With victory in their respective fights on Sunday, Jason and Andrew Moloney are inches away from achieving a shared dream: being world champions at the same time.
Jason outpointed tough Thai Nawaphon Kaikanha while Andrew defeated Norbelto Jimenez via unanimous decision.
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It’s put the twins within touching distance of their ultimate goal.
“The dream is to be a world champion at the same time as my brother and both of us be champions for a long time to come,” Andrew said.
“I feel like we’re really close to that happening now. That’s what’s forcing us to be in the gym every single day and busting our ass to make sure that we improve every single day and get a hold of these belts and be champions for a long time and put on these big events here in Australia.”
With the Moloney boys on the verge of world title fights, it’s yet another sign of just how strong the boxing scene has become in Australia.
So much so that Main Event’s Ben Damon believes “we are blessed to be living through what is clearly the greatest era in the proud history of Australian boxing”.
Foxsports.com.au assesses the landscape of the current champions flying the flag, who’s got a title fight on the horizon and who’s in and around the mix for a shot at the ultimate prize in the sport.
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THE CHAMPS
Australia has four world champions in its ranks: Jai Opetaia, Ebanie Bridges, Cherneka Johnson and Dennis Hogan.
Opetaia secured the IBF and The Ring cruiserweight titles when he outlasted Mairis Briedis in a brutal 12 round war in July.
It was one of the toughest performances ever seen not just by a boxer but by any athlete, with Opetaia competing with a badly broken jaw that was sustained in the second round.
He is still recovering from the injury, so his next fight will be some way off.
But Opetaia remains keen on unifying the cruiserweight titles in the near future once he’s back in the ring.
Bridges won the IBF female bantamweight title in March this year when she beat Maria Cecilia Roman in Leeds.
The 36-year-old has since based herself in England, but will take on a fellow Aussie in what promises to be an epic title fight in December – more on that later.
Johnson retained her IBF super bantamweight title against Susie Ramadan on the undercard of Devin Haney and George Kambosos Jr.’s rematch.
The 27-year-old, who was born in New Zealand but has been based in Australia for several years, fought through a shocking gash on her forehead that left blood pouring down her face throughout the opening rounds.
However, Johnson fought through the pain and knocked Ramadan down in the fight as well en route to winning the bout via unanimous decision.
Although Hogan’s IBO super welterweight belt is not recognised by the ‘big four’ boxing corporations, the Brisbane-based Irishman can still call himself a world champion thanks to his victory over Sam Eggington in Newcastle on October 8.
Haney v Kambosos 2 – Full Highlights | 04:19
THE IMMEDIATE CONTENDERS
There are two Aussies locked in for world title fights in the coming months: Tim Tszyu and Shannon O’Connell.
Tszyu has the chance to become the undisputed light-middleweight champion when he takes on Jermell Charlo on January 28 in Las Vegas.
O’Connell will face Bridges in Leeds for the IBF female bantamweight title as the two bitter rivals finally settle the score on December 12.
WHO’S IN THE MIX?
Although there are only two Australians who have world title shots booked, many more could join them soon.
Liam Paro is one of those, as the super lightweight delivered a vicious knockout on Brock Jarvis in their bout for the WBO global title.
The Queenslander is ranked #2 in the WBO rankings and #6 with the IBF, but boxing kingpin Eddie Hearn believes Paro’s time is nearing.
“He’s ready to fight for the world championship,” Hearn said.
“Josh Taylor will fight Jack Catterall, and it looks like he (Paro) should be mandatory for the winner.
“If they want to vacate, it’s Liam Paro against Teofimo Lopez and I’ll do everything I can to bring that to Australia.”
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Returning to the Moloney brothers, they also aren’t far off a fight for a world title.
Jason Moloney could ultimately fight for a vacant world title with Naoya Inoue due to fight Paul Butler for the undisputed bantamweight crown and the Japanese star is expected to go up in weight after the fight.
As for Andrew Moloney, he holds out hope for a fight against Kazuto Ioka for the WBO super-flyweight title.
Either way, a world title bout for both men is a treacherous prospect but Top Rank VP of boxing operations Carl Moretti believes the brothers are ready for anything.
“These types of fights are dangerous,” Moretti said in the post-fight press conference for Haney’s rematch against Kambosos Jr.
“But they’re ready for that, that’s what they want. They want the best and go for it.”
Taylah Robertson is not far off a world title shot, either.
In fact, she will face off against Chaoz Minowa in an IBF flyweight title eliminator on November 5 at the Fortitude Music Hall.
A victory against Minowa would make the 24-year-old the mandatory challenger to Leonela Yudica.
Winning a world title is just one of her goals, as Robertson looks to put herself “into the history books” and make $1 million from a fight.
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Joining Robertson in an IBF title eliminator is cruiserweight Jason Whateley, who takes on Mateusz Masternak later this month in Poland.
Should Whateley overcome his rival, he would be the mandatory challenger for Opetaia’s crown in an all-Aussie world title fight.
Liam Wilson could be involved in a world title fight sooner than anticipated thanks to Shakur Stevenson vacating his WBO and WBC super featherweight titles after he missed weight for his bout against Robson Conceicao.
Stevenson announced he would be moving up a weight class to lightweight, paving the way for Wilson, who was ranked No. 4 in the WBO rankings at the time, to fight for a world title in 2023.
With Stevenson going up to lightweight, it’s another contender in the division for George Kambosos Jr.
‘Ferocious’ will remain in the hunt for the lightweight title if, as expected, Devin Haney vacates his title in the not-too-distant future and moves up in weight.
Should that happen, Kambosos Jr. has a massive chance at becoming a two-time world champ.
Another Aussie sitting high in the rankings is middleweight Michael Zerafa, who is No. 1 with the WBA and No. 2 with the IBF
Zerafa is on a three-fight win streak, with his most recent victory being a brutal TKO win over Issac Hardman in July last year.
With Gennady Golovkin holding the IBF and WBA middleweight belts, Zerafa is in line to fight one of the biggest names in modern boxing.
