Joshua Franco Shocks Fans by Announcing His Retirement!
In a shocking development, former WBA junior bantamweight champion Joshua “El Profesor” Franco (18-2-3, 8 KOs) has decided to hang up the gloves and retire. The 27-year-old from San Antonio, Texas announced the decision on social media.
“Last night 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 is a day removed from a unanimous decision loss in a rematch to Kazuto Ioka on June 24 in Tokyo, Japan. In that match, Ioka won the WBA junior bantamweight belt.
It was a bout marred with controversy. Franco came into the contest as the defending champion. However, he lost the title on the scales after missing weight during the pre-fight fight weigh-in. Franco and Ioka previously battled to a majority decision draw in a junior bantamweight unification match in December 2022.
A CAREER RECAP
Franco is the older brother of two-division champion Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez. The Texan won the WBA Regular title in June 2020 with a unanimous decision over Andrew Moloney. They re-matched in November 2020, but the fight ended in a disappointing two-round no-decision. A trilogy fight occurred in August 2021, with Franco capturing a dominant unanimous decision victory.
Some in the boxing community will say that Franco’s retirement is a hasty decision. With time removed from the setback against Ioka, they think Franco will have a change of heart and fight again. As it stands right now, he has decided to call it a day. If this is indeed the end, we at 3kingsboxing.com salute the career of El Profesor and wish him the best in his future endeavors.
