WBC bantamweight titleholder Jason Moloney (27-2, 19KOs) will need to wait a little while longer to defend his belt on home soil after accepting a voluntary title defense against Yoshiki Takei (8-0, 8KOs) in Japan.

The bout will take place at the Tokyo Dome on May 6 on the undercard of the undisputed junior featherweight championship clash between Ring  champion Naoya Inoue (26-0, 23KOs) and Luis Nery (35-1, 27KOs). Also on the card, Takuma Inoue (19-1, 5KOs) will make the second defense of his WBA 118-pound title against Sho Ishida (34-3, 17KOs), and newly crowned WBA flyweight titleholder Seigo Yuri Akui (19-2-1, 11KOs) will put his belt on the line against Taku Kuwahara (13-1, 8KOs).

Australian Moloney, 33, was widely expected to make his next appearance on the undercard of the vacant IBF lightweight title fight between countryman George Kambosos Jr (21-2, 10KOs) and Ukrainian southpaw Vasiliy Lomachenko (17-3, 11KOs) at RAC Stadium in Perth, Western Australia on May 12.

But when the offer came in to box on a high profile card in Japan, the opportunity was simply too good to refuse.

“It came a little bit from left of field,” Moloney told The Ring. “Obviously I had my last fight in January and I was pretty sure even at that stage that a win there would place me on the Kambosos-Lomachenko undercard in Australia, which I was pretty excited about, to be honest. I wanted to have my world title defense in my home country, which would have been nice, especially on a big show like that. That was all pretty well locked in, but my manager Tony Tolj and trainer Angelo Hyder got the call up with the opportunity to fight in Japan.

“It was pretty hard decision to make. I was pretty excited to be fighting in Australia, but I’ve always wanted to fight in Japan as well. It’s always been a bit of a goal of mine. I did a training camp in Japan last year in January and I loved my time over there. I think they’re a great fighting country with a great culture, really humble warriors. I’ve always watched a lot of the Japanese fighters and have always admired their style and their humble approach.”

Japanese southpaw Takei, 27, may be little known in boxing circles, but he carved out a solid reputation for himself in his previous career as a kickboxer. Much of the available footage of him comes from his kickboxing days, but Moloney says he knows how to handle situations like these from lessons he learnt in the amateurs.

“Facing Takei is a bit of an unknown,” Moloney admitted. “But we’ve seen enough to get a fair idea of his style and the punches he likes to throw and how he likes to move. It takes me back to the amateur days where I had 80 fights against some of the best boxers in the world. Some of those fights you hadn’t seen the guy at all until you stepped into the ring with him and saw him throw his first punch. That’s where that sort of experience comes into play. But I think I’ve seen enough to get a fair grasp of his style and what he brings to the ring, what his strengths and weaknesses are. It’s just about going in there and trying to fight my fight, to fight to my strengths and take the fight out of his hands and make him very uncomfortable.”

If Moloney is successful against Takei, it would be a natural to pit him against Naoya Inoue’s younger brother Takuma, who delivered a career-best performance when he stopped former junior bantamweight titleholder Jerwin Ancajas (34-4-2, 23KOs) with a body shot in the ninth round in Tokyo last month.

“He was pretty impressive,” said Moloney, who The Ring rates at number two in the 118-pound weight class while Takuma Inoue is number five. “I think we can definitely see that Takuma is improving. It’s always going to be tough for him being in the shadow of his brother, everyone is always going to compare him, but I think he’s definitely shown that he is a good fighter in his own right. I thought that was a good performance, he hit him with a beautiful body shot and stopped him.

“Takuma and myself are both bouncing back from our last fights nice and quick, which is good. Everyone who wants to be a champion should be active and that’s what I want as well.

“It’s important for me to have an active year, as we spoke about last time. I only had the one fight last year, which was frustrating. This year I’ve fought in January, I will go around again in May, and hopefully another one or two this year would be fantastic.

Jason Moloney and Saul Sanchez battled tooth and nail for 12 thrilling rounds. Photo by Mikey Williams/Top Rank

“It’s certainly important for me to be active, but also to put in great performances each time out and make sure that people want to see me fight.”

The last time Moloney was in action was back in January when he faced livewire Saul Sanchez (20-3, 12KOs) in Quebec, Canada. In an action-packed brawl both boxers took turns winning rounds in the first half of the fight before Moloney gained the upper hand in the last four rounds.

By the time the final bell had rung, many fans and pundits were already shortlisting the bout for Fight of the Year. And while Moloney might’ve won, he didn’t leave the ring without the scars of battle.

“The Sanchez fight proved I’m willing to do whatever it takes to win and I can adapt to different styles. I’m not just a one-trick pony,” said Moloney, who suffered a cut over his right eye from an accidental clash of heads in the third round.

“It was definitely the sorest I’ve ever pulled up from a fight. I felt like I’d been hit by a truck. It took me a good week or two to come good, but that’s what comes with the territory of fighting a fight like that. But there was nothing serious, it was just bruises and a bit of a sore head. I healed up alright. Obviously a few stiches in the eye and things like that, but nothing serious anyway. I’ve healed up fine now and I got back in the gym straight away and was getting ready for the next one.”

The Tokyo Dome occupies a unique place in boxing history. The 57,000 seat baseball stadium was the place where Mike Tyson was unceremoniously relieved of his undisputed heavyweight championship by 40-1 underdog James ‘Buster’ Douglas on 11 February 1990. The venue has not hosted a boxing show since.

In addition to the Tokyo Dome, just a stone’s throw away is the Nippon Budokan where Australian boxing royalty Lionel Rose dethroned world bantamweight champion and International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee Fighting Harada 56 years ago.

The history of the area is not lost on Moloney, who wants to add to his own legacy in Tokyo.

“I was looking over at Japan and what they’re doing at the moment with these huge triple world title fight card, quadruple world title fight card, and putting on these huge shows,” Moloney said. “To be on an Inoue card at a sold-out Tokyo Dome with 55,000 people and no doubt millions of people watching around the world, it’s a big opportunity. We had to weigh up which way we wanted to go, taking the fight in Australia or in Japan. We ended up taking the fight in Japan and it’s something I’m really excited about, to be part of that huge show, but also to add my own little introduction to the Japanese market.

“I do have a little bit of a fanbase over there and I do get good support from the Japanese fans after my effort against Inoue [who he lost to in seven rounds in 2020], but I want to go over there and put on an impressive performance and beat their man Takei, who is undefeated. I want to make a really impressive second defense of the title and grow a bit of a fanbase in Japan. They’re obviously doing amazing things over there at the moment with these huge shows and giving the lighter weight guys some respect, which is great.”

It sounds like Aussie fight fans might be waiting a little while longer to see Moloney fight on home shores again.

“Who knows, I might end up having a few fights in Japan and having a few fights over there after this one for the next few years,” Moloney said.

“But first things first, I’ve got to make sure I go over there and do the job on Takei.”