Former WBO bantamweight titlist Jason Moloney will make his return to action against Herlan Gomez on the Jai Opetaia-Huseyin Cinkara undercard come December 6.

It is the first step for Moloney as he bids to snap a two-fight losing streak, forfeiting his WBO bantamweight title to Yoshiki Takei last May and then a 10-round defeat by rising star Tenshin Nasukawa in February. Nasukawa (7-0, 2 KOs) will face Takuma Inoue for the vacant WBC title on November 24, two-and-a-half years after his professional debut.

"I'm really excited and truly grateful for this opportunity," Moloney (27-4, 19 KOs) told The Ring. "It's been a long and frustrating time away from the ring since February, but I've been working really hard to make sure this next chapter of my career is a successful one."

Moloney, The Ring's No. 9-rated bantamweight, comfortably climbed the rankings and stopped former titleholder Kohei Kono (TKO 6) in May 2018.

The 34-year-old then took part in the World Boxing Super Series (WBSS), and although losing against IBF titlist Emmanuel Rodriguez via 12-round split decision, the Australian boxer-puncher showed more than enough to suggest he belonged at world level.

After rebounding with four straight wins - all by knockout - he earned a shot at Ring and then-unified titleholder Naoya Inoue in October 2020 but was comfortably behind on the scorecards before suffering a devastating seventh-round stoppage loss.

Again, Moloney worked his way back up and beat Nawaphon Sor Rungvisai (UD 12) in a WBC title eliminator. When undisputed champion Inoue moved up in weight, the belts became vacant and Moloney bested Vincent Astrolabio (MD 12) to fill the WBO vacancy.

He defended his belt beating Saul Sanchez (MD 12) in an exciting fight, before losing it on points in Japan against Takei and was beaten by an even younger man in Nasukawa, 27.

Gomez (14-2, 10 KOs) has been a professional since 2019. The Filipino won his first five fights before losing in Thailand to future world title challenger Yuttapong Tondee (TKO 8).

The 26-year-old continued fighting in Thailand, stopping faded former world title challenger Komgrich Nantapech (KO 1) in September 2023. He enters this contest after a defeat too, having been outpointed in a 10-round bout with Kalolo Amiri in Tanzania on May 24.