World Boxing Association (WBA) Oceania Bantamweight Champion Jason “The Smooth One” Moloney (17-0, 14KO’s) and his team recently broke the news that he will be entering the World Boxing Super Series (WBSS).
Jason is ecstatic and cannot wait to show the world his talents, saying “I always keep a very close eye on the division. If I fight to the best of my ability I can beat all of them because at this level if you don’t perform to your best, it will not be enough.”
Jasons first fight will be against the undefeated Puerto Rican Emmanuel Rodriguez (18-0, 12KO’s) in a quarterfinals bout to kick off the tournament. Jason is a very disciplined fighter and always respects his opponents, but he does feel that he matches up well against everyone entered into the tournament thus far. Maybe “The Smooth One” could be called “The Sleeper” for this tournament, but in any case the WBA Oceania champ took the time to break down his opponents, and potential opponents, in the WBSS.
Starting off with his first opponent, Jason says that it is tough to gauge Rodriguez at this point because of the lack of fights he has out there, pointing out that we really only have Rodriguez’s last opponent – Paul Butler – to go off of.
“Rodriguez was a talented amateur and he won the Butler fight easily, dropping him early and then he cruised for the remainder of the fight. What I saw is that he got stuck in second gear though, because there was no threat coming back from Butler.”
Jason then points out that perhaps it was a case of the opponent not having much to offer, saying “It’s almost like there was something wrong with Paul Butler in that fight because he simply let Rodriguez coast all the way to the decision without even getting out of second gear. Im not Paul Butler, I will present a far tougher fight because you have to at least put up resistance.”
Next up in the tournament we have the highly touted WBA World Champion Naoya Inoue (16-0, 14KO’s), who is coming into the tournament off of a sensational first round knockout of Jamie McDonnell “He’s not really tested yet,” says Jason, “It is hard to say how good he really is because for example McDonnell said he was going to move up in weight before they even stepped into the ring. We all know McDonnell had serious trouble making the weight so it’s hard to say how good of a win that really is. Inoue wasn’t even landing big shots.”
So, how does someone beat a fighter that has not looked beatable yet? “We have studied him. He can be reckless sometimes, and he can afford to be reckless with his past opponents, but I see him open up and I know he would not get away with that with me in front of him. It excites me because I think I can take his world title.”
Another big name and highly skilled fighter in the tournament is WBA Super Champion Ryan Burnett (19-0, 9KO’s). “I have seen plenty of him and he is another fighter that excites me to fight against because I see weaknesses in him. His hands down style doesn’t always suite him, in my opinion, and seems forced.”
When Jason is pushed for a game plan he of course has to keep it fairly secret, just like the methodology and system that he employs through his legendary trainer Angelo Hyder “Lets just say that he can get unstuck at times,” he says,”I can see where he can be pulled off of his game plan.”
The final man in the tournament as of now is Zolani Tete (27-3, 21KO’s). Tete is another that not many have had the chance to see extensively, with his last fight against Omar Narvaez being the main fight that we have to go off of.
“Tete is a totally different style, he is tall, lanky, and a southpaw. I thought he should have had an easier time against Narvaez, it’s like he was in a trance in that fight and went through the motions to score just enough points to win. I think he should have done better, but he is a very awkward fighter though so perhaps it was just his style showing. Lets see how good he actually is when pressured hard.”
Jason’s final thought on entering the tournament is that all of his hard work is going to show and he is honored to be a part of the tournament and believes that he is going to rise to the occasion.
“Jeff Horn just recently lost his belt so hopefully I can be the next Australian World Champion. Thank you to the fans, this is an opportunity I will grab with both hands. And if I win the whole tournament I will bring the Muhammad Ali trophy back along with the titles.”
