by David P. Greisman
One man is a former three-division world titleholder who has headlined numerous cards on Showtime and HBO, earned big paydays, and received the lion’s share of questions from the media on an April 1 conference call.
The other man is Carlos Molina.
Molina, a 28-year-old from Norwalk, Calif., will face Adrien Broner on the undercard to the May 3 pay-per-view featuring Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Marcos Maidana. The bout is essentially intended to get Broner back in the ring after he suffered his first pro loss last December against Maidana.
Molina is 17-1-1 with 7 KOs and is coming off more than a year away from the ring following a December 2012 stoppage loss to Amir Khan. Broner, meanwhile, is a 24-year-old who is 27-1 with 22 knockouts and 1 no contest, held world titles at 130, 135 and 147.
Their bout will take place at junior welterweight.
“I know the whole world sees me as an underdog, but that just motivates me even more,” Molina said. “I’ve got a lot to prove in this fight. I’m coming off a loss also with Amir Khan. I’m going to go in there. I’ve been working extremely hard for this fight, so I’m going to give it my all come May 3.”
And Molina said he’s not bothered by the attention going to Broner instead of him.
“He’s the three-time world champion. He’s the one that’s supposed to put on a show, so I’m right here, just working hard and getting ready for May 3.”
Pick up a copy of David’s new book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsamazon or internationally at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsworldwide . Send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com
