Joshua Franco has lost his WBA super flyweight world title one day ahead of his rematch with Kazuto Ioka in Tokyo tomorrow. Franco broke the scales in the Japanese capital weighing in at 6.7 pounds over the agreed limit of 115 pounds on the first attempt.
Franco (18-1-3, 8 KOs) was effectively coming in at near the super bantamweight limit, two divisions above where he was champion. Franco was given two hours to shed the large amount of weight to keep his title.
Franco came back to the scales at 121.25 pounds on the second attempt, nowhere even close to the 115 pound limit. The American lost under half a pound leaving the WBA title vacant and only on the line for Ioka tomorrow in Tokyo, Japan.
Ioka (29-2-1) will be the only man who will be able to claim the world title tomorrow night when he effectively fights a super bantamweight . A four weight world champion, Ioka and Franco fought to a majority draw on New Year’s Eve. The date is considered to be highly prestigious in Asia and within the lower weight classes.
Franco won his world title after a bizarre trilogy with Andrew Moloney in 2021. There was an attempt to unify half the belts between Franco and Ioka last year with Ioka’s WBO title also on the line. He as since vacated that title which was won by Jason Moloney last month.
