Andrew Moloney’s first fight in the United States came at a heavy price, although it could have been so much worse.

The 29-year old from Australia saw his American dream end with his first loss, the end of his title reign and a trip to the hospital after being outpointed by Joshua Franco in their ESPN-televised headliner Tuesday evening at MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Franco swept the last four rounds on all three scorecards and outlanded Moloney 103-50 in total punches over that stretch to secure the win and the WBA “Regular” 115-pound title.

It carried a cumulative effect, as Moloney (21-1, 14KOs) felt nauseous and complained of dizzying after the fight. Onsite medical staff carried him out of his dressing room on a stretcher, as he was transported to nearby University Medical Center for overnight observations.

“He started to throw up and said the body shots got to him according to his twin brother, Jason Moloney,” ESPN’s Bernardo Osuna reported during a post-fight segment. “As a precautionary measure, he was taken out on a stretcher and brought to University Medical Center.

“There is no medical report from the commission or the doctors as of yet. He was responsive to the doctors, that’s always a good sign.”

Moloney was diagnosed with having suffered two perforated eardrums, which explains the dizzying and nausea he experienced after the fight.

The health scare marks the second fighter on the ESPN boxing series within the past week to require immediate medical assistance.

Previously unbeaten middleweight prospect David Kaminsky earned a trip to the hospital shortly following his grueling six-round loss to Clay Collard on the June 18 edition of Top Rank Boxing on ESPN from the same venue. Kaminsky suffered a cut around his left eye, a badly swollen right eye and bloodied mouth during their preliminary bout, but thankfully was given a clean bill of health after a CT scan came back negative.

Moloney was also the second health scare to come from Tuesday’s show. Joseph Adorno was pulled from his planned lightweight clash versus Alexis del Bosque after feeling lightheaded and throwing up prior to a mandated same-day weigh-in on Tuesday after missing weight one day prior.

The 21-year old from Allentown, Pennsylvania weighed 136 pounds, one full pound over the contracted lightweight limit and was deemed too dehydrated to lose any more weight on the spot. Adorno has since fully recovered after an IV treatment.

The sense is that Moloney should also prevail relatively unscathed as well. His twin brother, Jason tops an ESPN telecast from the same this Thursday as he faces Mexico’s Leonardo Baez in a 10-round bantamweight bout atop a six-fight card.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox