Top Rank Boxing 2020: Moloney vs. Franco Card Odds, Schedule, Live Stream
Boxing fans will be seeing double in this week's lineup of Top Rank fight cards. Andrew Moloney is set to defend his WBA world super flyweight title against Joshua Franco on Tuesday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Two nights later, his twin brother, Jason Moloney, will take on Leonardo Baez in a 10-round bantamweight match, also at the MGM Grand.
Top Rank's summer series doesn't have an audience for the matches as the promoter navigates the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic. While they've been critical to the sport's return, they haven't been entirely successful. A handful of fights have been scrapped because of COVID-19 infections, the most notable being Mikkel LesPierre missing a headlining bout against Jose Pedraza on June 18 because his manager contracted the disease, per ESPN.com's Steve Kim.
Despite the setbacks, Top Rank is moving forward with the action. Tuesday's televised card will feature five fights, ending with the Moloney-Franco scrap. You can catch it live on ESPN or streaming on ESPN+, starting at 8 p.m. ET.
Fight Card
Andrew Moloney (21-0, 14 KOs) vs. Joshua Franco (16-1-2, 8 KOs): Super Flyweight, 12 rounds
Christopher Diaz (25-2, 16 KOs) vs. Jason Sanchez (15-1, 8 KOs): Featherweight, 10 rounds
Joseph Adorno (14-0-1, 12 KOs) vs. Alexis del Bosque (17-5, 9 KOs): Lightweight, 8 rounds
Miguel Contreras (10-0, 6 KOs) vs. Rolando Vargas (5-0, 5 KOs): Junior Welterweight, 6 rounds
Helaman Olguin (7-3, 3 KOs) vs. Adam Stewart (8-0-1, 5 KOs): Heavyweight, 6 rounds
Full card info on TopRank.com
Odds (via Oddschecker)
Moloney -1000 (bet $1,000 to win $100), Franco +625 (bet $100 to win $625)
Main Event Preview
The Moloney-Franco tilt is billed as a world title fight, but there's a caveat to that. Moloney holds the WBA "world" super flyweight title, but the real king of the WBA at 115 pounds is Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez, who holds the "super world' championship.
This isn't to say the fight won't be interesting. Moloney, a 29-year-old from Australia, has a belt and an undefeated record to protect. This is his first fight in seven months after he got into a difficult war with Elton Dharry that ended in a TKO in the ninth round. As Bad Left Hook's Scott Christ noted, Moloney was lucky to get out of a difficult fifth round, where the referee should have scored a knockdown against him.
Franco is coming off a stoppage win over Jose Alejandro in January. Prior to that, he fought three times against Oscar Negrete, drawing twice and winning once. The 24-year-old from San Antonio is a tough fighter who won't back down from a challenge.
Moloney has done his homework on the challenger, per the Sydney Morning Herald's Phil Lutton:
"He's a good fighter. I'm a big boxing fan. I keep a very close eye on all the guys in my division. I've seen him fight quite a few times and have watched a lot of footage. He puts his combinations together well, he comes to fight and win. It's his first shot at a world title. But I believe I'm a little bit better than him in every aspect."
If Moloney can make it through this fight, which is his U.S. debut, it's possible he can score a match against Chocolatito, who may have lost a step in recent years but is considered one of the most skilled boxers around.
.png?w=600 "Latest Free-Agency Moves ✍️")
