Andrew and Jason Moloney make Las Vegas a home away from home for sake of world title fight
Aussie boxing twins Andrew and Jason Moloney are comfortably at home in Las Vegas, where Andrew will defend his WBA super flyweight title in June, after defying strict US border restrictions to get there.
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Andrew Moloney removes his face mask for photographs around Las Vegas and little else.
Same as he stays cautious with anything he touches.
Even when training inside a Top Rank gym now being sprayed daily with disinfectant.
A fortnight ago, Australia’s No.1 fighter was labouring on a Kingscliff job site.
Unsure if he would fight again this year.
“Yet now I’m in Las Vegas, preparing for a world title fight,” he said this week from his new US home. “It really is incredible”.
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While a large chunk of the US remains in lockdown, The Daily Telegraph can provide an exclusive look inside ‘Camp Moloney’ as the 29-year-old prepares to defend his WBA super flyweight title some time in June.
Only last week, the champ and his twin brother Jason, a No.2 ranked bantamweight, jetted into the world’s fight capital at the request of US promoter Bob Arum, who is preparing to reignite the sport within weeks.
Better, he wants Australia’s boxing brothers as part of it.
Which is why apart from flying the Moloneys halfway around the world, Arum has also put them up in a sprawling two-storey house complete with a pool, jacuzzi, games room and large grassed yard for training.
Given the brothers passed COVID-19 tests on Thursday, they are also now officially the first boxers allowed inside the exclusive Top Rank gymnasium for training and sparring.
Elsewhere, the twins have also taken to filling their downtime with games of ping pong, watching old fight videos and, most importantly, logging in for video chats with their young families back home in Australia.
Andrew and wife Chelsea have a son, Lee, who is about to turn one.
Jason and his partner Jorja, meanwhile, have a daughter, Isla, who is now 14 months old.
“And being away from them for an unknown amount of time, it’s a big sacrifice,” Jason conceded.
“We’ll spend five, maybe six weeks here in Las Vegas before we fight.
“Then even when do we eventually get back home, we’ll go into quarantine for another 14 days – meaning we won’t see our families for two months or more.
“But these are the sacrifices you make to achieve your dreams.”
Asked about their new life in Las Vegas, Andrew added: “We’re really fortunate with the house Top Rank have provided.
“And the gym was sprayed down Monday so we’re able to use that at allocated times too.
“Still, it's been a strange experience.
“Coming into the US, San Francisco airport was a ghost town, there were around five other flights on the board when we arrived.
“Our flight out of Sydney, too only had about 40 people, and everyone in masks.
“Even now in Las Vegas, the strip itself is still dead.
“But for us now, we’re here and into our training camp ... we just can’t wait to fight.”
Trumped: How Aussie boxers beat COVID freeze for shock US entry
Over the past 24 hours, Andrew Moloney has been asked the same question on loop.
Specifically, how the bloody hell did you do it?
With most of the planet still locked down by COVID-19, how did Australia’s sole boxing champion manage to travel 14,000km – and on three flights, no less — for what now shapes as a blockbuster Las Vegas title fight in June.
Think about it.
When Andrew and twin brother Jason jetted out of Sydney late last week, you still couldn’t go for coffee.
And even now with pubs still waiting to serve beers, these boxing brothers are bunkered down in a sprawling house which, just off a still deserted Las Vegas strip, is being paid for by no less than famed US promoter Bob Arum.
Which has obviously raised more than a couple of eyebrows.
“And I get it,” Andrew told The Daily Telegraph on Wednesday, having just completed a training session with his brother inside their new digs.
“After seeing our story in the paper this week, I’m sure plenty of people have thought to themselves ‘who are these blokes?’.
“And that’s because, right now, Jason and I are underrated in Australia.
“A lot of people are still unaware of the level we’re fighting at.”
But when that becomes clear, well, you don’t need to ask that opening question anymore.
Put simply, Andrew Moloney is the No.1 boxer in Australia right now.
A WBA super flyweight champion whose ability – and belt – is why Arum has flown both he and brother Jason, a No.2-ranked bantamweight, into the US to be part of boxing’s hyped return in June.
“And defending a world title in Las Vegas, it’s what you dream about,” Andrew added. “It’s why we jumped on a plane as soon as we could.”
Better, Australia’s No.1 fighter is also now helping UFC featherweight champ Alex Volkanovski earn his own US title fight.
As recently as Tuesday, Volkanovski was convinced the only way he would fight any time soon was as part of the ‘Fight Island’ concept being finalised by UFC president Dana White.
But then, he was alerted to The Daily Telegraph’s Moloney story.
“So Alex reached out and we’ve since been in contact,” Andrew explained. “I’ve told him if he needs help with anything, including the application process, he just needs to let me know.
“And it would be the same with (UFC middleweight) Rob Whittaker.
“Given the level those two guys are at, I’m sure they could also get into the US if they apply.”
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Certainly, the Moloney brothers have received their share of calls, texts and social media messages in recent days.
Everyone wanting in on the secret to a journey that, late last week, saw these fighting twins travel from their homes in Kingscliff to Brisbane airport, where they then caught a flight to Sydney, stayed overnight, then flew on to San Francisco before finally getting a third flight into Las Vegas.
“So a lot of people have been reaching out,” Andrew explained. “Wanting to know how we got over here.
“And while the paperwork is a big thing, another key ingredient is having a world title.
“(Laughs) I’ve told people who are wanting to get over here they might have to get hold of one of those too.”
Originally published as Andrew and Jason Moloney make Las Vegas a home away from home for sake of world title fight