The Aussie boxer set to walk in Mike Tyson’s footsteps and break record for biggest crowd
WBO World Bantamweight champion Jason Moloney will step through the ropes in the Tokyo Dome on Monday to defend his title in front of the biggest crowd any Australian boxer has ever faced.
Moloney will take on former kickboxing star Yoshiki Takei in front of a sell-out crowd of 55,000 fans, eclipsing the 51,052 who watched Brisbane’s Jeff Horn beat Manny Pacquiao at Suncorp Stadium seven years ago.
Moloney is excited at the prospect of fighting in the iconic Japanese venue, which hasn’t hosted a boxing event since Buster Douglas famously shocked Mike Tyson by knocking him out in 1990.
“I didn’t realise that this was the biggest crowd that any Australian has ever fought in front of, and that’s mind-blowing and a true honour to do that,” Moloney said.
“Growing up and dreaming of becoming a professional fighter and during the amateurs, I was hoping that one day I’d make it to the top of the sport.
“It’s incredible to think that I’m a world champion, but to do this and create history brings me a lot of pride and really adds some excitement to this – not that it wasn’t already sky-high.”
Jason Moloney (left) celebrates his world title win alongside twin brother Andrew.Credit: Getty
Moloney will face a relative boxing novice in Takei, who has only had eight professional fights as a boxer, but whose exploits in kickboxing have made him a household name in Japan.
Moloney, 33, is used to living a quiet existence at home in Kingscliff in northern NSW, where he is rarely recognised on his training runs with his twin brother, Andrew, the WBO Global Super Flyweight champion.
The bantamweight has fought all over the world as an amateur and professional, but he was shocked by the attention he received after travelling to Osaka to promote the fight against Takei.
“I’d never been to Japan before, and I didn’t know that I’d maybe get recognised or anything, and then I had numerous Japanese people reach out to me on Instagram and Twitter and saying, ‘Can I meet you please?’” Moloney said.
“People were travelling on the bullet train three hours to come and meet me in Osaka just to shake my hand, get a photo then jump back on the bullet train and go to three hours home. It blows my mind.
“I’d walk into coffee shops, restaurants, and people would know me and come up and talk to me … getting more love over in Japan than what I do in Australia was just incredible.”
Moloney has been forced to travel further for bigger paydays and opportunities after winning his world title against Vincent Astrolabio last year in the United States and then defending it against Saul Sanchez in January in Canada.
Moloney is not a complete stranger to Japanese fans, having courageously lost to superstar Naoya Inoue in the MGM Grand in Las Vegas four years ago.
Inoue will headline the event at the Tokyo Dome and is considered one of the world’s best pound-for-pound boxers, generating increased interest in the sport in Japan, which Moloney hopes to exploit commercially as his decorated career comes to a close.
“They’re doing really big things in Japan – they’ve got big promoters, they’ve got a great TV network backing them over there, and they’re starting to bring money into the lighter weight divisions, which is hard to come by,” he said.
“Poor bantamweights don’t get looked after in our fight purses like these heavier weights do, so yeah, it’s great to be a part of as a fighter. I generally don’t like to talk about money too much.
“This is a big step forward, and I know that winning this fight will take me to the next level in terms of my value.
“This is a must-win fight in terms of me getting the reward for all the years of hard work and sacrifices.
“The years on peanuts, I was just building my way up to this moment. These are the fights I must win to walk away from this sport having achieved and secured my future for me and my family.”
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