Tim Tszyu Leads Prominent Australian Boxers In 2024

Boxing is a popular sport in Australia, and many Aussies are currently hitting the limelight. The past year featured many Australians in different categories of fights across diverse tournaments. As it stands, Aussies are making it to the global stage, fighting for major honours in the WBO (World Boxing Organization), WBC (World Boxing Council), Olympics, Commonwealth Games, and IBF (International Boxing Federation). This article explores some of Australia’s top boxers to watch out for in 2024 as the year kicks off.

Prominent Australian Boxers In 2024

Australian Boxers: Timofei Konstantinovich Tszyu (Tim Tszyu)

Tim Tszyu is an Australian professional boxer of Russian descent. Born in Sydney to Russian parents, his father already has a history of professional boxing. Hence, Tim did not fall far away from the tree as he continued his father’s path by choosing a boxing career. His first interest, however, was in football. But he later opted to pursue a career in boxing at 15. His amateur boxing record was almost spotless, with just one defeat in 33 fights.

Read More: Five Underrated Middleweight Boxers to Look Out for in 2024

In December 2016, Tim Tszyu debuted in his first professional career fight and won by unanimous decision (UD) against Zorran Cassidy. Afterwards, he won the light middleweight bout against Wade Ryan. Tim defended his WBO light-middleweight title in October 2023 at the Gold Coast Convention Centre in Australia and won on a unanimous decision against Brian Mendoza. So far, he has maintained a 100% win record with 24 wins out of 24. 

His next fight against Keith Thurman will be held in Las Vegas in March in the debut of Premier Boxing Champions’ new pay-per-view initiative with Amazon Prime.

Jai Opetaia

Jai Opetaia is an Australian boxer born on June 30, 1995. Jai was born into a family of fighters with a rich history that dates back to the fourth generation. Hence, it is unsurprising that he had his first fight at the early age of 16. Jai participated in the Junior World Championship in 2011 to begin his journey into professional boxing. He defeated Melvin Perry in that final to win his first-ever junior boxing medal.

Since then, the Australian has continued his remarkable journey by competing in amateur fights to build a reputation for himself. He won another gold medal at the 2012 edition of the Australian Olympics. This was followed by another one in the Oceanic Olympics, where he was rewarded as the youngest Australian boxer to join the National Olympic team.

So far, Jai Opetaia has participated in 24 professional fights and maintained a 100% winning record. 19 have been through knockouts (KOs), with his most recent win coming in December 2023. He defeated Ellis Zorro via KO to retain the Ring Cruiserweight title. For gamblers, he is always a favourite at mobile online casinos in Australia, both for placing a bet or playing boxing-themed slots. One of these is the Boxing King Slot which features 5 x 5 reels and an energetic aura that recreates the same feeling as though you are in a live boxing arena. The game has an RTP of 97%, 88 paylines, and a 2000x maximum payout which is fantastic. 

Jason Moloney

Jason Moloney is a 33-year-old Australian Boxer. Popularly called “Mayhem,” he started his amateur career at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. In what was described as one of the best fights of the tournaments, he defeated Ireland’s Michael Conlan. But he went on to lose in the quarterfinals to Botswanas’ Oteng Oteng by a close point decision.

Read More: 5 Underrated Bantamweights to Watch Out for in 2024

Jason had his first taste of professional battle in the Super Bantamweight. He won via technical knockout against Chatri Sariphan. Afterwards, he went on to win his first-ever WBA Oceania in December 2015. Jason Moloney had his most recent fight in January 2024. He defended his WBO Bantamweight against Saul Sanchez after the 12th round. So far, he has participated in 29 contests with a massive 27 wins and just 2 losses. 19 of those victories have been via KO.

Skye Nicolson

Skye is one of the few female boxers who has continued putting Australia on the global boxing map. Born in August 1995, the Queensland-grown boxer began her early boxing career at the very early age of 12. But it was only in 2016 that she made her first amateur appearance at the World Championship, winning a bronze medal. In 2018, she won gold at the Gold Coast Commonwealth competition by a split decision against Michaela Walsh from Northern Ireland.

Skye Nicolson made her professional debut in March 2022 against Jessica Juarez, and she won by unanimous decision. Likewise, her first pro belt was in October when she won the inaugural edition of the female Commonwealth featherweight championship. Skye has continued to progress in boxing, winning all 9 fights in her professional career. She is the current WBC Featherweight Champion and is set to defend her title in 2024 against Sara Mahfoud.

Andrew Moloney

The Moloney brothers remain a constant force in the Australian boxing landscape. Popularly referred to as “The Monster,” Andrew started his amateur boxing career by representing Australia in several competitions from 2009 to 2015. Throughout the period, he raked in 14 titles at both the state and national levels. According to him, his proudest moment was in 2015 when he won the gold medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. The victory served as a stepping stone that unlocked his professional career.

Andrew’s first professional fight was in 2019 when he challenged Elton Dharry for the WBA Super-Flyweight title. He won by TKO after the eighth round to get his first professional title. Andrew has had a very successful career with just 3 losses out of 30 fights. He has 26 wins, 16 of which came via KO. His most recent defeat was a 12th-round KO against Junto Nakatani in a fight for the WBO super-flyweight title. But he returned with a win to claim the title against Judy Flores following a unanimous decision in December 2023.