Next up in the Top Rank Boxing on ESPN summer series: The Moloney twins.
Andrew Moloney faces Joshua Franco of San Antonio in a 12-round junior bantamweight fight Tuesday night at a MGM Grand ballroom in Las Vegas. Jason Maloney fights Leonardo Baez of Mexico in a 10-rounder Thursday at the same venue.
The Moloneys are excellent boxers from the small town of Kingscliff, near Brisbane, Australia. The 29-year-olds are hoping to make a big splash in the U.S.
Jason (20-1, 17 KOs) has fought once in America, losing to then-world bantamweight titleholder Emanuel Rodriguez by a split decision in October 2018 in Orlando, Florida. Andrew (21-0, 14 KOs) will be making his U.S. debut.
Franco’s trainer, Robert Garcia, told the San Antonio Express-News that Andrew Moloney “is a very good technical fighter.”
“He has really good skills,” Garcia said.
Franco (16-1-2, 8 KOs) fought Oscar Negrete in three consecutive fights – 30 total rounds – in 2018 and last year, going 1-0-2 in those fights. He then stopped Jose Burgos in January.
“Those three fights with Negrete prepared him for this type of fight,” Garcia said. “He’s shown a lot of poise in his fights.”
The Moloney-Burgos fight is for what the WBA calls its “regular” junior bantamweight title, which Boxing Junkie doesn’t recognize. Roman Gonzalez is the actual WBA titleholder.
Moloney and Franco on Monday weighed 114.6 and 115 pounds, respectively. The limit is 115 pounds.
The weights for the other four fights on Tuesday’s card are as follows: Christopher Diaz (124.9) vs. Jason Sanchez (126), 10 rounds, featherweights; Joesph Adorno (136) vs. Alexis del Bosque (134.2), eight rounds, lightweights; Rolando Vargas (137) vs. Miguel Contreras (137.4), six rounds, junior welterweights; and Helaman Olguin (290) vs. Adam Stewart (232.1), six rounds, heavyweights.