Joshua Franco

The Moloney trilogy

After compiling a record of 16–1–2 (8 KOs) he challenged WBA (Regular) super flyweight champion, Andrew Moloney, on June 23, 2020, at the MGM Grand in Paradise, Nevada. After a competitive back-and-forth fight in which Franco scored a knockdown in the eleventh round, he defeated Moloney via twelve-round unanimous decision (UD) to capture the WBA (Regular) title. Two judges scored the bout 114–113 while the third scored it 115–112, with the eleventh-round knockdown being the deciding factor in Franco's victory; had he not scored the knockdown, Moloney would have retained his title through a majority draw. According to CompuBox stats, Franco landed 231 out of 789 (29.3%) punches thrown while Moloney landed 191 out of 663 (28.8%).^[11]

The pair agreed to fight an immediate rematch on November 14, 2020, at the MGM Grand Conference Center in Paradise, Nevada, on the undercard of the Terence Crawford and Kell Brook welterweight title bout.^[12] Referee Russell Mora declared the fight a no contest, after the ringside doctor stopped the fight at the beginning of the third round due to a swelling around Franco's right eye, which resulted from a headbutt according to the referee. Moloney's corner disputed this, which led to a 20 minute instant replay review by the NSAC who confirmed Mora's decision.^[13]

Due to the controversial nature of their second meeting, a trilogy bout was scheduled for August 14, 2021, which took place at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The title fight was set as the main event of an ESPN broadcast card,^[14] with most odds-makers having Moloney as the favorite at -240.^[15] Franco retained the title by unanimous decision, with all three judges awarding him a 116–112 scorecard. He outlanded Moloney 168 to 107 in total punches, and 127 to 73 in power punches landed.^[16]

Promotion to undisputed champion

On February 9, 2022, the WBA ordered the WBA "Super" champion Juan Francisco Estrada to defend his title against Franco. The pair were given until March 11 to come to terms.^[17] As the pair failed to do so, a purse bid was scheduled for April 18, 2022,^[18] which was later postponed by 24 hours.^[19] The promotional rights were won by Golden Boy Promotions, who bid $120,000, with a 75/25 split in favor of Estrada.^[20] Although the bout was officially expected to take place on July 16, 2022,^[21] it was eventually postponed to August 20.^[22] On July 18, Estrada's trainer Alfredo Caballero stated in an interview with Izquierdazo that Estrada would vacate the WBA title in order to pursue a trilogy match with Román González.^[23] On August 11, 2022, Estrada officially relinquished the super flyweight "Super" title. Immediately afterwards, Franco was promoted to undisputed status and remained the sanctioning body's sole titleholder at junior bantamweight.^[24]

Franco vs. Ioka duology

On October 11, 2022, it was revealed that Franco has entered into negotiations for a title unification fight with the reigning WBO super flyweight champion Kazuto Ioka.^[25] It was confirmed a month later that the title bout would take place on New Year's Eve at the Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan.^[26][27] On November 4, the WBO furthermore ordered the winner of the fight to face the sanctioning body's former flyweight champion Junto Nakatani in a mandatory title defense no later than 180 days afterwards.^[28] The fight ended in a majority decision draw. One judge scored it 115–113 for Franco, while the remaining two judges scored it as a 114–114 draw.^[29]

Due to the inconclusive nature of their first meeting, both Franco and Ioka agreed to an immediate rematch.^[30] As Ioka was ordered to make a mandatory title defense against Junto Nakatani directly after facing Franco, he instead opted to vacate the title, meaning the rematch would only have the WBA super flyweight title on the line.^[31] The championship bout was booked to take place on June 24, 2023, at the Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan.^[32] Franco was stripped of the WBA title at the official weigh-ins, as he came in nearly two full divisions above the super flyweight limit.^[33] He lost the fight by unanimous decision, with two scorecards of 116–112 and one scorecard of 115–113.^[34]