Aussie boxing icon Jeff Fenech admits he was so traumatized by Andrew Moloney’s brutal knockout that he cried – as he blasts the fighter’s corner for not stopping the fight: ‘This kid will never be the same’
- Jeff Fenech says Andrew Moloney KO made him cry
- The boxing legend believes the fight should be stopped
- Fenech said Moloney was ‘not going to win’ the fight
Jeff Fenech has revealed that Andrew Moloney’s knockout brought him to tears as the Aussie boxing legend slammed the fighter’s corner for not stopping his world title bout on Sunday.
A brave Moloney failed to match his twin brother Jason’s world title-winning achievement when he was left out cold in the 12th round by Japan’s Junto Nakatani in Las Vegas.
Moloney showed great toughness to get within 18 seconds of going the distance after being knocked down in the second and 11th rounds of Saturday’s fight for the vacant WBO junior bantamweight title.
Just when the 32-year-old Australian looked to be going in at the final bell, he was shattered by a thunderous left hook to the head.
However, Fenech believes the fight should not have gone to the final round, insisting it should have been stopped when the Japanese fighter was leading on points and Moloney picked up a serious injury.
Boxing legend Jeff Fenech gets emotional as he watches Andrew Moloney get brutally knocked out in Las Vegas
Moloney failed to match his twin brother Jason’s world title-winning achievement when he stopped in brutal fashion (pictured) by Junto Nakatani
‘Look the kid is not going to win,’ Fenech told foxsports.com.au
‘What you have to do is preserve the kid for the next two fights because he’s up against a very good champion. You don’t have to hit another 100 times.
‘It’s at my father’s grave and I’m sitting here with my wife and son saying, “I wish he’d stopped it, it might have only taken one punch”. I didn’t think it was going to happen until he was knocked out but you can take one punch too many… it hurts, this kid will never be the same, you know.
‘The corner is very bad. What you should do is take care of the kid… just tell the fighter, “I know you’re going to hate me for this but we’re going to look after you so we can win another world title when we. get another chance.”
‘You don’t need to be punished anymore. You don’t have to take the chance of getting hit.’
Fenech, a four-time world champion and known for his ability to take damage, has changed some of his thoughts on boxing in recent years after seeing his friend Mario Fenech suffer from early onset dementia .
‘There comes a time where you have to honestly think about your health and evaluate what you’re doing these days and my whole outlook on boxing and life and sport has changed because I’ve seen [it with] my best friend Mario Fenech … this doesn’t have to happen to anyone else if we can help it,’ Fenech said.
‘Even after Round 11 he said he was going to stop, why couldn’t he stop? It’s round 12, you can’t win the fight. He won’t knock the man down. He does not hurt the man.
Fenech believes the fight should have been stopped by the Aussie’s corner before the 12th
Fenech described Moloney’s corner as ‘terrible’ and said the Aussie would ‘never be the same’ after losing to the Japanese knockout specialist
‘Be smart, check things. I saw the referee look several times. I hope the referee stopped it because I saw him look, he wanted to stop it but he didn’t get hit with that one big punch but still, he got hit with 50 more punches which can be worse than one big one.
‘It’s just really sad. I was watching with my husband and we were both in tears. We love the Moloney boys.
‘… I got sick. I got sick. I was in tears, I was emotional. It doesn’t have to happen. I’m not saying Moloney isn’t trying but the match isn’t close. He won’t win the fight. What does he get out of showing how tough he is for another round in 20 years? What does he have to show from that?’
Commentators described the stunning blow as a ‘gunshot’ and said the Aussie would need immediate medical attention.
Australian boxing commentator Ben Damon said Moloney had punctured both eardrums in the fight in a post-knockout tweet and the fighter was rushed to University Medical Center for post-fight evaluation.
Fortunately, Moloney was released from the hospital.
