Joshua Franco ends drama with Andrew Moloney winning trilogy bout (Video)

Joshua Franco ended his dramatic past with Andrew Moloney by securing a clear victory in their super flyweight trilogy boxing bout.

Super flyweights Joshua Franco and Andrew Moloney have history between them, and it’s not pretty. Fortunately, it looks like their Aug. 14 boxing bout settled their beef, and Franco ended up on top.

Franco (18-1-2, 8 KOs), 25, from San Antonio, TX, defeated Moloney in their first meeting in 2020 in a very close fight to win the WBA “regular” super flyweight title. It was close enough that a rematch was necessary, but things went off the rails in their second meeting.

Moloney (21-2, 14 KOs), 30, from Australia, looked good early, but an injury in the opening round to Franco’s right eye caused chaos in their second contest. It took the referee and the Nevada State Athletic Commission almost 30 minutes to rule the fight a no-decision due to a headbutt.

The replay only showed a punch causing the damage to Franco’s eye, but some even debate that footage. Did Moloney deserve to win by round 2 TKO?

Joshua Franco edged out Andrew Moloney and retained his WBA “regular” super flyweight title

Maybe, but that’s why their trilogy bout at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tulsa, OK, was even more necessary.

Fortunately, the third fight ended with a decisive victory for Franco. Moloney gave a strong performance, but Franco was just better.

For a second, it looked like Moloney knocked down Franco in round 7, which caused brief confusion. During a replay, a push was confirmed, and no knockdown was scored. Replay worked in this instance.

All three judges scored the fight 116-112 for Franco, giving him the unanimous decision victory. The CompuBox statistics support their scores. Franco out-landed Moloney 168 punches to 107. He also threw 42 more punches than Moloney and was the more accurate puncher.

Franco won every meaningful punch stat against Moloney, which is why he was the winner on every card. Franco holds onto his WBA “regular” title and can finally move past Moloney onto a new opponent.

The division is divided by four different titleholders. Franco would make a tough challenge for any of them. We’ll see who he fights next.