When WBO bantamweight titleholder Jason Moloney steps onto the scales in Quebec, Canada on January 12, there will be a lot on his mind.

He will be thinking about the rough and tumble challenger Saul Sanchez standing beside him. His mind will drift to the Christmas feast he missed with his wife and two young daughters half a world away back home in Australia while he was in training camp.

And he will think of the value of sacrifice and what it means to him and his family.

“Everyone wants to have a bit of time off this time of year,” Moloney (26-2, 19 KOs) said in an exclusive interview with The Ring one day before he flew out from his homeland to finish his camp in Las Vegas. “No one wants to be getting punched in the face on Christmas morning.”

The 32-year-old Australian is less than a month out from his clash with Sanchez at Centre Videotron in Quebec City, Canada on the undercard of Arthur Beterbiev’s WBC, WBO and IBF light heavyweight title defense against Callum Smith on January 13.

Moloney knows the sacrifices he has made to get to where is. And he knows the 26-year-old Sanchez (20-2, 12 KOs) of Pacoima, California will have made similar sacrifices for his first world title opportunity.

“Once you have that belt obviously you go from being the hunter to the hunted and everyone is going to bring their best version of themselves on fight night when they’re boxing for a title,” Moloney said.

“I expect he will be in tip-top shape and he’ll be ready to go, but ultimately if I fight to my strengths and I fight to the best of my ability, then I think I can break him down hopefully he doesn’t hear the final bell.”

Delivering a knockout performance is important to Moloney, who will be making the first defense of the vacant strap he won against hard-nosed Filipino Vincent Astrolabio in Stockton, California in May. That bout was ruled a majority decision in favor of Moloney by scores of 116-112, 115-113 and 114-114, although many astute observers felt the 32-year-old Australian deserved the nod by a much wider margin.

Jason Moloney (L) and Vincent Astrolabio (R) pose during the weigh in prior to their May 13 WBO bantamweight championship fight in Manteca, California. (Photo by Mikey Williams/Top Rank Inc via Getty Images)

The close scores have left a bitter taste in the mouth of Moloney, who is determined to take the decision out of the judges’ hands this time around.

“I think those scores were very generous to Astrolabio,” Moloney said. “I felt in complete control. Had it not been for my right hand giving me so much grief I would have liked to have gone through the gears a bit more and take him out, but I still felt like I won that fight easily.

“I don’t want to have any close fights or close rounds and leave it up to the judges. I want this fight to be a pretty decisive, dominant victory.”

Sanchez may not be widely known to fight fans, but subscribers to ProBox TV will remember him for his sixth-round knockout victory over Franklin Gonzalez (25-3, 25 KOs) in June. A wild, aggressive type with a strong lead left hook who invests heavily in the body, Sanchez will be looking to slow Moloney down through the mid rounds of the fight so that he can land his power shots late.

Moloney’s job is to prevent that from happening.

“I’ve actually known of him for a couple of years. I was going to have him as a sparring partner going back a few years ago to help me prepare for Joshua Greer, if my memory serves me correctly,” Moloney said.

“He’s a solid fighter. I know he’ll be looking to come forward and press the action like he generally does in all his fights. He appears to be a pretty strong bloke with a decent punch in both hands, so he’s dangerous and he’ll be extremely hungry of course, fighting for his first attempt at a world title, which is of course everyone’s dream. 

Saul Sanchez (left) vs. Franklin Gonzalez. Photo / @ProBox_TV

“I’m expecting a very hungry opponent, but I definitely see some flaws there and I definitely think that I’ve got him covered in most areas. I believe that I’ve got what it takes to beat him and have the first defense of the title and to hold on to it for a lot longer.” 

Moloney has settled into the Top Rank gym in Las Vegas, where he has finished off his preparations many times before. Amongst his sparring partners are former two-time world title challenger Arthur Villanueva and ex-opponent Francisco Javier Pedroza.

“It’s sort of hard,” Moloney admitted of being away from home. “You used the word distractions and they are, but I’m obviously very dedicated in the way that I put boxing first even when I am at home. But just being away from my family, being away from my two daughters for Christmas and things like that, there’s plenty of sacrifices I’m making for this fight so it all adds to the hunger and puts a little extra fire in the belly. It just helps you prepare even better when you’ve got to go away and make sacrifices like this.” 

The goal for 2024 is to fight as often as possible and finish the year as the Ring Magazine champion. (If Moloney, The Ring’s No. 1-rated bantamweight, were to rematch No. 2-rated Emmanuel Rodriguez, the vacant title would be on the line.)

“I’m hoping to go January, April and then hopefully get three fights minimum, but I’d love to get four fights in the next year and collect another couple of belts along the way,” Moloney said. 

“I’m not looking past January 13, but I’m just excited to kick off the year straight away and get some momentum going. Obviously I’ve got the belt, but I really want to make this a breakout year where we finish 2024 and everyone knows who the number one bantamweight in the world is.”

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