Former world champion Jason Moloney is hoping to catapult back into the title picture but must overcome a Japanese sensation as part of a huge card in Tokyo tonight. Watch live on Fox Sports 505 and Kayo!
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The 34-year-old Aussie (27-3, 19 KOs) lost his WBO bantamweight world title last May against Yoshiki Takei, and the home fans are hoping he’ll just be another stepping stone for former kickboxing superstar Tenshin Nasukawa tonight.
The 26-year-old Japanese famously fought Floyd Mayweather in a 2018 exhibition bout, drawing a huge fanbase for his exploits as well for the tears he shed when the towel was thrown in against Mayweather.
Since his 2023 boxing debut he is 5-0 (2 KOs), after being 4-0 in MMA and 42-0 in kickboxing, and is quickly rising up the ranks.
The winner between Moloney and Nasukawa could land a showdown with Takei later in the year.
“I think that they saw that fight (the loss to Takei) and they probably think that I have a bit of trouble with southpaws,” Moloney has said in the lead-up.
“They think that they can set Tenshin up. They think if he can beat a former world champion that moves him on to the bigger fights. I think they want this to show that he’s ready for the next jump. I’ve certainly got other plans in mind.
“I think they’ve got it wrong and they probably don’t understand the person that I am and how hard I took that loss and how hard I’ve been working since that loss to get better. I did have trouble with the guy being a southpaw, but since that fight I’ve identified the weakness.”
Two world title fights in the same division headline the night, with 29-0 Junto Nakatani defending the WBC bantamweight world title against 27-0 Mexican David Cuellar in the main event.
Earlier a remarkable unanimous draw (114-114 x3) saw Seiya Tsutsumi retain the WBA bantamweight world title in his rematch with Daigo Higa.
In a wild ninth round, the champion – already bloodied from a cut above the eye suffered much earlier in the bout – was knocked down but got back up and knocked down Higa barely a minute later.
Tsutumi lifted mightily in the final rounds which may have been enough to save his title.
Higa was the WBC flyweight champion in 2017-18 but lost it after failing to make weight for a title defence he then lost anyway via TKO.
FULL CARD
Junto Nakatani (c) vs David Cuellar for the WBC bantamweight title
Tenshin Nasukawa vs Jason Moloney
Seiya Tsutsumi (c) drew with Daigo Higa for the WBA bantamweight title (114-114 x3)
Eigoro Akai lost to Ryuya Moriai via TKO in Round 2
Ryosuke Kiuchi def Fuentes Kitajima via UD
Hayato Aiko def Yuki Sato via UD
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