SAN ANTONIO – Lee esto en español.
On Halloween night, Mario Barrios defended his world title in the Alamodome before 9,024 fans, the first fans to attend a live boxing match in the United States since the start of the coronavirus outbreak. It was also the first successful defense for a world title by a San Antonio boxer in history.
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On Saturday, Joshua Franco will attempt to become the second fighter from the Alamo City to accomplish such a feat.
Franco (17-1-2, 8 KOs) will face Australia’s Andrew Moloney (21-1, 14 KOs) for Franco’s WBA World Super Flyweight title. “El Profesor” took that belt away from Moloney in late June and was the talk of the boxing world through the summer. Facing the same opponent is nothing new to Franco, who already has a rare trilogy on his professional record against Oscar Negrete.
“By comparison, I think my trilogy was way tougher than my fight with Moloney,” said Franco to KSAT 12 Sports Thursday. “I can’t overlook Moloney, he’s a tough fighter. I’m always training hard, I’m always training to be my best so I leave no doubts in my head, I’m very well prepared.”
Franco was impressive in their first showdown, putting a beatdown on Moloney who suffered a cut above his left eye in the tenth round and then was knocked down in the following round. The previously undefeated boxer was heavily favored going into the bout but that shouldn’t be the case going into this rematch.
On Saturday, @JoshuaFranco_ will defend his title in Las Vegas. Hear what "El Profesor" had to say to his opponent for the first time since they last fought each other, @lram2 has that tonight at 6pm. #KSATsports #boxing #boxeo #FrancoMoloney2 pic.twitter.com/u6j0ih7SZ3
— KSAT 12 Sports (@InstantReplaySA) November 11, 2020
“In that fight, I didn’t feel he had anything for me to watch out for, I was going to dominate," Franco said. "I’m expecting him to be more tough, he wants to get his belt back and I took it from him. He’s looking for revenge but I’m not worried about what he’s going to do. I know what I have, I know what I have to do to win.”
The Franco vs. Moloney rematch will once again air live on ESPN and will take place at the MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas. Franco Moloney 2 will be the co-main event under the Terence Crawford vs. Kell Brook welterweight title bout.
INSIDE THE RING: @JoshuaFranco_ faced Andrew Moloney for the first time since taking away his title belt in June. #FrancoMoloney2 goes down Saturday!
— KSAT 12 Sports (@InstantReplaySA) November 12, 2020
STORY in English & Spanish: https://t.co/12NN2TXpDc#KSATsports #boxing #boxeo @trboxing #TeamFranco pic.twitter.com/9z1xB12huw
Daniel P. Villanueva has worked with KSAT 12 Sports for over 17 years and is an award-winning sports producer. To submit story ideas, email dvillanueva@ksat.com