By Anthony Cocks
Super flyweight contender Andrew Moloney (27-4, 14 KOs) will return to the ring for the first time in almost a year when he takes on little-known Pawan Kumar (8-3, 6 KOs) over 10 rounds at Vodafone Arena in Suva, Fiji, tonight (November 1st).
Moloney has had mixed fortunes in recent years. The 34-year-old Australian has lost two of his past four outings dating back to 2023. Loses to world-class operators Junto Nakatani and Pedro Guevara were evened out by confidence-building victories over Judy Flores and Jakrawut Majungoen.
Moloney is expected to land a shot at the IBF title, currently held by Willibaldo Garcia (23-6-2, 13 KOs) next year. The Mexican champion will first have to get past former multi-weight world champion Kenshiro Teraji (25-2, 16 KOs) of Japan. That fight will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on December 17.
Moloney’s fight against Kumar was the result of a tragic accident. The 26-year-old Indian was originally scheduled to face Moloney’s stablemate Zhou Runqi before the Chinese boxer was forced to withdraw from the bout after being the victim of a knife attack on a bus in what was believed to be a racially motivated attack.
Runqi was hospitalised. The two attackers were subsequently arrested.
And Kumar was left without an opponent.
This is when Moloney, who shares a manager with Runqi in Tony Tolj, decided to step in.
“This Saturday night I will be stepping into the ring against Indian super bantamweight Pawan Kumar at the Vodafone Arena in Suva, Fiji,” Moloney posted to Instagram.
“My fight for the IBF world title is looking to be sometime around April next year so rather sit back and wait my team and I decided it would be best to get some time in the ring.
“I can’t wait to get back between those ropes and show all of the work I’ve put in this year!
“It’s been a frustrating year with inactivity so I want to thank my team of sponsors for sticking by me and allowing me to continue chasing my dreams.”
