"You're going to have two different sides of the spectrum as far as styles go. Adrien's very quick-handed, very talented. You cannot deny the accolades that he's accomplished in the ring, but if I felt any different about going right through Adrien, I wouldn't be in the right business...I believe Adrien's a true fighter and I think that he's going to try to sit there and engage with me. I think he has a huge amount of pride and a lot of ego, so he'll definitely want to sit there and exchange with me," stated jr. welterweight contender John Molina, who talked about his upcoming March 7 clash with former world champion Adrien Broner during a recent conference call. Check out what else he had to say!
JOHN MOLINA JR.
John Molina Jr.: It's an exciting, exciting event. It's a huge platform. Being that it is back on primetime television, 130 million homes. It doesn't get any bigger than that and being part of the inaugural telecast is an amazing opportunity and I'm looking forward to March 7th.
Q: John, you made the analogy of you being a truck and Adrien being a sports car and that you were going to bulldoze him and run him over. Can you talk about what you meant by that?
J. Molina Jr.: Well, stylistically it's a great match-up. It's a classic match-up for boxing. You're going to have two different sides of the spectrum as far as styles go. Adrien's very quick-handed, very talented. You cannot deny the accolades that he's accomplished in the ring, but if I felt any different about going right through Adrien, I wouldn't be in the right business. We're extremely, 110% confident we're going to go in there and implement our will and do what we need to do to become victorious that night. Adrien has one plan, I have my plan. We're going to see that night, March 7th, who's going to come out on top.
Q: When you say you're going to run right through him, do you really feel like you can take it to him and make him feel uncomfortable throughout most of the fight?
J. Molina Jr.: If I felt any different, like I said before, I would be in the wrong business. Absolutely. I feel like I'll be the stronger man in the ring. Again, this is how I feel, this is how I feel going in to the fight, 100 percent confident that I will be able to implement my will and do what I need to do to become victorious that night.
Q: Adrien has said that he believes he can knock you out. Obviously, Matthysse was a rugged fight but he took some to get some. Would Adrien trying to knock you out play into your hands at all?
J. Molina Jr.: To me, I can tell that's what Adrien Broner brings to the table; I don't worry about what he's doing in his camp because if I did that-I have things that I have to work on in my camp in order to become victorious that night. Of course, I believe Adrien's a true fighter and I think that he's going to try to sit there and engage with me. I think he has a huge amount of pride and a lot of ego, so he'll definitely want to sit there and exchange with me.
Like I said, that will be something we'll definitely welcome with open arms. That's my style, that's no secret. I've always said it best. You're not going to play chess with Bobby Fischer. I'm not going to sit there and say that I have faster hands than Adrien Broner because that's not the case. I have my strengths, he has his strengths. We're going to see which one comes out on top March 7th, but definitely looking forward to March 7th, we'll prepare 110 percent for this fight. We're doing everything humanly possible to be prepared and I believe the fans are really going to win on this one because you have two guys that believe they're going to be victorious March 7th and that's when we're going to find out who really is telling the truth.
Q: Molina, looking at a fighter like Adrien, who, obviously, is very charismatic, who plays for the fans. He may talk a little bit. Does that give you extra fuel when training for him?
J. Molina Jr.: No, you don't expect anything less. This is what you fully anticipate going into this fight. We knew who we are facing; we know who we are getting in there with. We knew exactly, so that's the beauty of boxing. Boxing is not a debate contest; boxing is not a song and dance; we don't play this sport; we actually live it; we fight; we go in there and it's two men that are world class athletes that are going to go in there and bring their best A-game to the table.
This is a very, very brutal sport, if you will, and I believe that's why the fans love this sport. We don't take what he says and add fuel to the fire. I hate to lose at checkers. My competitive nature has always been strong and I don't anticipate it to be any less strong now come March 7th, so we're definitely looking forward to this one.
Q: John, is there anything you can tell us about the Maidana fight that he had and something that you can take away from it that you can use to your advantage coming in to this fight?
J. Molina Jr.: I always really discredit and don't like when people say well, I've seen that fight so I know exactly how that guy's going to fight. To me, every man is different. I've seen how Adrien Broner fights. I've seen how he reacts under pressure but not under pressure from me; under pressure from Marcos Maidana; under pressure from guys like Alfonso Leon. I've seen how he reacts to those guys but then again, March 7th, it'll be the first time I'll be facing Adrien Broner. Then, I can make my full analysis on what and how he's going to react on the pressure that I'm going to apply to him.
We can take little bits and pieces of it and get recognized with his attributes and things that he does in there but, again, like Mike Tyson said, everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. March 7th, we've got to train for the best Adrien Broner; we've got to train for the Adrien Broner that's going to move; we've got to train for the Adrien Broner that's going to come forward; we're going to train for the Adrien Broner that's going to try to put on a show.
That's our best bet. If we try to take a piece out of Maidana's book or a piece out of Muhammad Ali's book, we're setting ourself up for failure. We can see how he reacts in certain situations but the first time he ever reacts to my situation is March 7th.
Q: John, I'd like your response to people who say, hey, come on, Molina's coming off two losses. He doesn't deserve this fight. You've got no shortage of people saying that on the internet, so your response please, to them.
J. Molina Jr.: Yes, definitely. People are going to say what they're going say, but the reality is, is that people have fallen in love with my style given the fact that I took the scenic route to get to where I'm at. I didn't have these accolades and the amateur career others have. I didn't turn pro until I was 24- years-old so I definitely took a while to get to this plateau; this level, if you will. But at the same time, I've left it all in the ring; I plan on leaving it all in the ring every time I go in there.
Boxing's provided for my family and has gotten me everything that I have to show for today, so I'll never disrespect boxing or spit in its face because of what it's provided for my family. I'm a family man and I take that very serious. I believe that the true fans of mine know what they're going to get March 7th; they know that I'm bringing everything to the table. A lot of fighters say that; they'll go out on their shield, but I truly mean it. This is not just me fighting for my fight; this is me fighting for my family. This is for me to better my family's life and I take that very serious.
The unconditional love that you have for your kids, for your wife. Boxing has only enhanced their life. I think it's very different and I believe that will show forth March 7th.
Q: John, this question's for you. You're coming off two losses in a row but I think if you ask your average boxing fan, do they realize that or do they care? Do you think that because of that, that you're in a position to fight on a huge stage like Primetime NBC, despite the losses that because of your fan friendly style like you've been talking about-that's the reason why you're being put in on this tremendous platform?
J. Molina Jr.: I believe so. Like they say, boxing's going back to primetime television. If you look back at the old-time fighters, the 0 in the losses were not there and losses were to be expected because you had the best fighting the best. We don't go out there anticipating to lose, we go out there to put it all on the table. I want to fight.
If the fans are going to pay their hard earned money to watch me fight, I'm going to give them a fight. A win over Adrien Broner erases any hiccups that we had in our career, thus far. That's how big of a name Adrien Broner brings to the table and I can respect that. But at the same time, we're out there to be victorious, give the fans a treat and leave it all on the table and I fully anticipate doing that on March 7th. We're preparing extremely well to be the best we can be that night.
I believe everyone got it right by putting the styles of myself and Adrien Broner together on that card, that night on March 7th on primetime television.
Q: John, who's training you for this fight? Are you back with Joe Goossen or are you somewhere else?
J. Molina Jr: Yes. Joe Goossen is training me for this fight. He trained me for my Matthysse fight and not for the Soto fight, but he did train me for the Matthysse fight. That was Jose Santa Cruz, Leo Santa Cruz's father, who trained me for the Soto fight.
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PBC on NBC, will take place Saturday, March 7 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and is promoted by Goossen Promotions. The event will air live on NBC (8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT).
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