Andrew Moloney on professional transition, early wins and more

 
ALTHOUGH he is in the early stages of his professional career, the paid ranks have clearly taken kindly to Andrew Moloney.

 
As expected, the Commonwealth Games gold medallist has stormed through his opposition thus far, scoring two quick wins late last year over a short two month duration to end an impressive year in style.

 
“My last fight ended up being a very short night,” said Moloney in an exclusive interview with Aus-Boxing. “The fight was for the Victorian title so it was scheduled for eight rounds.”

 
“The opponent we chose had never been stopped before in any of his previous losses so we were expecting to get some tough rounds and more experience in the ring as a professional.”

 
“He came out swinging wild in the first round and I caught him with a really good body shot which ended it,”

 
The Mooroolbark based Moloney, 24, opens his 2015 campaign on Friday night at the Royal Exhibition Building against battle-tested Filipino Gerpaul Valero (18-16-3, 12 KOs), who will attempt to break Moloney’s impressive knockout streak.

 
“I have watched footage of Valero and I am expecting a hard fight,” added Moloney.

 
“I believe he is better than what his record shows as most of his losses were very early in his career. He looks to be a strong boy but I have trained extremely hard and I’m confident of getting the win.”

 
Like previous amateur standouts before him, Moloney hasn’t had any local opponents voice interest in a domestic showdown. But when we quizzed the talented prospect on the presumed difficulty his team have had to find willing opponents, Moloney was strictly business in his response.

 
“I couldn’t tell you if it has been hard to find opponents because that’s not my job and we have people who do that part for me,” quipped Moloney. “All I do is train hard and prepare myself to beat whoever is in the ring with me on the night,”

 
However, Moloney was quick to praise the efforts of his new strength program, which he believes is paying dividends, given his strong finishes against both Willem Marahina and more recently Jonathan Ligas.

 
“I have had two early stoppages so far and I credit that to my strength and conditioning coach Mark Ottobre from Enterprise Fitness in Melbourne,”

 
“He is extremely good at what he does and since training with him my strength and power has improved massively,” Moloney continued. “I’m sure there will be plenty more knockouts to come,”

 
For Moloney, the fight against Valero will be a second consecutive outing at the iconic Royal Exhibition Building, a venue which hasn’t been associated with boxing for decades on end. Given his brief three minute acquaintance with the venue last time out, Moloney is understandably eager to familiarise himself with the aptly titled dome.

 
“The Royal Exhibition Building is a great venue, said Moloney in closing. “It’s a very impressive looking place and it’s great to see more venues showcasing boxing in Melbourne.”

 
 
Photo: Marty Camilleri/Marty’s Knockout Photography