Jason Moloney was supposed to pick up a victory in the second half of last year after becoming WBO bantamweight world champion in May.
After falling short of his other two world titles, Moloney finally fulfilled his childhood dream with a majority decision victory over Vincent Astrolabio.
Enjoy the wild celebrations, victory laps and a series of title defenses, right?
not exactly.
Watch Moloney vs. Sanchez and Beterbiev vs. Smith on Sunday 14 January, at 12pm AEST | Order now with Main Event on Kayo Sports
Moloney broke his hand early in the Astrolabio fight and fought bravely through the pain, but was sidelined for the rest of the year.
Now fully fit again, Moloney will be back this weekend when he defends his title against Saul Sanchez on the undercard to Artur Beterbiev and Callum Smith for the world light heavyweight title in Quebec.
However, Moloney said the long layoff took a psychological toll.
“It was tough,” he said. “It was great to finally become a world champion, and then I injured my hand fighting and it was really hard not to fight again for the rest of the year.
“I'm always in the gym and I want to be active – I'm at the peak of my career – so I really want to fight three or four times a year.
“Fighting just one battle was very difficult but it was necessary.”
The affable Moloney also has a chip on his shoulder.
Even though he is a legitimate world champion, beating everyone he needs to, there is still doubt about it.
Not to mention Takuma Inoue, Alexandro Santiago and former challenger Emmanuel Rodriguez, who hold the other three belts in the 118-pound division.
“Once you become world champion it means you are the best in the world, but there are still a lot of opinions about who is the best bantamweight,” Moloney said.
“After I won the belt, The Ring magazine put me in first place which was a huge honour, but I think a lot of people felt like I wasn't in first place.
“There is still speculation about who is the best welterweight in the world and I just want to prove that it is me by putting in a dominant performance against Sanchez.”
At 20-2 Sanchez, Moloney has an opponent in the game who will bring the fight to him.
The 26-year-old Californian is attack-minded, tackles well but tends to break free when he sees an opportunity.
“He’s an aggressive, progressive fighter and I like that,” Moloney said.
“I want them to be aggressive, and the more aggressive he gets, and the more he wants it, the easier it is to get rid of him.
“That's the beautiful part of this sport. It's hard to take down survivors, but someone who wants to win and wants to put up a fight, that's a dangerous recipe.
“I know he's very hungry and he's coming forward and throwing strong punches.
“He wants you to sit in front of him but I think that's perfect for me.
“I will smash him and knock him out in an impressive way.”
Moloney said he probably could have returned last month, but the extra month of vacation made him stronger.
The 32-year-old doesn't think ring rust will be an issue after spending the offseason away from his young family at training camp in Las Vegas.
“It's something you think about but I've never had ring rust before,” he said.
“I've had a long camp, a lot of sparring, and my game has been getting better and better, especially over the last two weeks.
“I've felt really good in the gym and in sparring. I feel the best I've ever felt.”
