ESPN: Andrew John Moloney vs. Joshua Franco & Christopher Díaz Vélez vs. Jason Sanchez RBR.

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Dave Moretti is a dumb-dumb.

 

Night of upsets. All the guys that lost tonight were favored to win by the bookies.

 

I hope someone made some money.

 

Per Bet365 at the time of their ringwalks, Moloney was listed as a 1/4 favourite and Franco an 11/4 underdog. I thought this was good betting value on Franco, although I don't bet, not even in here on my Sportsbook. I don't know about the odds leading up to the fight, but the ESPN crew talked about late action on Franco, just as there was on Plania before his fight last week against Greer. Anyway, I scored this fight for Franco going away, 8-4 rounds, 116-111 points, including the 11th round knockdown scored by Franco, and giving Moloney rounds 1, 4, 5, and 7. There were several close rounds in the first half of the fight, but I thought all the rounds in the second half of the fight were pretty definitive. The first 8 rounds were very closely fought, both fighters choosing mostly to box at midrange, and both consistently kept their guards up, so there were not a lot of obviously clean punches landed to the head by either man. Moloney in particular was doing his best work to the body, working body shots into his combinations, and scoring a lot of thumping left hooks to the body, apparently as per his appreciation of some of the top Mexican fighters. ESPN had a stat that Maloney was landing about 44% of his body punches through four rounds, and his success there continued although he threw WAY fewer body punches in the second half of the fight. After 8 rounds, I felt sure we were headed for a draw. Franco clearly outworked Moloney in the 9th round, and now Moloney was getting away from throwing his sharp combinations and his body work, and he was pretty much standing and banging at this point, which played into Franco's hands. Moloney did well in the first minute or so of the 10th, but then he got a cut on the periphery of the left eyelid from a clean right hand by Franco, and I thought he suddenly started looking very ragged, with Franco suddenly landing increasingly at will to head and body, and winning the round going away. It seemed Moloney was distracted by the cut, even though it didn't seem to be obscuring his vision. Moloney might also have been gassing too, and I was thinking even though the fight had seemed very even, Franco's punches in retrospect probably had more consistent power than Moloney's. A bit more than a minute into the 11th, Franco had Moloney against the ropes in a crouch (most of the first 10 rounds were fought center ring), and he landed a 6-punch combo of [cuffing overhand R + hard L hook head + hard snapping overhand R + HUGE L hook head that snapped Moloney's head back + overhand R that forced Moloney back into a crouch + short L hook head with Moloney in a crouch that sent Moloney slowly sagging to the canvas]. I thought Franco had the fight cinched at this point, but Moloney's corner after the round oddly told him to box and move in the 12th. Moloney rallied a bit in the 12th, starting well, having scattered moments, and finishing strong, but Franco landed enough good shots to take the round. As far as the judges' official scores of 115-112 and 114-113x2, I thought 115-112 was fine, but the two 114-113 scores in my opinion were NOT acceptable, which showed how crucial was the knockdown that Franco scored. Franco now wins the WBA "regular" world super flyweight title. Roman Gonzalez is the WBA "super" world super flyweight champion, and if he ever meets Franco, I imagine he will have a relatively easy time of it. Moloney has some very good skills, but he's not super quick, and this fight showed he lacks elite power, which will probably be his single biggest drawback against the other top super flyweights.

 

Moloney in the hospital.

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Gonzalez would be too crafty and strong for Franco.

 

Damn you love Franco. You gave him every round in what was a close fight AND you think he'd beat Chocolatito?

 

Franco is a pretty crafty fighter himself but of course Moloney isn’t the fighter Chocolatito is. I think it will be close though. Franco’s youth and Chocolatito’s wear and tear is what leads me to favor Franco in a close one.

 

Not a Franco fan but after that dominant display last night, I probably should be. The fight was competitive but it should not have been close on the cards. And see previous post for my thoughts about Franco-Chocolatito.

 

Maybe we can see Franco vs Ancajas since Top Rank will have the rights for Franco's next couple of fights.

 

Robert Garcia always deserves credit for his work with Franco. He may be the best trainer in all of boxing.

 

Ancajas is definitely a winnable fight for Franco.

 

He looked that good, huh?

 

Wtf really? I can't understand how Pitufo was the underdog.

 

Yes he did. And I just think Jerwin is vulnerable, especially against all-around type fighters like Franco.