Brothers in arms
Andrew Moloney vows to avenge twin’s bitter defeat
Andrew Moloney is on a revenge mission for his brother Jason in what he knows is likely his last run at a world title – almost a year to the day since falling to a devastating knockout of the year contender. Moloney fights Pedro Guevara for the WBC interim super-flyweight world title on the undercard to George Kambosos’ lightweight world title fight against Vasiliy Lomachenko in Perth tomorrow.
The bout comes just six days after Andrew watched his twin lose his WBO bantamweight world title to Yoshiki Takei in Tokyo, despite appearing just moments away from scoring a 12th-round knockout.
“I’d just landed in Perth when he fought, so I was watching on my phone here,” Andrew said while his son Lee ran around a ballroom in the fighter’s hotel in Perth.
“I was probably lucky I wasn’t there because I lost my voice as it is screaming at the phone.
“Watching Jase lose his fight, it’s just made me more determined to get the job done this weekend. I feel I’ve gotta get one back for the team, for the family. The fans in boxing are pretty brutal, and I’ve seen comments online writing Jason off, so I just want to put on a great performance and show what we’re all about as a family.”
It wouldn’t be the first time the world champion brothers have had such high-stakes fights so close together. In June 2020, Andrew lost a world title fight in a close decision to Joshua Franco. Two days later, Jason put on a masterful performance in stopping Leonardo Baez. “I know how determined he was to put on that great performance two days after my fight,” Andrew says. “He really wanted to get one back for the family, and I’m the same this weekend.
“I spoke to him after his fight the other day and he was fine physically, but just kicking himself that he came so close to stopping it in that last round.
“I’m sure he’ll be world champion again, and we’ve been on this mission to be world champions at the same time, but we still need to get it done, and I haven’t given up hope yet.”
At 33 years old, and with 29 tough professional fights under his belt, Andrew knows he’s closer to the end of his career than to the start of it, and admits this might be his last run at a world title.
“I’ve had a few losses in my career now, and a loss here would probably be my last shot,” he says.
“But that just means there’s more fire in the belly and it’s made me prepare even better every day.
“I’m treating this as if it’s my last crack, so losing’s really not an option. I’m certainly not ready to give up boxing, so I need a win in this fight.”