Moloney twins recap successful 2015 campaign

 
UNBEATEN twins Andrew and Jason Moloney have wasted little time since ditching their head guards and singlets.

 
The boxing brothers competed six times in 2015 – three apiece – with each lifting their own form of silverware in the shape of the Australian bantamweight and WBA Oceania super bantamweight titles, respectively.

 
Having earned a break over the festive period, the Moloney’s are now able to look back on a successful year which has seen them set up shop at a handful of renowned boxing institutions in both the US and the Philippines.

 
“I am really happy with how everything went, it was a great way to finish the year,” remarked Andrew.

 
The lighter Moloney twin (now 5-0, 3 KOs) captured national honours in his last fight, flattening the durable Roberto Lerio in four heats to lift his second professional title at Malvern Town Hall in December.

 
Recapping his latest performance, Andrew revealed how much the moment and win meant to him.

 
“Lerio was definitely my biggest test so far in my pro career – he always comes to fight – and he has been in there with all the best guys in the lower weight divisions,”

 
“I knew this was going to be a tough fight and that why I trained so hard for this and also went over to the Philippines to prepare as best I could. I put in a lot of hard work for this fight and it all paid off,”

 
“I would say this was my second best experience in boxing, second to winning the Commonwealth Games gold medal in Glasgow. I think the only thing that will top that is winning a world title,”

 
As for next year and beyond? Andrew just wants to keep active and compete as much as possible.

 
“My main focus for 2016 is to stay busy and improve every time I enter the ring,” he concluded.

 
“I want to have at least five fights next year.”

 
Much like his accomplished brother, Jason Moloney (5-0, 5 KOs) was equally impressive in his last display.

 
The 24-year-old Croydon resident took the undefeated record of previously undefeated Filipino Markquil Salvana, who was withdrawn from the ten-round regional title fight due to severe swelling around his right eye.

 
“I was very happy to finish 2015 with a massive win against a solid opponent in Markquil Salvana,” said Jason.

 
“We knew absolutely nothing about Salvana going into the fight,” he admitted. “We weren’t able to find any footage of him at all. All we knew was that he was undefeated and we were looking forward to facing a big test,”

 
“Overall I was happy with my performance. My fitness felt fantastic and I feel I was able to correct a few mistakes I made in my last fight which I was very happy about,”

 
“At this stage in my career I think it is important to improve with every fight and I definitely feel I did that,”

 
Despite his relative inexperience in the paid ranks, Jason is confident that his recently acquired regional title will put him in the mix for an eventual shot at world honours, with the WBA world title presently held by Scott Quigg.

 
“Winning the Oceania title will give me a top fifteen rating with the WBA, which is a massive step forward in me achieving my dream of becoming a world champion,”

 
“Unfortunately Australian boxers had a pretty rough year on the big stage,” said Jason in closing. “I’m really determined to change this trend in the years to come.”

 
 
Photo: Marty Camilleri/Marty’s Knockout Photography