John Molina Wants Adrien Broner or Lucas Matthysse

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    John Molina went 18-0 before suffering the first blemish of his pro career back in 2009, a 10round unanimous decision loss to the always tough Martin Honorio, but it would turn out to be a blessing in disguise for the young fighter.

    Not only did Molina (27-4, 22KOs) learn from the fight and make his way back up the ladder, but he would become one of the many examples in boxing — a sport that often places too much emphasis on an unblemished record — that proves an undefeated record isn’t as important as sometimes advertised.

    He rebounded off of that loss and eventually beat lightweight contender Hank Lundy. And when he lost a lightweight title shot to Antonio DeMarco on HBO (in a somewhat controversial manner) he rebounded again, this time against the fast rising prospect Mickey Bey with a last round TKO when  Molina was far behind on the scorecards.

    That Bey fight is a great metaphor for Molina’s career, a fight where Molina was behind but used his power and pressure to regain momentum and close the show, and that correlates with Molina, a fighter who has had his downs but has utilized his exciting style to remain relevant.

    The similes between Molina’s fights and his current status were again on full display in his last bout, a spirited effort against Lucas Matthysse. Molina was KOed in the 11th, but he knocked Matthysse down twice in the fight and the bout was much more competitive than most experts anticipated.

    Molina gained plenty of notoriety, even in a losing effort. So with the track record being built as exciting and powerful, Molina is quickly becoming a fan favorite and one that fans are anxious to see in the ring again.

    Molina is anxious to get back into the ring as well and he has been in the news lately, advocating for a fight with either Adrien Broner or a rematch with Matthysse. There aren’t many fighters in the 140lb division that are willing to get into the ring with Matthysse, so it is impressive to know that Molina is willing to fight him for the second time.

    There are plenty of fighters that want to get into the ring with Broner ever since Maidana exposed him to a certain degree, but Molina went as far as to record an original freestyle track dissing Broner, showing creativity in the process, and I must say it was a better verse than any of the ones Broner has ever spit.

    Normally it would be difficult for a fighter to call out a couple of the division’s top dogs and actually get the fight he desires, but the fact that Molina is managed by Al Haymon bodes well for his chances. However, Molina knows that Haymon gives him the luxury of relaxing when it comes to squaring away big time fights.

    “When you’re with Al Haymon there is no need to call anyone out, my only reason for doing so is to let everyone know these are the fights I want, willing and able to take,” Molina said. “These are the fights I want, my manager knows that and he’s going to take care of everything else from there on out.

    “But again, it’s not about me calling someone out and saying lets fight because I can’t get a fight, believe me when you’re with Al Haymon everything is all taken care of.”

    Molina has been an opponent for the last couple years in the lightweight division, but since moving up to 140 he has shown that he has the power to hang with anyone in the division and he has shown that his style is the kind that can be marketed towards being a draw.

    Needless to say, there are options. But he is in a division where the majority of the big name fighters are on their way up, even though he just arrived in the division. So he has the choice of following the big fights to 147 or perhaps stick around the 140 division long enough to potentially unify titles.

    “I’m staying at 140, but that plays into my manager’s hands. He’s done great for my career and others’ careers, it doesn’t worry me. If I want a fight it is going to happen regardless, it’s just up to my management to take care of that. I don’t want people thinking ‘oh, Molina wants a payday’ because believe me with Al Haymon we don’t have to look for anything, it’s there for us, we just got to stay in shape and be ready for a fight,” Molina said.

    Molina did make it clear that he isn’t totally against the idea of a big fight at 147 should the opportunity present itself, “Of course I belong at 140, I feel stronger at 140 and will definitely stick around, but if things happen to change then 147 is right around the corner.”

    As far as specifics, Molina has none, although he is sure he will be in the ring before the year is up and quicker than people expect.

    One thing is for sure and that is Molina knows that his situation has been improved since signing with Al Haymon. He doesn’t have the desperate tone of a fighter in need of a payday, instead he is quite tranquil when it comes to his immediate future and he says that Haymon is the reason for his calm demeanor.

    “Al Haymon is an excellent man, he is very intelligent and he knows exactly what he’s doing. I can’t say enough good things about him, he’s changed my life. He’s more of an advocate for his fighters than a manager. He definitely has a great relationship with his fighters, everything he’s ever said he was going to do for me he’s done it,” Molina said.