WBA number three ranked super flyweight Andrew ‘The Monster’ Moloney 18-0 (11) is confident that he will be fighting for a world title later this year once he gets past WBA number two Miguel Gonzalez 29-1 (6) in a world title eliminator at the Gran Arena Monticello in San Francisco de Mostazal, Chile on March 22.
WBA world titleholder Khalid Yafai 25-0 (15) is expected to defend his championship belt against mandatory contender Norbelto Jiminez 29-8-4 (16) in the coming months.
“The WBA have ordered that Yafai fight his mandatory, who is Nortbelto Jiminez from the Dominican Republic. They should be fighting very soon I believe. I haven’t seen any announcement but I believe they will be fighting very soon,” Moloney said to Boxing-Social.com.
“Then myself and Miguel Gonzalez are sitting at number two and number three. The WBA have ordered an eliminator between myself and Gonzalez to see who moves into the mandatory position.
“Depending on who wins between Yafai and Jiminez (they) should end up fighting the winner between me and Gonzalez for the (WBA) belt.”
The 28-year-old Australian says he is well aware of what Gonzalez brings to the table.
“We have actually had our eye on Gonzalez for a long time now as he’s been sitting high up on the WBA rankings for a few years now,” Moloney said.
“My manager Tony (Tolj) first reached out to their team in August 2017 for us to fight each other. We kept in contact, but they didn’t seem too keen for us to fight each other at the time. I then got myself to number three within the WBA and then the WBA ordered an eliminator.
“I was delighted when I heard (of the eliminator) as it’s a fight I wanted for a long time and it’s a huge step towards the world title. We then started negotiations and were offered a good deal to go out to Chile.”
The fight will be the first time Moloney has competed abroad as a pro, but the pocket dynamo got a good look at fighting on the road when his twin brother Jason Moloney travelled to Orlando, Florida to challenge IBF bantamweight champion Emmanuel Rodriguez in the quarterfinals of the World Boxing Super Series last year.
“Obviously you will always benefit from a fight in your own backyard but I’m confident that I can beat him convincingly enough that it’s not going to be a problem,” said Moloney.
“I’m not too fussed about travelling either, as an amateur I fought all over the world; it’s not going to be an issue. It’s also going to be a great experience getting used to travelling as a professional and fighting in someone else’s back yard because it’s something I’m probably going to have to do when I get the chance to fight for a world title.”
“I’ve watched Gonzalez’s last fight which was at the same arena that we are going to fighting at. I’ve got a bit of a feel for what it’s going to be like, but I have no idea what the crowd is going to be like or what the build-up will be like over there.
“None of that is going to bother me anyway; I’m just exited to fighting in a world title eliminator and pushing myself into a mandatory position.”