Former WBO bantamweight Jason Moloney has traded blows with the best in his division and now intends to show he still belongs there.

Moloney, rated at No. 7 by The Ring at bantamweight, will face up-and-coming Tenshin Nasukawa at the Ariake Arena, Tokyo, Japan, on February 24.

"I'm really excited for this fight," Moloney (27-3, 19 knockouts) told Ring. "This is a huge opportunity for me, Tenshin is regarded as a potential star on the rise, a fighter with a huge following (803.4k followers on Twitter/ X and 1.1 million on Instagram) and a high world ranking.

"Beating Tenshin will really fast track me back into title contention and back where I want to be, at the top of the division."

The 34-year-old Australian, who only yielded his WBO crown to Yoshiki Takei, last May, will return for the first time.

Moloney recognizes Nasakawa's undoubted talent but also see's areas he can exploit.

"He is a good fighter with very fast hands and a good eye, so it's important that I stay focused throughout the whole fight.

"He has limited experience as a professional boxer and is taking a big step up in competition. I respect him and his team for taking this challenge. I'll use all my experience and I'll do whatever it takes to win this fight."

Moloney feels the facing the upstart is the quickest and best way for him to get back into a world championship fight with all four bantamweight titles currently residing in Japan.

"That why I'm preparing so hard for this fight and doing everything I can to make sure this is the best performance of my career," he explained. "I know what winning this fight does for me and my career and I'm extremely hungry to make it happen."

In preparation, Moloney says he's left no stone uncovered.

"I've been training extremely hard since losing my world title back in May," he said. "Doing everything possible to get better and improve as much as possible."

"I trained hard at home in Australia, I had three great sparring partners, one Japanese, one Filipino and one Aussie. All giving me great work and pushing me every day."

As well as Nasukawa-Moloney, the same event will see two bantamweight title fights and Moloney will be an interesting bystander.

The widely recognized No. 1 bantamweight, Junto Nakatani, will put his WBC title on the line against unbeaten Mexican David Cuellar and recently minted WBA ruler Seiya Tsutsumi will rematch Daigo Higa.

"Yes, it's a great card of exciting fights," he said. "I think Nakatani will win the main event and Seiya Tsutsumi will win his fight too. I'm really looking forward to watching those fights too."

And while it's safe to say if Moloney emerges victorious that he would like to face the winners of those title fights, he refused to be drawn on the subject.

"My full focus is beating Tenshin, nothing else is on my mind right now," he said. "Obviously, my goal is to become world champion again but right now all I think about is beating Tenshin."

Meanwhile, his long-time manager, Tony Tolj, welcomes the opportunity to return to Japan.

"Life is a risk, we back ourselves all the way," he said. "Japan has all the world champions and we know we need to beat Tenshin to make a statement in Japan. Jason is ready for the challenge. February 24 'Mayhem' is coming."

Nasukawa (5-0, 2 KOs), who was the subject of a Ring Magazine New Faces in the June 2024 digital edition, made a name for himself in Karate before becoming a superstar in kickboxing, where he won all 42 matches and later enjoyed further success in MMA. Such is his popularity; he met Floyd Mayweather Jr. in an exhibition in 2019.

The 26-year-old made his boxing debut beating Yuki Yonaha (UD 6) in April 2023. Since then, he has improved each fight and last time out scored a dominant decision over Gerwin Asilo (UD 10).