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Andrew Moloney, Joshua Franco make weight in Las Vegas

Andrew Moloney and Joshua Franco. Photo by Mikey Williams/Top Rank
Fighters Network
23
Jun

Both Andrew Moloney and Joshua Franco made weight for their 12-round bout Tuesday night at the MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The fight will air live on ESPN (8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT).

At Monday’s weigh-in, Moloney weighed in at 114.7 pounds. Franco had to strip down to make the 115-pound limit.

The clash between Moloney and Franco is a match-up of fighters ranked in the top-10 by The Ring. Moloney is ranked No. 6 while Franco is four spots below at No. 10.

Moloney (21-0, 14 knockouts), who resides in Kingscliff, Australia, will be making his United States debut Tuesday night. The Franco fight will mark the third of a multi-year deal with Top Rank.



In his last bout on November 15, Moloney won by knockout after Elton Dharry was not allowed to continue after round 8 due to a cut above his eye that was caused by a punch.

Moloney and his twin brother Jason Moloney are managed by Tony Tolj. Jason Moloney will fight Leonardo Baez of Mexico this Thursday night on ESPN.

Franco (16-1-2, 8 KOs), who trains out of Riverside, California, last fought on January 11, stopping Mexico’s Jose Alejandro Burgos in round 9. The fight took place in Franco’s hometown of San Antonio, Texas.

Franco, who is trained by Robert Garcia, is unbeaten in his last five bouts since suffering his only loss of his career at the hands of Argentina’s Lucas Fernandez Leone of Argentina in March 2018. He recently fought a trilogy against former world title challenger Oscar Negrete, winning once and fighting to two split-decision draws.

In the co-feature, which will open the ESPN telecast, featherweight Christopher Diaz will face Jason Sanchez in a 10-round bout between former world title challengers.

Diaz (25-2, 16 KOs), who resides in Barranquitas, Puerto Rico, defeated Adeilson Dos Santos by unanimous decision in his last bout on January 18. In his previous fight on April 20 of last year, Diaz lost by unanimous decision to Shakur Stevenson.

Sanchez (15-1, 8 KOs) knocked out Dos Santos in his last bout on October 26. The Albuquerque, New Mexico resident lost to then-WBO featherweight titleholder Oscar Valdez by unanimous decision on June 8 of last year.

Diaz weighed 124.9 pounds at Monday’s weigh-in. Sanchez weighed 126 pounds.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October of 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (Calif.) Star newspaper, Boxingscene.com, and FightNights.com. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing

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