Andrew Moloney's decades of hard knocks and significant sacrifice have paid off after the Australian challenger won a 12-round war to claim the IBF super flyweight world title in Japan.
The 35-year-old mandatory opponent knocked back almost $350,000 to step aside and instead take on Mexican champion Willibaldo Garcia, collecting barely a fifth of that sum for the chance to claim the belt.
Moloney had sensationally quit the sport two years ago after a controversial loss in Perth but reversed his call and, after two bounce back wins, was rewarded with a majority decision (115-113, 114-114, 115-113) in Aichi.
