A DREAM DELAYED
me to get back to the hotel. “It’s only a little thing, but it shows the sort of person he is. Even after a knockout like that, he was still thinking about everyone else. “And he doesn’t even remember doing it.” While Andrew struggled through one of the darkest nights of his career, Jason was living the dream. Just one week earlier, he had outpointed Filipino contender Vincent Astrolabio to claim the vacant WBO bantamweight championship in Stockton, California. He had done it with a badly injured right hand. “I thought I was boxing brilliantly,” Jason said. “I landed a really good right hand early that hurt my hand. Then I hit him again a few rounds later and that’s when I really did the damage.” For Jason, the victory was equal parts relief and vindication. After falling short in his first two world title opportunities (he lost a split decision to Emmanuel Rodriguez in an IBF title fight in 2018), he had finally reached the summit. “I didn’t really get to celebrate,” he said. “Everyone had gone to bed because we were flying to Vegas the next day for Andrew’s fight against Nakatani. “I woke up with the belt beside me and thought, ‘I’ve done it.’ No one can ever take that away from me. I’ll always be a world champion.” The flight home to Australia was bittersweet. One brother had finally realized a lifelong dream. The other wondered if his had slipped away forever. Jason’s reign as champion represented a breakthrough that he parlayed into his next bout. In January 2024, he traveled to Quebec, Canada, to make the first defense of his title against Saul Sanchez. The styles meshed perfectly. Every time Moloney appeared ready to take control, Sanchez fought his way back into contention. The result was a ferocious back-and-forth battle that quickly established itself as an early Fight of the Year contender. “The whole crowd was going wild,”
the stakes. For Andrew, it was another chance at the big time. He came in with a torn left biceps that worsened as the bout progressed. Over 12 rounds, he landed the cleaner, sharper punches while Guevara pressed relentlessly forward. When the final bell sounded, Moloney believed he had done enough to win. So did much of his team. Judge Samantha Bulner scored the bout 116-113 in his favor. The other two officials saw it differently. Scores of 115-113 from Humberto Olivares and Zanashir Taznaa handed Guevara a split decision victory. Standing in the ring moments later, Andrew announced he was retiring from boxing. Years of sacrifice, setbacks and near misses had finally caught up with him. “We thought we’d won that fight,” said longtime trainer Hyder. “He really didn’t get hit. It very nearly broke Andrew. For a period of time, it did. “But the resilience that both twins have is remarkable. They’ve got incredible wives and incredible family support. Everyone is on the journey with them.” Time eventually softened the sting. As his arm healed, so too did the emotional scars left by the defeat. After lengthy discussions with his wife Chelsea, Hyder and Tolj, Andrew reconsidered. Walking away no longer felt right. “Angelo and Tony had put so much effort into building my career,” Andrew said. “I didn’t want to let them down. But the biggest thing was not wanting to look back in 10 or 15 years and have regrets.” The decision wasn’t driven by money. If anything, the numbers suggested he should retire. Following the Guevara defeat, Moloney accepted two low-level fights that earned him a combined purse of roughly $8,000. He estimates he spent more than twice that amount preparing for a planned IBF junior bantamweight eliminator against Argi Cortes. That fight never happened. Repeated delays frustrated Moloney and his team before a final twist pushed matters beyond breaking point. Just five days before the bout, the event
was shifted to Cortes’ hometown of Mexico City. Moloney walked away. Financially, it was another setback. Professionally, it proved a blessing. The IBF recognized the circumstances and elevated him to mandatory challenger status for newly crowned champion Willibaldo Garcia, who had won the vacant title against Rene Calixto in May 2025. For the first time in years, a clear path had emerged. Then another obstacle appeared. The team behind Jesse Rodriguez wanted Garcia first. The reigning Ring, WBA, WBC and WBO champion was chasing another belt, and Garcia represented the quickest route. Their proposal was straightforward: Step aside in exchange for $250,000 and a guaranteed shot at the winner. For a fighter who had spent years chasing opportunities and often earning a fraction of that amount, it was quite the dilemma. But in the end, it was a no-brainer. He knocked back the offer and pressed ahead with his claim for an immediate shot at the champion. The long road that had begun with heartbreak in Las Vegas, wound through disappointment in Perth and nearly ended in retirement had now led him somewhere new, but strangely familiar. Japan. “It wasn’t just about the money,” said Andrew, who earned a purse of less than $50,000 to face Garcia. “The money Bam’s team [was] offering was obviously very good, but things can change very quickly in boxing. You can get injured. The landscape can change. An opportunity that’s there today might not be there tomorrow.” Under the bright lights of Aichi Sky Expo, Andrew Moloney finally heard the words he had chased for two decades. “... and new.” The tension that had gripped him throughout the reading of the scorecards disappeared in an instant. He dropped to his knees. Burying his face in the canvas, he
pounded the ring with his gloves as the emotion washed over him. His team flooded into the ring. Hyder reached him first. Tolj wasn’t far behind. Together they pulled him to his feet before guiding him toward the ropes, where Moloney raised his arms to the crowd. Then, at center ring, referee Katsuhiko Nakamura fastened the red IBF championship belt around his waist. It had taken almost every ounce of resilience Moloney possessed to get there. There had been the disappointment of losing to Joshua Franco during the uncertainty of the COVID years. There had been the officiating controversy that denied him victory in their rematch. There had been the devastating knockout at the hands of Junto Nakatani. The split decision defeat to Pedro Guevara. The retirement announcement.
By virtue of hard work and resilience, Team Moloney fulfills its goal.
Jason recalled. “You don’t often get that when neither guy is from their country. They were cheering for both of us because it was a great fight. They were just enjoying the action. Afterward, fans were coming up and saying, ‘We didn’t deserve that.’” Jason escaped with a majority decision victory, but not without a cost. “I was sore for weeks afterward,” he said. “I probably suffered some pretty big concussions and took a fair bit of damage. It was a hell of a fight. But I guess it showed the different tools I’ve got.” The momentum didn’t last. Four months later, Jason traveled to Japan to defend his title against unbeaten local favorite Yoshiki Takei. The former kickboxing star had only eight professional boxing bouts under his belt, but records can be deceiving. Many insiders viewed him as a future world champion. They were right. Takei started fast and built an early lead, forcing Jason into desperation mode over the second half of the fight. Knowing he likely needed a knockout,
The canceled eliminator. The endless uncertainty.
Any one of those things could have been enough to convince a fighter to walk away. None of them convinced Andrew Moloney. “They are boxing because they love boxing,” Hyder said of the twins. “Other people box because they want money or fame or all that social media bullshit. Andrew and Jason love boxing. “They had a dream. And they’ve given everything they have to chase it.” The celebration continued around him, but Moloney’s attention drifted away from the cameras. He spotted Chelsea. Then he saw his young son, Lee. He knelt in the middle of the ring and wrapped the boy in his arms. Five weeks had passed since they had last seen each other. “We did it,” he whispered. For Andrew Moloney, the dream had never really been about the money. It wasn’t about fame. It wasn’t even about redemption. It was about proving to himself that every sacrifice had been worthwhile. A dream delayed but not denied.
the Australian pushed relentlessly down the stretch. It never came. “There was frustration and anger afterward, because I knew I could have won that fight,” Jason said. “That one hurts every time I think about it. I’m disappointed I lost my belt, but you can’t wind back the clock. There was nothing I could do about it.” While Jason was coming to terms with defeat, Andrew’s own title opportunity was hanging in the balance. He had been scheduled to face former titleholder Carlos Cuadras for the WBC interim junior bantamweight belt on the undercard of Vasiliy Lomachenko’s clash with George Kambosos Jr. in Perth in May 2024. However, Cuadras suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon and withdrew. In stepped former rival turned friend Pedro Guevara. The change in opponent didn’t alter
54 RINGMAGAZINE.COM
RINGMAGAZINE.COM 55
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker