Boxing Hall-of-Famer Jeff Fenech denied Australia's recent surge on the international boxing stage is over, after yet another Aussie champion lost a world title overnight.
Jason Moloney lost his WBO bantamweight belt to Japan's Yoshiki Takei at a packed Tokyo Dome as the co-main event of undisputed super-bantamweight world champion Naoya Inoue's KO win over Mexican Luis Nery.
Moloney was behind on the cards for most of the fight but came alive in the final round trying to score a knockdown, yet it was a little too late.
READ MORE: 'Not a gender issue': Bizarre claim as Billy blasts 'cowards'
READ MORE: 'Going to be shocked': Gould, Gal clash on Origin call
READ MORE: 'Outgunned' Aussie loses world title in Japan
Takei, fighting for the title in just his ninth fight, was declared the winner by unanimous decision, with the judges scoring the bout 117-110, 116-111 and 116-111 in his favour.
Fenech questioned why Moloney travelled to Tokyo to put his title on the line and was critical of his team's instructions in between rounds.
"The Japanese kid got tired near the end. In my honest opinion, he was tired as and Moloney didn't do nothing until the last round," Fenech told Wide World of Sports.
"The instructions he got in between rounds were terrible, that's my opinion. I know those guys. What I saw in the eighth round was a tired guy and if he would have jumped on him, there's no doubt Moloney would have stopped him and retained the title.
"These guys aren't paying Moloney to go to Tokyo unless they thought he (Moloney) couldn't win. It was a crazy decision by those guys.
"I know the Japanese kid only had eight fights, but he can fight. It wasn't a good move to take that fight."
Moloney joins a number of Aussies who have lost their champion status over recent months, with Ebanie Bridges, Tim Tszyu and Jai Opetaia (stripped) losing their belts.
George Kambosos fights for the IBF and IBO lightweight titles at Perth's RAC Arena against Vasily Lomachenko this weekend, while Skye Nicolson became WBC world featherweight champ last month.
Fenech believes Tim Tszyu should still have his title following his controversial loss to Sebastian Fundora in March and that Jai Opetaia will find his way back to the belt.
"It's sad that we've lost those world titles but Australian boxing is still strong. We need people who know about our sport," he said.
"Jai will be world champion again. Boxing just rorted Jai. I'm happy for Skye.
"Like Tim Tszyu, that fight should have been finished in the fourth round and he's still the world champion. The doctor should have called that off.
"It's not always how we want it to be, but there are rules and laws and if you know how to make the most of them, Tim would still be world champion."
Another Aussie gunning for a world title is Sam Goodman, who is the IBF's mandatory challenger to one of Inoue's titles.
Inoue knocked out Nery in the sixth round to successfully defend his IBF, WBA, WBA and WBO belts in front of 55,000 fans.
Goodman called out Inoue at the Tokyo Dome last night, with promoters confirming a September bout with the Aussie and the Japanese superstar is likely.
Inoue, is viewed as one of the pound-for-pound kings of boxing and has rarely been challenged in the ring, although he was dropped in the first round by Nery, which was his first ever knockdown of his career.
While Fenech respects Goodman's confidence, he believes taking on Inoue is akin to boxing "suicide".
"Sam's a great prospect, but listen, if they think he can beat Inoue… when he gets beaten, you've got to come back from that and it won't be the same, because you have these little self doubts.
"I don't know what they're doin'. It's suicide. When Inoue won his first title I was training the Mexican against him. I know how good he is.
"It's great to be confident but then again it's my job as a trainer and manager to be like, 'this is not the route we need to take. Let's wait. Become world champion and if we're going to become world champion let's not get knocked out.' But good luck to them. Money's one thing but maybe money is the only thing for these guys."
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.