Jason Moloney has recounted the details of his epic fight with George Kambosos, which occurred long before the pair carved out their incredible professional boxing legacies.
In his astonishing career, ‘Mayhem’ has done it all, from sharing the ring with Naoya Inoue, to defeating Vincent Astrolabio to capture the WBO bantamweight world title.
However, one of his biggest nights came during his time as an amateur, when he got to miss school to fly across the country to take on a man who’d go on to conquer the sport.
In an intense encounter, the talented prospects traded leather, with the crowd completely unaware that they were watching two future icons.
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Jason Moloney beat George Kambosos in a tremendous amateur contest
Prior to becoming world champion, Jason Moloney had an array of fantastic experiences, from sparring Vasiliy Lomachenko, to traveling to India for the Commonwealth Games.
But while he might not have been aware at the time, his victory over George Kambosos in the amateurs would become one of the best chapters of his boxing story.
In an exclusive interview with Bloody Knockout, the Aussie reminisced: “At the time, we were only youngsters; nobody knew what course we were on or how good we were going to be.
“George was a big win of mine — I think I was only 16 or 17. I got a call-up to go to Sydney and fight George because his opponent had pulled out, and George, already at that stage, was a big ticket-seller, and the matchmakers were scratching around trying to find a last-minute replacement.
“They called me the night before the fight and said, ‘Do you want to come to Sydney’? I was living in Melbourne at the time, so it’s not a long flight. I went to school the next day, Dad picked me up early, and we went to the airport.
“That night, I had a cracking fight with George Kambosos. He was undefeated at the time, and we had a great fight. I don’t think I’ve got footage, but it was an entertaining fight. It was definitely the hardest fight at that stage of my career.
“I got the nod over George, which looks good on the resume now, given what he’s gone on to achieve.”
While beating Kambosos was a sensational victory, ‘Ferocious’ isn’t the only big-name Moloney has on his amateur record, with the Melbourne-born warrior picking up a significant win over one of Belfast’s finest.
The 34-year-old beamed: “Michael Conlan was another huge name. At that stage, I didn’t know who he was; it was before he went on to become an Olympian, an amateur world champion, and achieve the great heights that he did.
“I drew him in the first round at the Commonwealth Games in 2010, over in Delhi. That was my first big international tournament, I was so hungry and so excited to be representing the country and wearing the green and gold.
“We had an awesome fight in the first round of the tournament. It actually finished on a countback, but I got the nod over Michael and progressed to the next round. Knowing what Michael went on to achieve, it was a huge win in my amateur career.
“We became mates after that and sparred a few times together as professionals. I still enjoy watching him fight to this day, so it was great to fight him at the Commonwealth Games.”
Jason Moloney has to fend off snakes in his Australian boxing gym
While Moloney has proven on more than one occasion that he’s willing to take on the scariest competitors the world has to offer, professional boxers aren’t the only thing he’s had to fend off inside the boxing ring.
The brawler often encounters snakes, when the slithery creatures invade his gym.
The all-action scrapper, who has a monstrous collision against Tenshin Nasukawa coming up on February 24, inside the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan, occasionally has to interrupt his sparring sessions to tackle the wild animals.
While admitting he’s utterly petrified of the creatures, Moloney has confessed that he loves using the snakes to play hilarious practical jokes on his teammates.