Fast Facts:
Age: 33
Twitter: @andrewmoloney
Nationality: Australian
From: Melbourne, Australia
Stance: Orthodox
Height: 5ft 5ins
Record: 26-3-1 NC (16)
Division: Super-flyweight
Next fight: Following the loss to Junto Nakatani last May, Moloney rebounded in December with victory over Judy Flores.
When and why you started boxing:
I first took interest in boxing when I was about 10 years old. Santa Claus thought it was a good idea to get me and my brother a pair of boxing gloves each. Probably because we used to fight 10 times a day and he thought it would be better to have some padding on our knuckles. We’d put the gloves on in the living room and go at it for hours.
Favourite all-time fighter:
Marco Antonio Barrera. I love his style and loved his attitude in the ring. He was fierce and threw every punch with bad intentions.
Best fight you’ve seen:
Corrales-Castillo (I). I was blown away watching that for the first time.
Personal career highlight:
Hard to choose between winning gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and winning the WBA title.
Toughest opponent:
I guess I have to say Junto Nakatani as he is the only person to stop me. Fighting a tall, rangy southpaw is always difficult to deal with.
Best and worst attributes as a boxer:
I am extremely dedicated, I live and breathe boxing. I always enter the ring in great condition and will back my fitness against any opponent. My weakness has been that I have doubted myself in the past and it has cost me. This is something that I have worked on and I have a lot more self-belief these days.
Training tip:
Master the fundamentals and basics of boxing. Shadow boxing in front of a mirror is one of the best things you can do for training.
Favourite meal/restaurant:
I love American style BBQ, Japanese and pizza.
Which other athlete would you like to be?
Canelo. He does what I love for a living, he is one of the best in the game and he makes a lot of money.
One thing you would change about boxing:
The best not always fighting the best and most fighters only fighting one or two times per year.
Have you ever been starstruck?
I was a little star struck the first time I met Bob Arum. He is an absolute legend of the sport. I had so much going through my head I didn’t know what to say.
Last time you cried:
Probably after the Nakatani fight. I wanted to win that fight more than anything in my life. Falling short was hard to take.
Best advice received:
Danny Green told me that I needed to develop a great jab to be world class and that I needed to train with Angelo Hyder. I believe I have done both of those things. Moving to train with Angelo was the best thing I did for my career.
Worst rumour about yourself:
That there was a head clash in my second fight against Joshua Franco. That rumour was false and it cost me my world title.
Tell us something not many people know about you:
I lost my first seven amateur fights. I’m sure most people would have given up at that stage and found something else but my pride wouldn’t let me do that. I decided I would make sure that I always worked harder and did more than my opponents. The results then started to change massively. It was a great lesson in the end.
