By Rick Reeno
BoxingScene.com was informed by unbeaten lightweight Sharif "The Lion" Bogere (19-0, 12KOs), and his manager Jimmy Alex, that John Molina (21-1, 17KOs) has refused to sign a contract for a potential May 13 showdown on ShoBox. Golden Boy Promotions put the fight together. Both Bogere and Golden Boy had thought a deal was reached. Bogere is already on board. Molina's contract was due back last Sunday.
"I am ready for this fight. He was supposed to sign the contract, but now I hear that he's backing out of the fight. I don't know what's going on," Bogere told BoxingScene.com. "Maybe he's scared of fighting. Nobody can handle the lion. The lion smells the blood and feeds himself."
Alex told BoxingScene that Molina's father is possibly advising the boxer to avoid Bogere for the moment. Multiple "Plan B" offers are on the table for Bogere. Alex plans to review everything with his boxer before making a final decision on their next fight.
"We signed with our promoter and we're supposed to fight him, but now all of a sudden we hear rumors that he doesn't want to fight Sharif. He probably saw a couple of videos of the way Sharif fights. Sharif is talented and I know he'll beat him. I heard some rumors that Monila's father won't let him fight, but we're ready for him. I hope he comes back and takes the fight because it's a very good fight," Alex said.
"We do have several other offers. We will review each other them one by one and take it from there. Whoever comes to fight, we're ready. John Molina, he's pretending to be a good fighter, but lets see who the best lightweight really is. He will never fight anybody like Sharif, and that's why he's scared. As soon as I let Sharif out of the cage, he's in trouble."
