Figueroa: I Like How Molina Fights; We'll Give Fans Good Show

By Keith Idec

Omar Figueroa Jr. likes watching his upcoming opponent fight.

The welterweight contender is confident fans will really like watching him fight John Molina Jr. on Saturday night. Based on their histories, the veteran contenders are expected to produce at least an early candidate for “Fight of the Year” when they square off in a 10-round welterweight bout FOX will air from Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles (8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT).

“Well, obviously I respect him as a fighter,” Figueroa told BoxingScene.com. “He’s the kind of fighter that I like. I like watching those kinds of fights. I know that if he’s in a fight, it’s gonna be a good fight, there’s gonna be action, there’s not gonna be running around or any dumb stuff going on. And I think it’s gonna be a great fight. I think he’s gonna mesh perfectly with my style and I think we’re gonna give the fans a good show.”

The 29-year-old Figueroa (27-0-1, 19 KOs), of Weslaco, Texas, will fight for the first time since he stopped four-division champion Robert Guerrero in the third round 19 months ago at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. FOX televised that bout as well, but a lingering shoulder injury and an arrest for driving under the influence a year ago initiated a lost year in 2018 for Figueroa.

The former WBC lightweight title-holder withdrew from an April 21 fight against Adrien Broner because complications from the dislocated right shoulder he sustained during a jet-skiing accident a few years ago prohibited him from preparing properly.

Figueroa finally felt healthy during his recently completed training camp for his fight against the 36-year-old Molina (30-7, 24 KOs), of West Covina, California. Elbow, hand and shoulder injuries have limited him to just one fight in the three years since he defeated Antonio DeMarco by unanimous decision in December 2015 in San Antonio.  

“I wanna show why I belong at the top of the sport, why I belong with the names of the greats,” Figueroa said. “Hopefully, this is the road to recovery to get back to where I was before, at one point where I was ready to take on the top. I just want to be healthy. I just want to stay healthy and that’s why I made the changes that I made, so I can remain healthy. It doesn’t matter how much talent I have, how much power, speed, height, whatever, if I’m not healthy there’s no way I can apply that anyway.”

Figueroa-Molina will be part of a FOX telecast that’ll feature featherweight champion Leo Santa Cruz in the main event. Santa Cruz (35-1-1, 19 KOs), of Rosemead, California, is scheduled to defend his WBA super world 126-pound title against Mexico’s Rafael Rivera (26-2-2, 17 KOs, 1 NC) in a 12-rounder.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.