Trending: Refusing To
Concede When Defeated
By William Trillo
Photo: Mike Williams – Top Rank
No, conspiracy theorists, I am not going down “that” road. Instead allow me to take you down another rocky path. That being the one that ran through “The Bubble” in Las Vegas in the semi-main event on Saturday night.
Allow me to cut to the chase. Super Flyweight Andrew Moloney was unceremoniously screwed out of not only revenge but regaining his WBA World Super Flyweight Title when referee Russell Mora and The Nevada State Boxing Commission blundered. By not reversing the ruling by Mora that Moloney unintentionally headbutted Franco, causing immediate blinding swelling to his eye, they allowed Franco to keep his title by declaring a No Contest. As Bob Arum shouted from the rooftops after the fight, “This is an absolute disgrace.”
Just as disgraceful was the act displayed by Team Franco after the fight. As ESPN was getting ready to interview a visibly shaken Moloney the camera clearly caught a classless Team Franco taunting Moloney as they hightailed it out of the arena. If anyone on that team had any amount of decency, they would have quietly left the building and be glad they basically got away with highway robbery. I’d like to say I am surprised at the actions of Team Franco but the truth is this is not the first time I have seen less than a sportsmanlike attitude coming out of that stable.
As I am writing this article I have not seen Franco or anyone from his team apologize for their behavior or at the very least say they honor the difficult decision made by The Nevada Commission. That they abide by the ruling and are willing to give Moloney an immediate rematch as soon as Franco heals.
I won’t be holding my breath waiting for either one of those things to happen.
The fact of the matter is Moloney was handing Franco his head on a platter. In less than one round Moloney had marked up Franco’s face pretty good. All, I repeat ALL the damage was done by pinpoint jabs that were splitting the guard of Franco over and over again. There was no headbutt or a reasonable facsimile thereof. Meanwhile Franco was doing literally nothing. Unless his game plan was to stand there and take a beating, it appears any work he did in the gym went all for naught.
On a side note; if you are wondering how or why Russell Mora called an unintentional headbutt or how after 30 minutes of reviewing the video the Nevada State Boxing Commission didn’t have the wherewithal to reverse that decision, you are not alone. Their non-decision screwed Moloney out of a deserved victory and World Title.
Covering fights almost exclusively in the Southern California area I have watched Franco grow up in the ring. He always had the reputation for being a very stand up young man who gave his very best in the ring. I am not sure what happened to him on Saturday night, but I have my suspicions. From his performance falling flat in the ring to his act after the fight, Franco leaves many questions unanswered. I’d love to see him make some kind of face-saving statement soon, but….
What have I done to deserve such a fate?
I realize I have left it too late,
And so it’s true pride comes before a fall,
I’m telling you so that you won’t lose all…
…I’m a loser, and I’m not what I appear to be – Lennon/McCartney
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