Andrew Moloney clashed against Joshua Franco in a rematch in November 2020 for the WBA super flyweight title. Boxing fans had high expectations from this rematch as their first faceoff was a highly entertaining fight. Moreover, it was a close first bout as judges scored the first bout 113-114, 112-115, and 113-114 in favor of Joshua Franco.
However, the rematch between the two flyweight boxers ended controversially. Getting into details of the bout, the 30-year-old Andrew Moloney dominated the first round as he landed some good punches during the first round of the bout. However, during one of the exchanges, Andrew landed a strong punch due to which Franco’s eye swole up.
Though at the end of the first round, the referee immediately indicated to the officials that Franco’s swollen eye was due to an accidental headbutt. After the break, the bout continued and the Australian boxer continued his dominance as he constantly attacked Joshua Franco and landed several shots.
As a result, Franco’s swollen eye started to shut down, and thereupon, the referee decided to pause the fight in the second round. After the checkup, the referee resumed the fight. Moloney continued his aggressive approach until the end of the second round.
After seeing the condition of Joshua Franco’s swollen eye at the end of the round, the referee decided to stop the fight completely. As a result, Andrew Moloney thought he had won his flyweight title back against Franco. But to the Australian boxer’s despair, referee Steve Mora adjudged the fight as no contest due to an accidental headbutt. The judges reviewed the replay of the fight for 30 minutes and ruled the bout as no contest.
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Was Andrew Moloney robbed against Joshua Franco?
The referee’s decision to rule the fight as a no-contest faced a lot of criticisms. Because many experts and fans believed that Andrew Moloney should have been declared as the winner against Joshua Franco in their rematch. Moving on, the Aussie shared his opinion regarding the decision while speaking in an interview.
“They took this away from me. The injury was caused by a punch. I can’t believe this. I was in control of the fight and on my way to a clear victory. I deserved this win. I landed 50 punches on that eye. It was not even close.”
Whereas Franco commented that the judges took the correct decision to declare the fight as a no-contest. However, many analysts suggested that the referee made a mistake as there was no clear evidence of Joshua Franco’s eye getting swollen due to a headbutt.
Comment below your thoughts about this decision and also write below if you think Andrew Moloney was robbed of a win against Joshua Franco?
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