Joshua Franco Announces Retirement From Boxing

Joshua Franco has announced his retirement from boxing.

Franco was looking to defend his WBA super flyweight title against Kazuto Ioka after their draw back in December. Yet, Franco missed weight so he wasn’t eligible to retain his belt but he ultimately lost a decision in the rematch.

Now, after the loss, Franco took to social media to announce his retirement from boxing at age 27.

“I wanted to start off by saying Thank You to everyone that has supported me in my career. 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,” Franco stated on social media. “For the majority of my career I have been going through a lot of mental problems that I was doing my best to control. 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 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 RGBA [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. 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. Again Thank You to everyone for all their support and I’ll see you guys around,” Franco concluded.

Joshua Franco announces his retirement from boxing with a record of 18-2-3 and one No Contest. He is best-known for the trilogy with Andrew Moloney where he went 2-0-1. He is the former WBA super flyweight champ and also had a trilogy with Oscar Nergete going 1-0-2 against him.

Are you surprised Joshua Franco retired?