Joshua Franco W12 Andrew Moloney... According to the oddsmakers, it was an upset, but Joshua "The Professor" Franco (17-1-2, 8 KOs) was not surprised. Franco dealt Australia's Andrew Moloney his first pro loss via unanimous, punishing decision. Official scores were 115-112 and 114-113 (twice). Franco dominated down the stretch, cut Moloney in round ten, knocked him down in the eleventh and swept the twelfth on all three judges' cards. It turned out Franco needed that last round to secure the decision. With the impressive win, Franco also secures a paper title in the super flyweight division, the WBA regular title [Roman Gonzalez holds the full WBA title in the weight division].

 

“After the fourth round, I gained the momentum and figured him out. I always knew this was possible," Franco said. “I wasn’t nervous when the decision was being read. I knew I’d done enough to win this fight. My coach, Robert Garcia, had me ready. I’m going home with the belt.”

 

Moloney (21-1, 14 KOs), from Melbourne Australia, was making his American debut. “It just wasn’t my night tonight," Moloney said. "This was not the best version of Andrew Moloney, but full credit to Joshua Franco. He deserved to win the title with his effort. He closed the fight strong, like a true champion. I’ll be back. One loss won’t define me.” source: top rank / espn broadcast