Lopez vs Espinoza on 10/14, Molina vs Leyva on 10/28

By Ryan Maquiñana

Two unbeaten Southern California prospects return to the ring this month, as featherweight Abraham Lopez faces Gerardo Espinoza on Oct. 14, and junior welterweight Carlos Molina meets Manuel Leyva on Oct. 28.

“You have to have enough confidence in your fighters to test them when the time comes,” said Frank Espinoza Jr., who manages both Lopez and Molina with father Frank Sr.

Lopez (15-0, 11 KOs), of La Puente, encounters the heavy-handed Espinoza (no relation) in Ontario, Calif., with the latter bringing a record of 28-11, 26 KOs with him from Tijuana, Mex.

“It’s a good fight,” Espinoza said.  “Abraham is coming off a first-round knockout, and we’ve kind of wanted him to get a few rounds in.  He trains with his dad and he’s progressing.  He has a fan-friendly style because he takes risks and he can bang.  At this point for Abe’s career, it’s a nice little test to see where he’s at.”

Meanwhile, Molina (14-0-1, 7 KOs), a product of Rosemead, fights the veteran Leyva (18-3, 10 KOs) of Downey, Calif., at the Orange County Fairgrounds.

“Carlos had a tough year,” Espinoza said.  “He had a lot of injuries that kept him inactive and he had that draw.  They say you’re only as good as your last fight in boxing, and I think he wants to prove he’s better than that.  Leyva’s a southpaw, and that will provide a different look.  I expect Carlos to make a statement here.”

The Espinoza stable celebrated a pair of victories last night when junior lightweight Ronny Rios came on in the late rounds to take a unanimous decision in the TeleFutura Solo Boxeo co-feature against Roger Gonzalez, followed by Luis Ramos’s five-round pummeling of David Rodela in the main event.

“It was a great learning experience for Rios who is only 21 years old,” Espinoza said.   “Roger showed him things he’s never seen before.  We knew it was going to be tough, but I expected Rios would pull it off.

“Luis looked awesome.  The last fight before that, he had an OK performance, so he used that as motivation, especially with everything that happened to him getting jumped and Rodela’s people saying he was scared to fight.  My dad actually predicted he would knock out David Rodela and he did.”

The combined record of the active Espinoza Boxing roster, which includes current IBF bantamweight champion Abner Mares and rising junior welterweight prospect Antonio Orozco, is a staggering 109-2-3 with 69 knockouts.

“When we sign a fighter, we look at amateur experience, but they also have to have heart and a crowd-pleasing style,” Espinoza said.  “That’s something that all our fighters have as well as skills.  My dad and I say we’re not going to invest in a fighter that we personally wouldn’t pay to see.  That’s something that Abner brings, and something Israel [Vazquez] did when he fought.

“We keep it like a family.  It’s an atmosphere where we often have family parties together, and we talk to them all the time about everything.  It’s not just about business, and that’s a reason why I think we’ve been successful.”

Ryan Maquiñana is the boxing correspondent at Comcast SportsNet Bay Area.  He’s a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and Ring Magazine’s Ratings Advisory Panel.  E-mail him at rmaquinana@gmail.com, check out his blog at www.maqdown.com or follow him on Twitter: @RMaq28.