By Ian S Palmer
Unbeaten Omar Figueroa Jr. of Weslaco, Texas takes on John Molina Jr of Covina, California at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California this Saturday, Feb. 16th. The 12-round welterweight bout can be seen live in North America on Fox and Fox Deportes. Molina hasn’t fought since December of 2017 when he got up from the canvas to stop Ivan Redkach in the fourth round of a thriller. Figueroa has been out of the ring even longer as his last bout was in July of 2017 when he stopped Robert Guerrero in the third round of another slugfest.
The 29-year-old Figueroa will enter the ring with a near-perfect record of 27-0-1 with 19 Kos to his name. He’s a fan-friendly action boxer who also has good power with a current knockout ratio of 68 per cent. However, he’s fought just once since December of 2015 and is coming off of another 18-month layoff so will likely have some ring rust to get through. Figueroa’s relatively short for a welterweight at just over 5-feet-7-inches tall, but has a decent reach of 73 inches.
Figueroa is a former WBC World Lightweight Champion who turned pro back in 2008 and has 126 rounds under his belt since. The only blemish on his record is an eight-round split decision draw with Arturo Quintero in 2010. He’s beaten some decent boxers along the way including Guerrero, Antonio DeMarco, Jerry Belmontes, Abner Cotto, Nihito Arakawa, Daniel Estrada and Ricky Burns. Figueroa is an action-packed fighter who’s pleasing on the eye and just keeps throwing punches until the job’s done.
His fight against Nihito Arakawa in the summer of 2013 saw Figueroa land 450 of his power shots, which ranks fourth all-time by Compubox when it comes to volume. He also caught a lot of leather in that bout and proved that he’s got a solid chin. Figueroa doesn’t back down once the bell rings and likes to be the aggressor, but he can’t take Molina lightly since he’s a quality opponent who is also a dangerous puncher and comes into a fight with the same mentality as Figueroa.
Molina was scheduled to meet former world champ Victor Ortiz last September, but the bout was cancelled. He didn’t fight at all in 2018 so will also have to deal with some ring rust. He climbs through the ropes with a mark of 30-7 along with 24 Kos and has struggled lately with six losses in his last 13 bouts. He has a three-inch height advantage as he’s just over 5-feet-10-inches tall and has a 71-inch reach, which means he has a two-inch disadvantage in that department.
Molina’s also a tough guy with plenty of experience and has been in several slugfests. His best days are behind him now even though he managed to surprise many fans by beating Ruslan Provodnikov in June, 2016. He’s also beaten Redkach, Mickey Bey, Hank Lundy, Efren Hinojosa and Frankie Archuleta. Molina’s chin isn’t his strongest point as he’s been stopped three times. However, he has faced some elite fighters and taken plenty of solid shots from them while remaining on his feet.
Molina’s losses have been against Martin Honorio by unanimous decision in 2009, to WBC Lightweight Titleholder Antonio DeMarco by first-round TKO in 2012, to Andrey Klimov by majority decision in 2013, to Lucas Matthysse by 11th-round stoppage in 2014, to Humberto Soto by unanimous decision in 2014, to Adrien Broner by unanimous decision in 2015 and to world champ Terence Crawford by eight-round stoppage in December, 2016.
Molina turned pro in 2006 and has boxed 177 rounds since and his knockout ratio currently stands at 65 per cent. He’s got good power, but unfortunately his chin isn’t as solid as his fists, and that’s what makes him an exciting and fan-friendly fighter. It’s not really in Molina’s nature to utilize his boxing skills as he can easily be drawn into a brawl and that’s why this bout could be a treat for the fans. Molina possesses plenty of heart though and he showed that once again against Redkach by getting up from the canvas to pound out an exciting win.
Prediction…
To be honest, this could be a candidate for fight of the year if both men bring their A games and neither of them is stopped early. Fans could see a back-and-forth brawl with several knockdowns along the way. Both boxers can be hit without having to be chased around the ring, but it’s hard to say what Molina has left in the tank now after being in several gruelling fights. Just sit back and enjoy it. As for a prediction, I’ll go with Figueroa.
