Top Rank confirm Inoue Vs Moloney for October 31st!
Earlier today Top Rank announced their line up of shows for October and finally confirmed the date of Naoya Inoue's (19-0, 16) [井上 尚弥] bout against Jason Moloney (21-1, 18), which is now set for October 31st in the US, which means it'll be shown on November 1st in Inoue's homeland of Japan.
The bout had looked a done deal for a while, though reports were that Top Rank were waiting on the green light from Japan broadcasters, who have strongly backed Inoue's rise through the ranks, and their financial backing.
The bout will see Inoue make his Top Rank debut and defending his WBA "Super" and IBF Bantamweight titles against the once Moloney in what should be a fantastic fight.
Inoue, who has fought in the US once before, officially aligned with Top Rank after his WBSS triumph last November against Nonito Donaire. That was Inoue last bout, and his toughest by far. The bout saw him suffer from some facial injuries that had seen him needing some recovery time. Despite that he had been pencilled in to fight in April, against WBO champion Johnriel Casimero. Sadly that bout fell through due to the on going global situation. That left both men waiting, and eventually they went their own way, with Casimero now set to defend his title in September against Duke Micah.
As for Moloney this will be his third bout in the US. His US debut came in the WBSS, when he was narrowly beaten by Emmanuel Rodriguez in a quarter final bout, had he won that he would actually have faced Inoue in the semi-final. Since that loss he has reeled off 4 straight stoppages, including a win over Leonardo Baez this past July in his first win on US soil. He'll be looking to build on that form, and that win, here as he takes on the biggest test of his career.
At the moment no details have been released about the under-card though Top Rank do work with Inoue's Ohashi Gym stablemate Andy Hiraoka (15-0, 10) [平岡アンディ], who was also pencilled in for the April card and could end up on this one as well.
For a full line up of the confirmed bouts from Top Rank we've included their tweet below, and we expect a press conference in the coming days from Ohashi and Inoue to confirm the bout, and the live Japanese broadcaster.
The bout had looked a done deal for a while, though reports were that Top Rank were waiting on the green light from Japan broadcasters, who have strongly backed Inoue's rise through the ranks, and their financial backing.
The bout will see Inoue make his Top Rank debut and defending his WBA "Super" and IBF Bantamweight titles against the once Moloney in what should be a fantastic fight.
Inoue, who has fought in the US once before, officially aligned with Top Rank after his WBSS triumph last November against Nonito Donaire. That was Inoue last bout, and his toughest by far. The bout saw him suffer from some facial injuries that had seen him needing some recovery time. Despite that he had been pencilled in to fight in April, against WBO champion Johnriel Casimero. Sadly that bout fell through due to the on going global situation. That left both men waiting, and eventually they went their own way, with Casimero now set to defend his title in September against Duke Micah.
As for Moloney this will be his third bout in the US. His US debut came in the WBSS, when he was narrowly beaten by Emmanuel Rodriguez in a quarter final bout, had he won that he would actually have faced Inoue in the semi-final. Since that loss he has reeled off 4 straight stoppages, including a win over Leonardo Baez this past July in his first win on US soil. He'll be looking to build on that form, and that win, here as he takes on the biggest test of his career.
At the moment no details have been released about the under-card though Top Rank do work with Inoue's Ohashi Gym stablemate Andy Hiraoka (15-0, 10) [平岡アンディ], who was also pencilled in for the April card and could end up on this one as well.
For a full line up of the confirmed bouts from Top Rank we've included their tweet below, and we expect a press conference in the coming days from Ohashi and Inoue to confirm the bout, and the live Japanese broadcaster.
□ JUST □ ANNOUNCED □
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) September 8, 2020
TR on ESPN & ESPN+ in October includes ...
□ #LomaLopez
□ #InoueMoloney
□ #NavarreteVilla
□ #BeterbievDeines
□ #ZepedaBaranchyk
... what else really needs to be said? pic.twitter.com/Vd7qiC08Kw