ANDREW MOLONEY looks to become a two-time world champion after Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez ruled himself out of a clash with WBO super-flyweight titlist Phumelela Cafu.
The pair were supposed to lock horns later this year, with multi-division king Gonzalez, 52-4 (42 KOs), bidding to add another accolade to his already illustrious legacy.
Cafu’s manager and trainer Colin Nathan, however, has now confirmed that their intriguing battle at 115lbs will no longer be taking place.
Instead, the 26-year-old has begun his search for an alternative opponent, with a blockbuster homecoming in South Africa being slated for May.
Among those in the mix to face the newly-crowned champion is Moloney, 27-4 (17 KOs), who insists that a series of positive discussions have materialised behind the scenes.
“I want this Cafu fight so badly; I think it’s a fight that makes a lot of sense,” the Australian told Boxing News.
“We were looking at other options, but then when I heard that negotiations [for Cafu vs ‘Chocolatito’] had fallen through, I was straight onto it.
“I know that I’ll need to go over to South Africa and fight him in his backyard, but that just makes it even more exciting for me. That’s the way you’re supposed to become a world champion.
“He’s the world champion for a reason, and he’s undefeated, but I don’t believe he’s fought anyone as good as me.”
Cafu, 11-0-3 (8 KOs), pulled off a sizable upset to claim his WBO title last October, dethroning Kosei Tanaka with a split decision victory on away soil.
But still, Moloney firmly believes that, with his level of experience at world level, he has what it takes to crush the South African’s hopes and dreams.
After expressing his interest in the potential matchup, too, Cafu responded to the 34-year-old on social media, offering an encouraging sign that he is up for the challenge.
“[Cafu] said, ‘finally, someone’s got the balls to fight me; this one’s going to be easy work’ – or something along those lines. Obviously he’s a confident fighter,” Moloney said.
“We messaged a few times and he’s keen for the fight. I think it makes sense with me being a former world champion, and with Australia and South Africa having such a big rivalry across all other sports.
“They’re talking about May, so training camp has pretty much started in the hope that this is going to go ahead.
“I haven’t had much luck in this game over the last few years, so hopefully things fall my way for once.”
Sure enough, Moloney’s story has been far removed from a plain sailing route to the top.
Two defeats, in particular, completely changed the trajectory of his career, leaving him in a state of bewilderment at the unforgiving and often bizarre nature of his sport.
The first moment of controversy arrived in 2020, back when Moloney’s rematch with Joshua Franco was ruled a no decision.
This was because, at first glance, it appeared that the swelling on Franco’s eye had been caused by a head clash.
When reviewing the footage back, though, Moloney highlighted that the injury was in fact caused by a legal shot.
Yet still, the Nevada State Athletic Commission remained firm on its original assessment, denying Moloney the opportunity to have his result overturned.
Then in his outing against Pedro Guevara last year, the Aussie announced his retirement shortly after finding himself on the wrong end of a highly contentious decision.
He has, of course, bounced back with a win since returning to boxing, but nonetheless remains frustrated by those two blemishes on his record.
“People really don’t understand just how much a loss in this sport sets you back,” Moloney said.
“Financially, my life would be extremely different if I had got those decisions [against Franco and Guevara].
“It’s like being in a normal job and your boss says to you that you’re going to get a promotion, and that you’re going to earn at least 10 times what you were earning before.
“Then you do absolutely everything that’s asked of you, only for them to say, ‘nah, you’re not going to get that promotion; you’re actually going to make 10 times less [money].
“I’m not the first person this has happened to and I don’t think I’ll be the last. But for some reason, we still love this sport.”
With any luck, Moloney will be presented with an opportunity to not only become a two-time world champion but also set up a possible showdown with ‘Chocolatito.’
The two contenders have already been ordered to collide in a WBC final eliminator but, with Moloney now setting his sights on world honours, it is a matchup that could instead come to fruition further down the line.
Moloney said: “My priority at the moment is to beat Cafu and become a world champion, but then I’d love to fight ‘Chocolatito.’ Maybe that can be the first [WBO title] defence.”
