by Geoffrey Ciani (Interviewed by Jenna J & Geoffrey Ciani) – This week’s 118th edition of On the Ropes Boxing Radio (brought to you by CWH Promotions) featured an exclusive interview with junior middleweight contender Carlos Molina (17-4-2, 5 KOs) who managed to score an upset draw against the highly touted Eirslandy Lara (15-0-1, 10 KOs) in a fight many observers believe Carlos deserved to win. Molina spoke to us about the fight, his career, and the future. Here is a complete transcript of that interview:
JENNA J: To open things up for this week’s show we have a fighter coming off an impressive upset draw. We’re joined by Carlos Molina. How are you doing today Carlos?
CARLOS MOLINA: I’m doing good. How about yourself?
JENNA: I’m doing great. I’m happy to have you on here and I have to congratulate you on your performance this past weekend.
MOLINA: Thanks, I’m happy to be here too.
JENNA: Let’s talk about that fight. You were taking on Erislandy Lara. He’s a guy that had a lot of acclaim going into this particular bout and you ended up getting a draw. How did you feel about the decision and the way you performed?
MOLINA: Well I thought I did enough to win the fight. At first I wasn’t happy with the draw, but after being off this long I guess it was better than a loss. Now I just want to get back in there and fight again as soon as possible.
JENNA: Now you mentioned the amount of time you had off. You were out of the ring for three months shy of two years. Why were you not in the ring for that period of time and do you think you were rusty from taking off that amount of time?
MOLINA: Well I was off that much time because I was waiting for a title shot with Cory Spinks that I was promised and I was just sitting around waiting for it and I ended up losing about a year and a half with that. When I was finally able to fight I was trying to get a fight at 147 and there was nothing out there at 147 so I took this fight at 154. I don’t think it bothered me at all. There was no ring rust. It’s all in your head. If you think there is going to be ring rust then there will be. You just can’t think about that.
JENNA: Alright, now what did you think about Lara going into this particular bout? What did you think about your chances and what he had done so far in his career?
MOLINA: Well I thought he was a good fighter. I mean I had seen his fights and he’s a good fighter. He has a lot of amateur experience, but I was ready for him and I was just hoping that if it went to a decision that I would get a fair decision.
JENNA: Not many people were giving you much of a chance in this bout. How do you feel now that you did better than people thought you would perform?
MOLINA: Well I mean that kind of motivates me when people don’t give me a chance. I like that. I mean in a lot of ways I’m always an underdog and that doesn’t bother me at all. It makes me work harder for it which I like. I don’t let it bother me what anybody else thinks about my chances in a fight, because when it comes down to it it’s just you and him.
JENNA: Okay now you’re on a heck of a winning streak at this point. Do you think with this past week’s performance that you are deserving of a title shot right now?
MOLINA: Well I hope so! I think I am. That’s what I’m trying to get to. Hopefully I do get a title shot. Whatever I have to do, you know? Whoever I have to fight or whichever way I have to go, whenever I get the title shot I’ll take full advantage of it and I’ll be ready for it.
JENNA: Alright now with this fight being as close as it was and it being scored a draw, do you think a rematch with Erislandy Lara is in the cards for you?
MOLINA: Yeah, I would love a rematch with Erislandy Lara. If they give it to me I’ll take the rematch. I’m ready to fight anyone or anybody else. I’m not going to just be all about Lara just trying to get that rematch again. If they’re going to give it to me, I’m ready. I’m ready at any time.
JENNA: We’re also joined by my Co-Host Geoff.
GEOFFREY CIANI: Hey Carlos, it’s a pleasure to have you on the show and congratulations on a great effort this weekend.
MOLINA: Thanks Geoff. Thanks.
CIANI: Carlos I wanted to ask you, Jenna mentioned your winning streak before and you haven’t lost since you were in a period where you had a draw and three losses. So it was a four fight period where you did not have a win. What was going through your mind at that point in your career during that bad stretch?
MOLINA: That got me down a little bit for a little while, but I mean you can’t stay down no matter what. It made me want to work harder. I was always at the gym, I was always trying to get better, and I was trying to get back in there and prove that I can come back and box from that. I learned a lot from those fights. They were close and I learned that you got to win every round. You got to try to win every single round. You can’t leave these fights that close.
CIANI: You mentioned and they were all close fights, and some of them were in fact even controversial. When you reflect back on that, do you think in some ways it helped you become the fighter you are now being that you learned to fight every round as you say?
MOLINA: Yeah I think so. Most definitely I learned from those mistakes and I always try and learn from my fights. Like this fight with Lara, fights like this they help me out a lot. They help me grow into a better boxer and that’s what I want to do.
CIANI: Now you’re last fight, which was a long time ago as you mentioned before, when you fought Danny Perez you took him on a week’s notice. Were you surprised by how well you performed at that time give the short notice you had to prepare?
MOLINA: No not at all, because I’m always in the gym. I’m always in the gym just ready for a fight because where I’m at right now, I don’t have a promoter and I can’t really choose who I fight or when I fight. So all I have to do is be ready and I know that I’m going to get that opportunity. I know it’s going to pop up sooner or later so all I can do is be in the best shape I can all the time. That’s what I try to do. I don’t take any breaks.
CIANI: Changing things up a tiny bit here, are you a big fan of the sport as a spectator and if so, who are some of the fighters out there that you most enjoy watching?
MOLINA: Yeah, I’m a big fan of boxing! I love watching all the fights. I watch it from HBO and Showtime to ESPN to every fight, any fight on TV or live, I try to catch it and not miss it. Of course I like Pacquiao. I like Sergio Martinez. He’s doing real good. He’s on a good roll like that. Everybody, Hopkins, I love boxing in general.
CIANI: Now you mentioned Pacquiao. What do you think of him right now as the most popular fighter in boxing and what do you think of his upcoming fight against Sugar Shane Mosley?
MOLINA: I think that Pacquiao is doing really good for the sport of boxing and I think that fight with Mosley is going to prove that Mayweather should step in there and fight Pacquiao. It’s going to be a tough fight though for Pacquiao, but I think he should take it.
JENNA: Alright now Carlos, my Co-Host alluded to some of your close and controversial fights. Something you’re best known for is putting the only blemish on Julio Cesar Chavez Junior’s record. You had a draw back in December 2005. Can you tell us a little bit about that bout and the perception people have that you won it?
MOLINA: I thought I did enough to win that fight, also. It was down in Mexico and even some of the fans thought I won. Like I’ve said before, if they want to fight me I’ll fight him again but I just moved on from that fight. I’m not worrying about what Chavez Junior does and everything. I’m just trying to move on. If Chavez Junior offered me the fight again, I’ll fight him again anytime. They know that. So I just move on and I’ll fight anybody else.
JENNA: Now there were no scorecards read for that bout.
MOLINA: Yeah, that was weird!
JENNA: Yeah. Do you think it was at all shady by the promoters not to have scorecards for that one and do you think it proves in a sense that you probably won it and they’re kind of pushing it under the rug a little bit?
MOLINA: Yeah, that was kind of weird because they just said that the decision is a draw. I never heard of that before, but then again it was Mexico so I don’t know.
JENNA: Alright well you took him on again in a rematch not too long after. It was a majority decision loss. Do you feel you actually lost that one or do you feel once again that you were not given credit for your performance?
MOLINA: The second one I think was a closer fight. It was a closer fight. Again, I don’t like to make any excuses and I just pretty much went past that already. I’ve moved on and I want to start just fighting anybody now and move on from that fight.
JENNA: Well since I’m on the topic of Julio Cesar Chavez Junior, what do you think of how he’s grown as a fighter since you fought him and the fact that he actually will be fighting for a title soon?
MOLINA: I think he’s done good for himself. I think he’s ready to step up for a title. He’s got like 35 wins now and I see that he went up in weight, too. He’s fighting at middleweight now. I mean wish him the best. Let’s see what he does. Hopefully he wins a world title and then I’ll get a rematch with him. That would be nice.
CIANI: Hey Carlos, one of the questions I like to ask a lot of the guests we have on this show is the story behind how they first started using their boxing nicknames, and in your case I’m wondering if you can tell the fans out there the story behind how you first started using the “King” moniker?
MOLINA: Well actually yeah, I think that your nickname should be given to you. I mean I didn’t make up my own name. Actually my first trainer Lou Askenette, my first trainer, gave me the “King”. He just gave it to me. I don’t know why. I guess he just walked into the ring and said I was the “King of the Ring” so it kind of stuck, and he started calling me “King”.
CIANI: Now you’re going to be 28 years old in a couple of months. What would you ultimately like to accomplish in the sport of boxing before your career is over?
MOLINA: I guess I set my goals real high. I want to accomplish a lot of world titles, that’s for sure! I want to win titles at 147 and 154, you know both weights. Whatever comes I just want to be the best boxer that I could be.
CIANI: Now you mentioned earlier that you want to have a more active year, that you had a lot of time off that you kind of wanted to make up for. How many fights would you like to have over the course of the next two years?
MOLINA: Well I would love to have at least four or five fights a year, Four fights, five fights, six fights a year. So over the next two years if I can get 10 or 12 fights in there that would be awesome, but let’s see how it goes. I mean I want to get in the ring right now as soon as possible and try to make that happen.
JENNA: You mention you want to get back in the ring as soon as possible. Realistically, how soon can we see you back in there?
MOLINA: I was think in late April or early May.
JENNA: Alright now for your fans out there and the people that are listening, what are your final thoughts on the fight you had with Erislandy Lara?
MOLINA: My final thoughts I guess are that I think that I could have done better with this fight. I mean I still think that I did enough to win. I mean it was a learning experience and I feel like if we were to fight again I’ll do a lot better with him even more this time. In my next fight, whether it’s against Lara or anybody else, I’m going to do even better than I did in this last fight.
JENNA: Great. Now my final question, to those fans that support you, is there anything that you want to say to them?
MOLINA: I want to thank everybody that’s supporting me and that believed in me. I hope they know that I’m going to give it all I have every time I’m out there. I’m going to give it 200% every time I’m fighting.
JENNA: Well great, Carlos it’s been a pleasure talking to you. That 200% that you gave this past week was good enough to get a draw and some people thought you even deserved to win. So I want to congratulate you on that performance and wish you the best of luck in your career.
MOLINA: Alright thank you. Thank you very much.
CIANI: Thanks Carlos. Good luck.
MOLINA: Alright thank you. Thank you guys, thanks for having me on the show.
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For those interested in listening to the Carlos Molina interview in its entirety, it begins right at the beginning of the program.
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