Andrew Moloney vs. Joshua Franco to headline summer ESPN card

Andrew Moloney may have to wait even longer for his mandated crack at the WBA super flyweight title, as champion Roman Gonzalez has his sights on a rematch with Juan Francisco Estrada. In the meantime, it looks like he’ll be staying busy in Vegas, as Mike Coppinger reports that the Aussie has “agreed to terms” to face Joshua Franco in an ESPN headliner.

Moloney (21-0, 14 KO), who sported wins over former champion Luis Concepcion and future title challenger Miguel Gonzalez, warred his way past Elton Dharry last November to claim the interim WBA title. He pushed to supersede “Chocolatito’s” planned crack at then-champ Kal Yafai, but ultimately proved unsuccessful.

The 24-year-old Franco (16-1-2, 8 KO) is best known for his excellent trilogy with Oscar Negrete, which saw “El Profesor” go 1-0-2 in split bouts. He had his first non-Negrete bout since 2018 last January, stopping Jose Alejandro Burgos on the Jaime Munguia-Spike O’Sullivan card in his native San Antonio. He’s ranked at both 115 and 118 pounds.

Moloney should be the favorite, though it’s a riskier bout than one would expect given the circumstances. Don’t be surprised to see brother Jason in the co-feature.