Short notice specialist Molina upsets Perez on ESPN2

Carlos Molina scored a comprehensive unanimous decision over Danny Perez at the Mahi Shrine Temple, Miami, Florida on ESPN2 last Friday night. Molina came in as a late replacement for the slick former champion Carlos Quintana, who had to pull out with an injury.  It seemed like Perez was going to be playing the B side against Quintana but once Quintana was scratched, Perez quickly became the A side of this fight. Once Molina was named as the opponent stories surfaced on Perez and that he was now in prime form and is ready to realize the potential that was anointed on him early in this decade.

But Molina, who was nearly non-existent prior to fight, in his mind wasn’t coming to Miami to take a loss. Perez, who is a tough fighter, simply was not nearly as good a boxer as Molina, but not many knew that, including Perez’s people, prior to the opening bell.

But it was apparent right from the beginning that Molina knew how to handle Perez. Molina isn’t a guy you would look at and see a dangerous fighter. He only has 5 stoppages in his 17 wins and isn’t what you would call a natural talent.

But Molina, plain and simple, knows how to fight.  First of all, he is an extremely relaxed fighter and he can capitalize on mistakes in an instant. He doesn’t seem to have natural speed but he has good fighting reflexes. He couples that with good vision and is not easy to hit with more than a punch at a time. Molina is an excellent inside fighter and can also fight from a distance. He can cover up and then transition into offense on his whim. And while he’s not a KO artist, his shots do gain respect from opponents as he will land head snapping shots that have foes looking like their faces were rubbed with sand paper for about an hour.

Poor Perez just couldn’t do anything with Molina. But Perez is a game guy and when Molina took a breather in the 9^th and 10^th, Perez had his best moments. But I’m not sure he even won those rounds. And in the final 2 rounds, Molina was up to his old tricks, hitting and not getting hit and stealing another win that he wasn’t supposed to get.

I’ve been watching Molina since he fought a draw with Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in early 2006. He lost a close call to top contender Mike Alvarado by a narrow decision shortly after that and has now pocketed 9 wins in a row against a good combination of prospects and veterans.

As a fighter, there is a lot to like. He’s only 26 years old and he keeps a very busy schedule. He’s always in the gym and treats the sweet science like the craft that it is. And Molina can obviously fight at 147 and 154.

With a few more wins, I think he’s knocking on the door of a title shot.

Molina is not flamboyant and at first glance doesn’t do anything that one would naturally take notice of – except win. But he is fun to watch because he’s fights fast paced, offensive fights. He’s always looking to make something happen and really tries to dominate complete rounds. And he’s quite a crafty guy in his own way. I happen to think he can compete and beat top 20 welterweights right now.

A few match-ups come to mind that I would like to see this young man in – make it happen ESPN. How about guys like Jesus Soto Karass, Alfonso Gomez, Delvin Rodriguez or even a faded Zab Judah. They would all make great TV fights and would advance Molina, with a win, to the next level.

Molina has already fought 4 times this year and I wouldn’t mind seeing him another 4 times before 2010. Oh, I did happen to pick Molina in this one, I’ve been a fan for a while and knew what he could do. With the win over Perez on national TV, many more now know the same.