Franco announces retirement following rematch loss to Ioka

Former WBA junior bantamweight titlist cites mental health issues

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Former WBA junior bantamweight titleholder Joshua Franco announced his retirement from boxing on Sunday, one day after he lost a unanimous decision in a rematch with Kazuto Ioka in Tokyo.

Franco, 27, of San Antonio, cited ongoing mental health issues as the reason for retiring.

“For the majority of my career I have been going through a lot of mental problems that I was doing my best to control,” Franco wrote in a statement about his retirement he posted to social media. “I never talked about it publicly because I didn’t want anyone to think I ever made an excuse for anything or for anyone to look at me different.

“I battled through it as much as I could to still perform and give you guys some great fights. For anyone that battles through any type of mental health issues please know you are not alone. And you can’t let anything stop you from achieving your dreams.”

Franco was stripped of the 115-pound belt on Friday for dramatically missing weight. He was 121.5 pounds, 6.5 over the limit. The fight went ahead and Ioka won 116-112, 116-112 and 115-113 to claim the vacant title.

“(Saturday) in Tokyo, Japan was officially my last fight. It was a tough week for me and I didn’t get the result I wanted but I leave this sport knowing I gave it everything I had,” Franco said in his statement. “Again Thank You to everyone for all their support and I’ll see you guys around.”

On Dec. 31, also in Tokyo, Franco (18-2-3, 8 KOs) and four-division titleholder Ioka (30-2-1, 15 KOs), 34, of Japan, met for the first time in a WBA/WBO unification fight that was ruled a majority draw (114-114, 114-114 and 115-113 for Franco) in a fight many thought Franco won. Ioka subsequently vacated the WBO belt in order to meet Franco in a lucrative rematch rather than make a mandatory defense.

“I wanted to start off by saying Thank You to everyone that has supported me in my career,” Franco wrote in his statement. “I appreciate everyone for their continued support. I was able to live my childhood dream of becoming a World Champion. I defended my title multiple times all over the world and always tried my best to represent San Antonio, TX proudly.

“I want to say Thank You to my team. My mom, dad and brothers for all their help and support throughout my whole career. Everyone at (Robert Garcia Boxing Academy) for believing in me, helping me achieve my dreams. You guys always believed in me and I will forever be grateful.”

Franco, who was trained by Robert Garcia and is the older brother of two-division titleholder and current WBO flyweight titlist Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, turned pro in 2015 and got his first world title fight in June 2020.

He scored an 11th-round knockdown and won a close unanimous decision (115-112, 114-113, 114-113) over Andrew Moloney to win the WBA belt inside the Top Rank Covid “bubble” at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

It was the first of three consecutive fights against Australia’s Moloney. The rematch in June 2020, also in the “bubble,” was ruled a second-round no contest when Franco suffered eye damage from a controversial head butt and was unable to continue.

Franco then won the trilogy bout, which took place in August 2021 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by unanimous decision (116-112 on all three scorecards) to retain the title for the second time.

That set him up for a unification bout with Ioka that ended in a draw on New Year’s Eve. In Saturday’s rematch, Franco suffered a cut over his right eye in the fifth round and Ioka was the more accurate puncher, especially over the final three rounds, to seal the win.

Franco did not make any excuses after the loss.

“I don’t like to make any excuse on my failure to make weight, but I only say Ioka was better tonight,” Franco said. “He was mentally tough.”

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Franco-Ioka II photo: Naoki Fukuda

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