Aussie Andrew Moloney will receive an immediate chance to reclaim his world title when he rematches WBA Regular super-flyweight champion Joshua Franco on the Terence Crawford vs Kell Brook undercard at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on November 14.
Back in June, Moloney was shocked on the cards by a spirited Franco (17-1-2, 8 KOs) in the first world title encounter since Covid-19 stopped boxing in its tracks in Spring 2020.
Franco, dubbed ‘The Professor’, scored an 11th round knockdown and rallied late to clinch a competitive fight on the cards, but the previously unbeaten Moloney (21-1, 14 KOs) triggered the rematch clause.
“There wasn’t any other thought in his head,” Moloney’s manager Tony Tolj told Steve Kim of ESPN.com. “He just had the tunnel vision to go straight into that fight because he was just so disappointed in himself and there were some factors with a couple of injuries in that fight, but you never like to make excuses with injuries. That’s part and parcel with this game.
“Full credit to Franco because he did what a champion does, he won the fight, but we’re full of confidence in the rematch because we see a lot of openings we can exploit. We’re confident we can get the decision and get the title back.”
Main image: Franco and Moloney are ready to do it again. Photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank.