It has been a hard road for “King” Carlos Molina to be where he is at today, a world champion. It has taken him 10 years to get to where he is at and has been screwed over plenty of times along the way. Through everything that has happened to him he remains in good spirits and plans for the future and remains hungry for more.
“It feels good,” said Molina. “I’ve worked hard 10 years as a professional to get here with a lot of ups and downs. But it’s all worth it to achieve one of my goals. But I want more, I want to defend it for years and unify the belts.”
Molina has been one of the most avoided fighters due to his ability to neutralize his opponents. Very few opportunities would arise for Molina and many of those opportunities were not on premium cable channels like HBO or Showtime where he could get major exposure but sometimes you have to take what you can get.
On September 14th Carlos Molina lived up to his nickname and became the IBF king of the 154 pound division and one would assume that searching for opponents would be a lot easier. In a way it is but at the same time it’s not with conflicting schedules for fighters.
“Now I have a contract with Showtime which is good makes it a lot easier to get fights. Now I’m a target which is what I always wanted. Showtime asked me when am I ready to fight again and I said I want to fight before the year is done. So they had Victor Ortiz and Angulo available .I told them I don’t care who it is as long as I fight. I wanted Canelo, Cotto or Mayweather if possible but there not fighting till next year and I’m a fighter I’m ready to fight now. So this (Ortiz) is what they offered me so I took it. It would mean a lot for me to successfully defend my title and defending against Ortiz. It’d be great and I think a victory will put me in the big fights that I want.”
Both fighters are tremendous athletes who work their asses off but they way they were brought up and the paths that they took were very different. Molina had the more difficult road with less exposure but his hard work and determination has brought him to where he is at today. Ortiz, along with the help from Oscar De La Hoya was thrust into the spotlight and given many opportunities. Ortiz worked hard to get where he is but the backing that the young kid had made a big difference and he was dubbed the next “Golden Boy.”
Despite the criticism Ortiz gets he is a tremendous athlete and is capable of winning against anyone. In boxing one punch can change a fight and Molina knows what he has to do and what to avoid in a fight with Ortiz to come out victorious.
“He’s a strong fast combination fighter always in good shape. I have to bring a good game plan and take the fight to him leave no doubt in my victory. I have to make it my fight which is what I always try to do. I’m always thinking in there. I have a good game plans with different scenarios and will be in top shape as always.”
Ortiz has been out of the ring for almost a year and a half and his distractions outside the ring have gotten bigger. Will the time away from the ring and all those distractions be a difference maker for Ortiz? According to Molina it may not.
“You can’t expect that or even think it you have to expect Victor %100. So if he’s not affected by the layoff I’ll be ready and if he is the better for me. But going into my fight with Lara I was coming off a 18 month layoff and I felt it didn’t affect me. So I just have to work hard like always and can’t worry about what he is doing.”
As far as heart goes for Ortiz, despite what many boxing fans feel he has it but Molina believes that Ortiz has it but some bad decisions were made on his part.
“He’s had a few meltdowns in past fight but going into this fight you have to expect he learned from his mistakes and I don’t think it’s his heart as much as his mental game in those fights I feel he was caught up with the atmosphere and made some very bad decisions.”
