(CHICAGO, ILL.) – Light welterweight Javier Molina (Commerce, Calif.) boxed in his first major international bout on Tuesday, but it didn’t show in his performance as he recorded a 36-17 victory over Jamaica’s Rikardo Smith. Molina was the second U.S. boxer to compete in the opening day of competition, joining bantamweight Gary Russell, Jr. (Capitol Heights, Md.) in earning a first round win.
Molina led from bell-to-bell, taking an 8-4 advantage after the first round of action. Smith kept it close in the first half of the bout as Molina held a 14-9 lead at the midway point. Yet the 17-year-old turned it on in the third round, scoring 12 points and holding the rangy Smith to four to move out to a commanding 26-13 edge as the final two minutes began. His outstanding boxing continued in the fourth as Molina found his rhythm, and continued to pour on the points as the chant of U-S-A filled the arena. He went on to win a 37-16 final decision to advance on to second round action where he will face Emil Maharramov of Azerbaijan.
“I tried not to pull straight back because every time I did, he would get me with his long arms. I tried to turn him,” Molina said. “I’m not surprised by the win, I expected it after all the hard work that I’ve put in. He was one dimensional, he just came forward with long arms. The only thing I had trouble with was the length of his arms, but after the first round, I got used to it. People see me as a little kid with hardly any muscle so the guys I box are bigger than me and they don’t think I can do it, but I know in my head that I can do it. I don’t see myself as an underdog, I always go in with confidence and ready to box.
Four U.S. boxers will take the ring for the first bouts of the tournament on Wednesday. Featherweight Raynell Williams (Cleveland, Ohio) will battle Khedafi Djelkhir of France in the 11a.m. session, middleweight Shawn Estrada (Downey, Calif.) will face Artur Zlatopolski of Israel in 2 p.m. competition. Heavyweight Deontay Wilder (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) and super heavyweight Michael Hunter (Las Vegas, Nev.) will compete in evening action, facing Krzysztof Zimnoch of Poland and Andres Ruiz Ponce of Mexico respectively
2004 Olympian Rau’shee Warren (Cincinnati, Ohio) will join three U.S. boxers in opening World Championships action on Thursday. Warren will open the day in 11 a.m. action with a preliminary round contest with Uzbekistan’s Tulashboy Doniyorov, lightweight Sadam Ali (Brooklyn, N.Y.) will face off with Jose Pedraza of Puerto Rico in the afternoon session and welterweight Demetrius Andrade (Providence, R.I.) and light heavyweight Christopher Downs (Fort Carson, Colo.) will round out the day in bouts with Kakahaber Jvania of Georgia and Ismayl Sillakh of Ukraine.
Light flyweight Luis Yanez (Duncanville, Texas) will be the final U.S. boxer to compete, stepping through the ropes for the first time on Sunday, October 28. Yanez will battle Simanga Shiba of Swaziland in his opening contest.
The first major upset took place in Tuesday evening’s light welterweight action as Japan’s Masatsugu Kawachi defeated 2004 Olympic gold medalist Manus Boonjumnong of Thailand. The two spent much of the bout wrestling and on the canvas before Kawachi pulled out a 14-9 victory.
Javier Molina Quotes
“The crowd was great, it was nice to have the crowd with us for a change. Chicago has been great, I’ve never been here before, it’s my first time. It’s very different from LA and I’m not used to the cold.”
“It (qualifying for the Olympic Team) was a lot hard work, but it was all worth it. I went through a lot to get here, I lost at my regionals, the Midwestern Trials and then the Golden Gloves. My coach drove me to Cocoa Beach for the Eastern Trials and I had to box five times, but I won. I never doubted that I would get here, but after every tournament, I got more nervous. I had a lot of people that were doing things for me and I thought if I didn’t qualify that I would let them down. I always dreamed about the Olympics since I was a little kid and after I lost all those times, I thought my Olympic dream for 2008 was slipping away.”
“Now I know it was all worth it, I’ve been trying hard and I’m going to get the gold medal at the Olympics.”
