Andrew Moloney has reached a point in his career where he is boxing for one reason and one reason only.
Moloney, a two-time junior bantamweight title challenger, faces Argi Cortes on August 16 in an IBF final eliminator bout at Gimnasio Auditorio Centenario in Gomez Palacio, Durango, Mexico.
“I am only in this sport to become world champion, again,” Moloney said. ”Thankfully, we are not too far away from making that happen.”
Moloney, 27-4 (17 KOs), enters after a knockout win in December over Jakrawut Majungoen. This comes on the heels of a May split decision loss to Pedro Guevara, which cost him an interim belt at 115lbs. After the loss to Guevara, a frustrated Moloney of Kingscliff, New South Wales, Australia, retired.
“It was a frustrating loss, and I had to have surgery to repair the damaged bicep,” Moloney said. “I still felt like I had much more to give in this sport. I wasn’t satisfied with what I had achieved.”
Moloney, 34, earned a “global” junior bantamweight title with a win over Judy Flores in December 2023, which eased some of the sting of a knockout loss to Junto Nakatani in a world title fight in May of the same year.
He’s leaving nothing to chance in this, what may be his last, chance at winning a major belt. Moloney even traveled to Mexico three and a half weeks early to adjust to the elevation.
“It has been a long camp, but I feel that it worked out for the better,” he said. “I feel this will be the best performance of my career.”
One improvement was that he got to see his son for his birthday before leaving for camp.
“I was going to miss my son’s birthday, again,” Moloney said. “Thankfully, the fight being pushed back meant I would be home for his birthday, which is great – and I can’t wait.”
Cortes, 27-4-2 (11 KOs), is on a two-fight win streak, with both wins coming in 2024. A 30-year-old from Mexico City, Cortes has fought both Juan Francisco Estrada and Nakatani. Though unsuccessful in both fights, he managed to see the final bell in each.
“He is a good fighter, he is well-rounded,” Moloney said of Cortes. “I have watched him a lot, and I just believe I am better.”
The fight will make the winner the mandatory challenger for the recently crowned IBF titleholder Willibaldo Garcia Perez.
“I am hoping to close out the year with a good win and move up the rankings,” Moloney said. “I am going to put myself in a position to become a world champion again.”
Lucas Ketelle is the author of “Inside the Ropes of Boxing,” a guide for young fighters, a writer for BoxingScene and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Find him on X at @BigDogLukie.
