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Australian boxer Andrew Moloney has a chance to regain the world super flyweight title he lost when he faces Joshua Franco for a third time.
After nine months of stewing, Australian Andrew Moloney is intent on righting one of boxing great wrongs and regaining his world super flyweight title in Oklahoma on Sunday.
Like a recurring nightmare, Moloney says he's been going over and over last November's controversial "no-decision" against American Joshua Franco in Las Vegas so many times it's done his head in.
Even US commentators and ex-world champions were left dismayed when referee Russell Mora stopped the fight, insisting swelling to Franco's right eye was the result of an accidental head clash, in a decision universally condemned in boxing circles.
After the doctor ruled Franco could not carry on, officials spent half an hour poring over video replays before declaring the fight a no-contest because four rounds were not completed.
"It's wrong. I don't get it. There was no clash of heads," one ex-world champ said.
Instead of Moloney being a two-time world champion, Franco retained the belt he won last June by inflicting the only defeat on the Australian's 23-fight career.
Moloney's shot at redemption has been almost a year in the making.
"Franco's been walking around for nine months with a world title that I believe I should have right now," Moloney said on Tuesday.
"I've watched that fight, I'd say, over a hundred times now and it is just so clear to me, like I knew on the night, that the damage to his eye was from a punch and the more and more I watch that fight, the more clear it is.
"I know the exact punch that did the damage. It's one minute 36 (seconds) left in round one, if you want to go and have a look.
"You can see he covers his eye for about 15 seconds after that shot lands and I'm 100 per cent sure that that was the punch that did it and I know that he knows that as well.
"He's obviously not going to admit it but I know deep down that he knows that he's not the deserving champion right now."
Having already endured two stints in quarantine to chase his dream, including the second when he returned after being robbed of a TKO victory, Moloney says atoning against Franco has consumed him.
"I'm not tired of fighting him but I'm tired of thinking about him," the 30-year-old said.
"It's been like 16 months now that every day all I've had in my head is beating Joshua Franco.
"So I'm looking forward to finishing this trilogy off this weekend, getting my belt back first of all, then not thinking about Joshua Franco for at least a few months."
Moloney's twin brother Jason will fight American Joshua Greer Jr on Sunday's card, with Muhammad Ali's grandson Nico Ali Walsh also featuring in his much-anticipated four-round professional boxing debut.
