Andrew Moloney. Image via Top Rank
Long-time junior bantamweight Andrew Moloney has been preparing for the Mexican veteran but he will face another on the George Kambosos-Vasiliy Lomachenko undercard at the RAC Arena, Perth, Australia, on Saturday (Sunday in Australia).
Moloney, ranked number 4 by The Ring in the junior bantamweight division, had been cut to face Carlos Cuadras, but when the Mexican injured his Achilles tendon, in Junior Guevara.
“I'm very happy with this fight,” Moloney (26-3, 16 knockouts) told The Ring. “Pedro Guevara was the first [WBC junior flyweight] a world champion who lost to the best.
“I'm excited to fight for the interim WBC world title and I'm excited to know that winning the fight opens the door to bigger fights.”
As well as being lucky at home, the 33-year-old will also appear on the undercard of local man Kambosos Jr. as he faces the ever-difficult Lomachenko.
“I'm happy to fight on such a big card and part of a big event here in Australia,” he said proudly. “Many people will watch this fight from all over the world and this is a good opportunity for me to show that I am at a high level in this division.”
Last year, Moloney suffered the infamy of being brutally stopped by up-and-coming star Junto Nakatani, in what was eventually named Ring Magazine's Knockout of the Year.
Moloney took a break and returned with a solid 10-round decision over Judy Flores in December. That set the stage for this opportunity.
“It was very important,” he said of the Flores victory. “I needed to get back in the ring and move forward with my career, so I could put that loss behind me. I'm very happy that now, less than 12 months later I'm losing and I'm fighting for the interim world title.”
Previously, Moloney participated in a three-fight series with Joshua Franco.
While he is now in his 30s, he is still as motivated as ever.
“I won't be satisfied with my work if I don't win at least the right world title,” he said. “The dream has always been for me and Jason to be world champions at the same time and that's what we're chasing.”
The brothers are very close but because of their wars that continue for 6 days apart in different countries, Andrew could not be in Japan to support his sibling.
“It's going to be hard,” he admitted. “It will be the first time I am not in Jason's fight as a professional athlete but I have to focus on my fight. On May 12 we can celebrate two great victories together.” [Editors Note: This interview took place before Jason lost his WBO title to Yoshiki Takei on Monday]
Longtime manager, Tony Tolj, knows the importance of this fight and a win will put his striker in a position to fight for important fights in the future.
“I am happy with this fight by Andrew, Guevara is a respected world champion and for Andrew, his job is to fight everyone and that is what makes us happy and motivates us,” said Tolj. “May 12 can't come soon enough.”
Guevara (41-4-1, 22 KOs), ranked No. 9 by The Ring at junior bantamweight, he has been a professional fighter since 2008. The Mazatlan native went 18-0-1 before losing to John Riel Casimero (SD 12) for the IBF 108-pound title.
The 34-year-old regained the WBC title by stopping Akira Yaegashi (KO 7). He successfully made two saves before being eliminated by Yu Kimura (SD 12). The four wins helped him earn a shot at Kenshiro Teraji, who had already won the WBC title, but the Japanese standout was able to beat Guevara via a 12-round majority decision. The Mexican moved up in weight and racked up 10 wins before suffering a heartbreaking loss to Carlos Cuadras (SD 12) last November. He is back in the win column.
Kambosos-Lomachenko, along with the undercard bouts, will air on ESPN+ at 10 pm ET/7 pm PT.
Questions and/or comments can be sent to Anson at [email protected].
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