Molina brings his hard-hitting style to face Figueroa
Technically, while the main event on Saturday night at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles is the WBA featherweight title tilt between Leo Santa Cruz and Rafael Rivera, it is the co-feature between welterweights John Molina Jr. and Omar Figueroa Jr. that could steal the show.
If you go by Molina’s track record, this could turn out to be an old-fashioned donnybrook between two fighters who punch first and ask questions later.
“Definitely,” Molina said. “He’s a real smart guy, very cerebral. … I did read somewhere where he said I wasn’t going to see the fourth round with him. And I said he’s either one of two things: either very intelligent and cerebral and trying to beat me in the mental warfare, to entice me into a slugfest, or he’s as dumb as he looks. So let’s see which one it is.”
The 36-year-old Molina chuckles as he says this. Despite his violent, hard-hitting style inside the ring, Molina is a good-natured outside of it. This clash with Figueroa (27-0-1, 19 KOs) is just business to Molina. You get the sense that after hurling leather at each other — for however long the fight goes — Molina and Figueroa will shake hands and hug it out afterward. No real animosity will linger between the two.
Molina (30-7, 24 KOs) is what he is: a rugged, raw-boned puncher. Whatever he lacks in technique at times, he makes up for in strength and power. There really is no “sweet science” when it comes to Molina, but there is a method to his madness: Keep swinging hard because you just might hit something. While he has fundamental flaws that often are exposed, his natural power makes him a consistent threat in any fight he’s in.
Which is why at a certain level he has been outclassed by the likes of Terence Crawford (who took care of him in eight rounds in December 2016). But for the most part, Molina has been one of the more consistently entertaining fighters of this past generation.
Say whatever you want about Molina, but give him this: He has gotten everything out of his natural ability, and then some.
Molina points out that he only had 22 amateur fights and that he turned professional at the age of 24 back in 2006. While many other young boxers in high school were participating in national tournaments, Molina wrestled while growing up in Covina, California. And while never elite, he is made for compelling bouts, ones that will be remembered for years.
Who can forget his late-round heroics versus Hank Lundy and Mickey Bey, who outclassed him early on but were then overpowered late by Molina. Or his 2014 rumble with Lucas Matthysse at the StubHub Center in Carson, California, where Molina sent “The Machine” down twice before succumbing to Matthysse in the 11th round, in what was the consensus Fight of the Year. Molina also sent the rugged Ruslan Provodnikov into retirement in 2016 by defeating him over 12 disciplined rounds. And Molina’s last outing in December 2017 was an unforgettable pier-six brawl with Ivan Redkach, against whom he had to get off the canvas before stopping the Ukrainian in four.
It is bouts like these that have kept Molina relevant despite other not-so-glorious moments, including his first-round stoppage at the hands of Antonio DeMarco in 2012 and getting shutout by Adrien Broner a few years later in March, 2015.
“I think it’s yet to be written, and I feel like you couldn’t have had a director or a TV guy write this script that I’m about to lay out for everybody,” Molina said when asked about the favorite chapter of his eventful career. “And I think it’s because it’s a different perspective in boxing.”
To Molina, his relative late start in boxing is now an advantage.
“As I’ve gotten older, I’m smarter. See, when fighters start, they start at 8 years old. By the time they’re 28, that’s it, they’re zapped, they’re done. Boxing has a wear and tear on the body. Me? I started at 18 years old, I didn’t turn pro ’til I was 24, and again, talk is cheap. That being said, I feel like by the time I was able to experience all the ups and downs of boxing, I was mature enough and strong enough to put it all together.
“With these [other] guys, by the time they experienced the highs and lows, their bodies were done — and I’m not. Again, talk is cheap, I can show you [Saturday]. Nine out of ten people are going to say, ‘This guy’s done, he’s talking crap.’ So sit back, you’ll see what I mean, what I’m talking about.”
As he sits on the ring apron at his gym, Molina makes it clear he still enjoys what he does.
“Believe me, if I ever felt any inkling or desire of, ‘Ahhh, this isn’t what I want to do, anymore,’ I wouldn’t be here,” Molina explained. “I’ve made a hell of a living doing it. I’m very, very fortunate with what boxing has done for me and my family. When I started this game, it was all about me. Now, it’s all about my family.”
Molina has never been considered an elite fighter, and he won’t be headed to Canastota, New York, and the International Boxing Hall of Fame. But his career, whenever it ends, will be recalled with fondness.
“I never shied away from a challenge. I [never] took the scenic route. I was never given the option to say, ‘Ehhh, I won’t fight this guy now, maybe that guy.’ That was never my stance in boxing,” Molina said. “My stance in boxing is show up, sign the contract and let’s get it on. Do I have a chip on my shoulder? Maybe. Maybe so, because I see guys get it a lot easier, if you will.”
“I grinded day in and day out; guys like me and Josesito Lopez, we fought tooth and nail for everything that we have. And I think it means that much more, it’s that much more sweet,” Molina continued. “When I sit back in my house or go in my backyard or I take a breather and I see my family, I say, ‘I grinded for everything that I have.’
“So, I respect it a lot more.”