Moloney Challenges Garcia for IBF Super Flyweight Title in Nagoya

Andrew Moloney will fight IBF super flyweight champion Willibaldo Garcia in Nagoya, Japan on Saturday. The 35-year-old Australian holds a professional record of 28-4, while Garcia enters with a record of 23-6-2. The contest marks Garcia's first defence of the title.

Moloney made weight on Friday after spending almost five weeks at trainer Angelo Hyder's gym away from his family. He arrived in Japan a week ago and will not reunite with his wife, children and a travelling party of about 30 supporters until after the fight.

"I spent four weeks on the [Hyder] farm, cut out all distractions and anything that wasn't going to help me win this fight," Moloney told AAP from Japan.

Moloney said the extended preparation produced a distinct sense of calm. "It's a calm feeling, going in knowing you've done absolutely everything possible," he said. "I always pride myself on my preparation for every fight, but this one, I've found another couple of per cent in everything.

Two years earlier Moloney had retired after a controversial loss to Pedro Guevara in Perth for the WBC interim super flyweight title, alleging corruption. The former Commonwealth Games champion and former WBA super flyweight titleholder later returned, winning two bouts to secure another world title opportunity 12 years after his professional debut.

Garcia's camp offered Moloney approximately US$250,000 to step aside from the mandatory challenge.

Moloney declined and will earn about one-fifth of that amount for the title fight. Last year he trained for a month in Mexico for a world title eliminator against Argi Cortes that was cancelled after organisers twice changed the date and attempted to move the bout to Mexico City on five days' notice. The IBF granted Moloney mandatory challenger status after he withdrew from the Cortes bout.