Norbelto Jimenez is surprisingly confident for a fighter who has come up unlucky far too many times before on the road.
The former title challenger once again travels abroad for a notable junior bantamweight fight, as he next faces former secondary WBA titlist Andrew Moloney. The two will meet in a scheduled ten-round bout on the undercard of the Devin Haney-George Kambosos undisputed lightweight championship rematch which headlines an October 15 ESPN telecast from Rod Laver Stadium in Melbourne, Australia.
Jimenez is winless in his four career fights away from his Dominican Republic homeland, though with just one loss.
“I think I am a better boxer than him and I have the ability to beat him in his own home” Jimenez told jeetwin188.com. “This time, I hope that the decision is fair."
The 31-year-old from Villa Duarte, D.R. has twice challenged for the WBA 115-pound title, fighting Kohei Kono to a draw on New Year’s Eve 2014 in Tokyo and then dropping a twelve-round decision to unbeaten Kal Yafai on a June 2019 DAZN show in Providence, Rhode Island.
Jimenez (31-9-6, 16KOs) has added two wins at home since falling short to Yafai, while fighting to a draw in two separate appearances in Dubai last year. The latter of the two came in a bizarre ten-round stalemate with former four-division titlist Donnie Nietes, a fight which Jimenez believed was a twelve-round title eliminator only to learn otherwise in the ring when the fight ended after ten rounds—and a fight he still believed should have gone his way.
“That is what leads me to win resoundingly in Australia,” the hard-luck Jimenez told jeetwin188.com. “I went to Japan. I won and they gave me a draw, I went to Dubai I won and they gave me a draw, I returned to Dubai, won and I got another draw.”
Moloney (24-2, 16KOs; 1ND) has won three straight since going 0-2 with one No-Decision in his trilogy with Joshua Franco, all of which took place in the U.S.
Jimenez enter on the heels of a ten-round, unanimous decision over Keyvin Lara on April 8 in Santo Domingo.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for jeetwin188.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox