Australian super flyweight Andrew Moloney (26-3, 16 KOs) has had a change in opponent for his interim WBC title fight on the Vasiliy Lomachenko-George Kamabosos Jr undercard in Perth, Australia on May 12.

Super flyweight pioneer Carlos Cuadras was slated to collide with Moloney, but another Mexican in former flyweight world champion Pedro Guevara will now have the chance to be in pole position for Juan Francisco Estrada’s WBC world title instead. 

“Cuadras broke the news on social-media before we had the opportunity to announce the replacement,” Moloney said in an exclusive interview for . “About 20 minutes before we announced the Cuadras fight we got some news that he had ruptured his achilles, wouldn’t be able to fight and would have to get surgery. 

“I’m just thankful that Top Rank and my team were able to get such a top quality replacement. They did it so quickly, I think it was that day they already had Guevara locked in, and it is still for the WBC interim title. When they told me the news that Cuadras was out, I was pretty disappointed, but this the best possible result from that. It is still the same title against another Mexican legend, who’s a big name and only lost to the very best.” 

Cuadras got the nod when the two Mexican legends locked horns in a closely fought split-decision in Uzbekistan last November. Guevara did return to winning ways last month with a routine points win over Lamberto Macias in his native Mexico.

“It’s a very similar fight in many ways,” Moloney explained. “They both have similar records and are both Mexicans that have been former world champions. Guevara is someone that we were actually in talks to fight last year, it was an eliminator for the WBC title before the [Junto] Nakatani fight came up. We’ve already done a fair bit of study on Guevara, I know his style pretty well. It’s been quite easy to change the training slightly. Everything is on track. Guevara is very fundamentally sound, good boxing skill and good technique. 

“It’s funny how things work out. I know a lot of people who thought Guevara won his fight with Cuadras. There were two knockdowns given for Cuadras in that fight, the second one wasn’t really a knockdown. I’ll have to go back and watch it, but overall it was a difficult fight to score. It was extremely close. I would have an argument saying he probably won the fight. We’ve ended up with an opponent who is almost identical in level. Cuadras is probably more of a pressure fighter, there is a higher volume and will get a little more reckless than Guevara does. Guevara is a bit more of a boxer, he will prefer to stay at distance and box with that Mexican style. He goes to the body quite a lot, but a bit neater than Cuadras and has a little bit less volume.”

Moloney is currently in the mandatory position for Kosei Tanka’s WBO super flyweight title. A win against Guevara will also place Moloney in line for Estrada's green and gold belt. The Mexican pound-for-pound star won the vacant WBC belt with a majority decision win over Roman Gonzalez in December, 2022, and is slated to fight Jesse Rodriguez on June 29. 

“Obviously I’m focused on this fight for now, but I think a win sets me up for really big fights whether it is Estrada or another champion,” Moloney added. “I need to put on a good performance in this fight and show people that I’m one of the best in the division and have the talent to become world champion again. We will make a statement in this fight and I hope to fight for a world title next. 

“The Tanaka fight is still something I want to chase after this, even though he is the WBO champion. It would be a dream come true if we can share the ring with him, but If we can’t get Estrada I’m still very interested in the Tanaka fight. You have to take it one fight at a time because things can change so quickly. It's hard to plan things in advance. We will focus on Guevara for now. Either way it will open the door for some big fights if I put on a good performance.”