Moloney, 27-2 (19 KOs), will face Japan’s Takei on May 6 at the 55,000-seat Tokyo Dome, defending his WBO 118-pound world title. The title went to Osaka to face Ryosuke Nishida.
As Junto Nakatani is the current WBC champion, all four world titles will fall to Japan after the May 6 final. However, Moloney has been considering the unification since losing to Vincent Astrabio for the vacant title nearly two years ago in Stockton, California. “I haven’t seen all of Sho, just a little bit,” Moloney exclusively told BoxingScene. – If I remember correctly, I think he lost a very close fight to Karl Yafai. I think this is a great fight and I think he will win. I was very impressed with Takuma’s last match against Jerwin Ancajas. He seems to be showing good improvement in that area, and beating a former champion like Ancajas is very impressive. – If I catch him later, it will be unbelievable. Of course, we both defended our world titles on the same card at the same weight. So if we win on May 6th, I would love to have a unification match with Takuma Inoue in the next match.
Although Moloney was paired with the bantamweight belt holder and his older brother who beat him, the Australian is not heartened by another champion who is set to travel to Tokyo on May 4 with his Japanese defender. Loni lost badly to Puerto Rican Rodriguez three and a half years ago.
Jason Moloney Discusses ‘History’ With Emmanuel Rodriguez, Takuma Inoue And Junto Nakatani https://t.co/0K6Nyy7375
— BoxingScene.com (@boxingscene) April 18, 2024
“I really want to pay him back,” Moloney said. ——I never saw that pile in Nishida. He seems to be a savvy shopper. He is one of the tall lefties. I don’t know where Japan will keep these tall southpaws, they seem to have a lot of lefties these days, but I think Rodriguez should win this fight. It’s a game I’m looking forward to, whoever wins there I’ll be watching.
Junto Nakatani won the Section 4 title at 118 pounds. The three-time world heavyweight champion and Japanese superstar defeated Moloney’s twin brother, Andrew, in a stunning bout last May to win the world super flyweight title. This allows Moloney to make history alongside three other champions in his weight class. Nakatani successfully defended Algy Cortez before moving up to heavyweight, defeating Alessandro Santiago in a sixth-round fight in Tokyo two months ago.
“Yeah, it’s a good win,” Moloney said. –I think he can manage well in San Diego. I think this is a good fight for him because Santiago is shorter and he can fight at a fair distance. He handles the fight very impressively and is well up in the heavyweight division. He is a great man and I am not surprised that he has this kind of power.
– It’s great that he is there with us as the WBC champion. This is another big fight for me. Of course I’m really focused on what’s in front of me because there are a lot of big fights coming up. All the other heroes, I have a history. There’s a great fight there, whether it’s another fight with Rodriguez, Takuma or Nakatani. There are important battles to be fought.
