Gonzalez-Ruiz to get things going. A second round knockdown placed him in the drivers seat early on. Porozo rose to his feet and carried on but was simply outclassed over the course of 8 rounds.

The judges scoring the contest had it 76-73 and 77-73 twice in favor of Gonzalez-Ruiz.

Vlad Panin vs Benjamin Whitaker

It was a close contest between Welterweight fringe contenders Vlad Panin (8-1, 4 KOs) and Benjamin Whitaker (13-4, 3 KOs).

Panin was the man on the hunt for much of the night. He stalked the shorter Whitaker as the latter decided to lay back and rely on his counter punching. For much of the contest, Whitaker’s plan worked. He landed more shots according to the final stats, but the judges went against those numbers entirely.

The scorecards at the end of the bout were as followed, 57-57 even and 58-56 for the remaining two judges in favor of Panin.

Reymond Yanong vs Clay Burns

Reymond Yanong (11-5-1, 9 KOs) got back into the win column as he sent Clay Burns (9-8-2 4 KOs) home with a loss. Things started out without any sort of feel out process. It was Burns who seemed to get the better of the action during the first half of the fight. But it was the second half in which Yanong dominated.

His nonstop pressure backed his man up with nowhere to go. From there, it was heavy leather that was hurled in the direction of Burns. Some how though, he managed to survive to the final bell, but the judges were not kind to him as he lost a split decision. The scorecards read 58-56 for Burns, but was quickly overruled by the remaining two judges who scored it 59-55 and 58-56 for Yanong.

Kingsley Ibeh vs Waldo Cortes Acosta

Kingsley Ibeh (4-1, 4 KOs) made it an easy night for the judges at the MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Waldo Cortes Acosta (5-3, 2 KOs) took home the first meeting between the two via split decision in October of 2019, but tonight was another story entirely.

Ibeh came out strong to start off the night. He had little regard for defense as it was bombs away. Acosta, not wanting to be outdone, did the same. However, it turned out to be a bad idea for Acosta as Ibeh caught his man in the 4th round with an uppercut. Acosta hit the ground and was subsequently counted out.

Posted on 06/25/2020

By: Hans Themistode

Jason Moloney walked on to the scales for his contest against Leonard Baez a little heavier than usual tonight. He easily made the Bantamweight limit of 118 pounds when he checked in at 117.7 but he still felt heavy. 

After watching his twin brother Andrew get dropped and lose his WBA super flyweight world title in the main event of Top Ranks summer series card this past Tuesday night to Joshua Franco, Jason’s heart dropped. 

Now, 48 hours later, he’ll step into the exact ring littered with his brother’s blood when he takes on Leonardo Baez. 

Since losing in his first bid to become a world champion, Moloney has sent the crowd home early with three straight stoppage wins. His opponent on the night in Baez, comes in as a late replacement as his original man, Oscar Negrete was forced to withdraw with a detached retina. 

Baez will have to overcome several issues on the night. The Mexican born fighter usually campaigns one weight class higher at Super Bantamweight. That, coupled with his late replacement status makes this a difficult night in the making. 

In spite of that, Baez brings a six fight win streak with him into the contest. He is also fresh off the biggest win of his career against Moises Flores. The night begins at 8 PM ET with Welterweight fringe contenders Reymond Yanong and Clay Burns kicking things off. 

For the entire card and weigh-in results, scroll down below. 

Jason Moloney 117.7 pounds (20-1, 17 KOs) vs Leonardo Baez 118.3 pounds (18-2, 9 KOs)

Abraham Nova 131.9 pounds (18-0, 14 KOs) vs Avery Sparrow 131.5 pounds (10-1, 3 KOs)

Orlando Gonzalez 126 pounds (14-0, 10 KOs) vs Luis Porozo 125 pounds (15-2, 8 KOs)

Vlad Panin 149 pounds (7-1, 4 KOs) vs Benjamin Whitaker 149 pounds (13-3, 3 KOs) 

Clay Burns 143.6 pounds (9-7-2, 4 KOs) vs Reymond Yanong 143 pounds (10-5-1, 9 KOs) 

Waldo Cortes 246.9 pounds (5-2, 2 KOs) vs Kingsley Ibeh 286.4 pounds (3-1, 3 KOs)