by Francisco Salazar

It is a crossroads bout between two young fighters hoping to thrust themselves toward contender status.

Carlos Molina and Mercito Gesta square off in a 10 round junior welterweight bout tonight at the Fantasy Springs Casino Resort in Indio, Calif.

The bout will headline a Golden Boy Promotions card and will be broadcast live on Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports Deportes at 10 p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. PT.

Molina (17-2-1, 7 KOs) has lost his last two bouts after going unbeaten in his first 18 bouts. The Norwalk, Calif. native was stopped after the 10th round against Amir Khan in Dec. of 2012.

On May 3 of last year, Molina lost a 10 round unanimous decision to Adrien Broner in Las Vegas, Nev.

It has been also three years since Molina has had his hand raised after a fight. But a win over Gesta is not out of the question, considering the Filipino fighter is also trying to solidify his standing in the sport.

Around the same time Molina lost to Khan, Gesta (28-1-1, 16 KOs) challenged Miguel Vazquez for a world lightweight title. Gesta was overwhelmed by the experience Vazquez possessed, losing a lopsided 12 round unanimous decision.

Gesta, who is based out of San Diego, has won his last two bouts in a row. In his last bout on Jul. 18, Gesta stopped Luis Arceo after the seventh round.

In the co-feature bout, lightweight Jeffrey Fontanez will fight brawler Jose Hernandez in an eight round bout.

Fontanez (15-1, 11 KOs) was knocked out in his last fight on Aug. 30 at the hands of Gilberto Gonzalez.

Despite losses on his record, Hernandez (15-9-1, 7 KOs) is a tough fighter to look good against. Hernandez fought to a majority decision draw over eight rounds against Mickey Bey in Feb. of 2011 and stopped Tony Luis in Jan. of 2013.

In his last bout on Mar. 28, Hernandez stopped prospect Chris Singleton in the fourth round.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper, RingTV, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing