By Carlos Arias
LOS ANGELES --- John Molina wasn't too surprised when he didn't get the call to face Adrien Broner on the Floyd Mayweather-Marcos Maidana undercard on May 3 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Showtime PPV.
Broner ended up with a different Molina. Broner is facing Carlos Molina, who is not related to John Molina, who landed a fight against Lucas Matthysse on Saturday night at StubHub Center in Carson on Showtime.
"I don't want to go too much into that because you guys know me and Broner are managed by the same guy, so we're 'on the same team,' so to speak," John said Molina at Wednesday's open workout at Westside Boxing Club. "But they have their reasons and I have my reasons. Lucas Matthysse is not a bad consolation."
But does he want that fight against Broner, who was beaten by Maidana?
"Of course, yeah," Molina said. "I think (Marcos) 'Chino' Maidana has a similar style as myself as far as punching power and kind of reckless when he goes in there. I think they knew what they were doing by not wanting to get in there with another big puncher. But I got my work cut out for me with Matthysse.
"Granted Adrien Broner is definitely a different beast. I mean, you could talk crap about him because he's so arrogant the way he carries himself, but you have to respect a man who went in there with the likes of Marcos Maidana, who hits like a ton of bricks, and finished the fight on his feet and came back from adversity and still finished the fight. I don't care if you dislike him or what. That shows he belongs as a top-tier fighter."
Contact Carlos Arias on Twitter @PunchyMcGee.
