Irish amateur star Kieran Molloy, a 23-year-old southpaw from Galway, has signed a multi-year professional contract with Top Rank. Molloy, who is managed by Michael and Jamie Conlan’s Conlan Boxing, will make his long-awaited professional debut as a junior middleweight in early 2022.
Molloy is the latest Irish prodigy to ink a deal with Top Rank, a list that includes Tokyo Olympian Kurt Walker and undefeated welterweight prospect Paddy Donovan. He holds amateur wins over the likes of Donovan and undefeated welterweight prospect Quinton Randall.
“Top Rank has a long history of promoting many of the top Irish fighters, and I have the utmost confidence that Kieran Molloy can bring a world title home to Ireland,” said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum.
“I’m delighted to be signing with Top Rank, the biggest promotional team in world boxing,” Molloy said. “This opportunity enables me to become a future world champion. I’m excited to showcase my skills on the biggest stage.”
Added Jamie Conlan, “I’m very excited to see Kieran Molloy under the Top Rank banner, and most importantly under the experienced eyes of matchmakers Bruce Trampler and Brad Goodman. Top Rank has certainly found a diamond in the rough. I am looking forward to seeing how they shape Kieran’s career.”
Molloy turns the page to the paid ranks after winning Irish Senior Elite National titles in 2018, 2019 and 2021. Representing the famed Oughterard Boxing Club, he won a total of 11 national titles and fared well outside of his home nation, taking home a bronze medal at the 2018 EU Championships in Valladolid, Spain, and winning a Haringey Box Cup title in 2017. He started boxing at the age of 6, and within a decade, he already had a AIBA World Junior Championships bronze medal to his name.
Molloy closed out his amateur career in October with a unanimous decision over longtime rival Luke Maguire to win his third Irish title in four years.