By Jake Donovan
Nobody could blame John Molina Jr. for taking a “see-it-to-believe it” approach to this weekend’s crossroads clash with Omar Figueroa Jr.
The all-action slugger from Covina, Calif. was left with nothing to show for following a lengthy training camp for a scheduled Sept. ’18 clash with Victor Ortiz, who was arrested just days before fight night and is currently on trial for felony sexual assault.
Of course, his current scheduled opponent has hardly been the model of ring activity. Figueroa Jr. has seen his own career stalled due to injuries and other issues, leaving him out of the ring for 19 months heading into Saturday.
A grand total of none of that, however, has dampened the enthusiasm that Molina Jr. feels as fight week officially kicks off.
“I’m getting excited. I heard that I’m going to be fighting this weekend,” Molina Jr. (30-7, 24KOs) joked with BoxingScene.com of Saturday’s bout with Figueroa, which will air live on Fox in primetime from the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles. “All kidding aside, this is a fight we’ve wanted for years and I’m really excited that it will finally be here this weekend.”
The scheduled 10-round super lightweight contest will serve as the chief support to Leo Santa Cruz’s featherweight title defense versus Mexico’s Rafael Rivera, a late replacement for injured contender Miguel Flores.
For Molina Jr’s last attempted ring adventure, there was no such luck in securing a replacement opponent once Ortiz was forced to withdraw. The timing of the southpaw’s arrest left event handlers scrambling as the scheduled PBC on FS1 show was left without its mouthwatering main event.
The show would ultimately go on, just not for Molina Jr. who would go through all of 2018 without a single ring appearance.
Yet a simple twist in fate made it well worth the wait.
Whereas his clash with Ortiz was scheduled for an oddly-scheduled FS1 headliner that would’ve run opposite Sunday Night Football on NBC, Saturday’s showdown with Figueroa Jr. (27-0-1, 19KOs) runs live in primetime on free-to-air Fox, with the NBA All-Star Weekend as its biggest on-air competitor—but also in a new era where networks have invested more than ever before into boxing and prominently showcasing the sport.
“It really is a blessing in disguise,” Molina Jr. admits of the timing. “For as long as we’ve talked about wanting this fight, it’s so much bigger of an event now than at any other time it could have been made.
“A fight like this, it doesn’t really matter the platform because it’s going to be a great fight regardless. But it being on Fox and in a position to outperform the main event, really gives it that big event feel.”
Of course, getting to fight night remains the biggest fight ahead of the actual in-ring action.
Molina Jr. hasn’t fought since a 4th round knockout of Ivan Redkach in Dec. ’17, a fight that saw both combatants hit the deck and leaving media members scrambling to adjust their list of Fight of the Year candidates.
In other words, just another night at the office for the veteran boxer.
Figueroa Jr. is no stranger to memorable ring wars, including points wins in 12-round slugfests with Nihito Arakawa (Aug. ’13, Showtime) and Antonio DeMarco (Dec. ’15, NBC).
Getting him in the ring, however, is a different story. Since his win over DeMarco, just one fight has graced the résumé of the unbeaten 29-year old Texan—a 3rd round knockout of Robert Guerrero in July ’17, a win which is bookended by separate 19-month ring absences.
Even with Molina Jr. having not fought in more than a year, it merely cancels either fighter boasting an edge or significant disadvantage in that category.
“This is the type of fight where, no matter when it takes place it’s going to be a war,” Molina Jr. notes. “These fights really get me going because the fans get so excited over them. They know that when two fighters like myself and Omar Figueroa collide, it’s going to be spontaneous combustion.
“Winning a fight like this, it will be even more rewarding. It’s going to bring my career to new heights.”
Providing, of course, that fight week ultimately brings both fighters into the ring this weekend.