UPDATE: There's a lot of drama swirling around Joshua Franco after he controversially retained his WBA regular title with a no contest last night. Franco's promoter, Oscar De La Hoya tweeted, "In all fairness I did not see a head butt." If the Nevada Athletic Commission had agreed with that statement, Franco would have lost Saturday's bout, and his secondary championship, to Andrew Moloney via TKO.
Franco's trainer, Robert Garcia, clapped back at De La Hoya for the lack of support. Garcia tweeted, "Thanks for coming to the fights to support your champ Oscar. And to everyone from Golden Boy you sent to be here with us."
Meanwhile, MTK Global and Rick Mirigian announced they will be co-managing Franco. Officially, according to MTK, "Franco will be advised by MTK Global and managed by Mirigian. [He] becomes the latest big name to team up with the two boxing forces following the signing of Vergil Ortiz Jr earlier this week. Speaking on the announcement, Franco said: “Being signed to MTK Global and Rick Mirigian means a lot. I know Rick is a great manager who does his best for his fighters and I’ve heard nothing but great things about MTK! I know that they will both bring bigger opportunities for me!”
ORIGINAL STORY, Nov. 15, 2020: After a 26-minute replay review at Las Vegas' MGM Grand, controversy reigned supreme. WBA super flyweight regular champion Joshua Franco retained his secondary title after his bout against Andrew Moloney of Australia was ruled a no contest. Moloney controlled the first two rounds before the bout was stopped due to Franco's eye being swollen shut. The injury was sustained by Franco in the first round and worsened, causing the fight to be halted following the conclusion of round two. But what was the source of the injury? If it was a punch, Moloney should win by technical knockout. However, the referee ruled it was caused by a headbutt, which allowed Franco to retain his belt via no contest because ess than four rounds were completed. The controversy should have been cleared up because Nevada has instant replay review, and the replay showed there was no headbutt. Inexplicably, the Nevada Commission, including chairman Bob Bennett and Robert Byrd watched the replay several times and upheld the erroneous original call. ESPN announcers harshly criticized the ruling, as did just about everyone else.
Moloney said, “They took this away from me. The injury was caused by a punch. I can’t believe this. I was in control of the fight and on my way to a clear victory. I deserved this win. I landed 50 punches on that eye. It was not even close.”
Added Moloney's promoter Bob Arum, “This is an absolute disgrace. There was no headbutt. Andrew Moloney should be the new [regular] champion.” source: top rank
