By Edward Chaykovsky

Junior welterweight contender John Molina (27-4, 22KOs) solidified his dangerous reputation in April, when he traded hard punches with one of the most feared boxers in the sport, Lucas Matthysse (35-3, 33KOs).

After six rounds, Molina was on fire with scoring two knockdowns and Matthysse also suffered a cut over his left eye. But them Matthysse battled back in the second half of the fight to drop Molina three times for an eventual stoppage win in eleven.

"Matthysse was looked at as this monster in the division and I was this newcomer coming into the division. Although I’ve been in the boxing game for a while, my name has barely reached the accolades of such fighters as Matthysse," Molina said.

Molina says he may have allowed Matthysse to slip away from a possible knockout loss by not pressing the issue when the Argentine boxer was hurt during the fight. 

“What I was able to take away from that fight is that I am one of the strongest guys at 140 pounds. He fought a hell of a fight and won because he was more experienced than me. But, looking back at the fight, I made the mistake of stepping off the gas pedal a bit when I had him hurt and I should’ve gone in for the kill. I know that the fans want the fight to happen again and I am looking forward to the fight if it does happen again," Molina said.

On September 13th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Molina will face former champion Humberto Soto (64-8-2, 35KOs) in a world title eliminator. The fight is part of the Mayweather-Maidana undercard.