Fast Facts:
Age: 33
Twitter: JasonMoloney1
Nickname: Mayhem
Nationality: Australian
From: New South Wales, Australia
Stance: Orthodox
Height: 5ft 5ins
Record: 27-2 (19)
Division: Bantamweight
Next fight: Moloney is currently taking a break after defending his WBO title successfully on January 13.
When and why you started boxing:
I started boxing with my two brothers when I was 13 years old. My twin brother and I were very competitive and would often fight at home and we had a passion for boxing, but we actually started boxing training to help us with our football. We wanted to become professional Australian Rules Footballers and we felt boxing would be great for our fitness. We ended up falling in love with boxing and gave up football.
Favourite all-time fighter:
I’ll say Sugar Ray Leonard because I just loved his style of fighting, so classy but also had the grit and toughness to mix it with anybody.
Best fight you’ve seen:
Gatti-Ward or Barrera-Morales.
Personal career highlight:
Becoming a world champion.
Toughest opponent:
Naoya Inoue. Incredible speed, timing, and power! Also, very good with controlling the distance with his feet which makes it hard to land your own shots.
Best and worst attributes as a boxer:
I’d like to think I’m a very well-rounded fighter without many weaknesses. My greatest strength is probably my dedication and my discipline. I don’t think I’m the most naturally talented fighter in the world but my dedication to the sport and desire to get better is the reason I have become a world champion.
Training tip:
Perfect the basic fundamentals. I see so many flashy training drills which people might think look cool on Instagram but they do nothing to help you and would never work in an actual fight. Practise the basics over and over and over again.
Favourite meal/restaurant:
I love my food. Hard to beat a good steak but also love Japanese food.
Best friends in boxing:
Boxing with my twin brother Andrew is pretty special. We train together every day and have travelled the world together doing what we love. I also have a great relationship/friendship with both my coach Angelo Hyder and my manager Tony Tolj.
Which other athlete would you like to be?
Perhaps someone like Michael Jordan, Usain Bolt or Roger Federer. All-time greats who have reached the top of their game!
One thing you would change about boxing:
Probably the scoring. I don’t have a perfect solution, but I think it’s hard for the general public to understand how a fight is scored. Hard to draw in a new audience when they don’t understand how the sport is scored and how a fight is won.
Have you ever been starstruck?
Yes, I was pretty starstruck when I met Usain Bolt. I was lucky enough to sit down in a hotel room with Usain for about half an hour and listen to his advice and stories throughout his career. It was incredible.
Last time you cried:
When I watched the replay of my world title fight. I think that’s when it actually sunk in that I was a world champion and I had achieved my dream. That brought some tears to my eyes.
Best advice received:
Dream BIG and never give up!
Worst rumour about yourself:
That I got my twin brother Andrew to weigh in for me for one of my fights. Andrew’s naturally lighter than me so people thought I had Andrew do the weigh-in for me so I could come in extra heavy. Not a bad idea! But it has not been done.
Tell us something not many people know about you:
My combat sports career started when I was about seven or eight. After watching the movie Karate Kid I begged my mum to take me to learn karate. About 10 minutes into the lesson I was so terrified of all of the screaming and aggression I bust into tears and mum drove me home (laughing!)
