By James Slater: As fans may know, WBC #1 ranked heavyweight contender Chris Arreola has his first fight of 2012 on February 18th, on the Paul Williams-Nobuhiro Ishida/Tavoris Cloud-Gabriel Campillo card in Corpus Christi, Texas. No official announcement has yet been made regarding who “The Nightmare” will face next month.
However, according to a news article in The Brownsville Herald, 29-year-old Eric Molina of Raymondville will be Arreola’s dance partner. According to the article, Molina, 18-1(14) signed a deal with promoter Don King last year and he will get the biggest shot of his five-year pro career against the well known Mexican/American slugger.
Currently training for the fight in Florida, Molina, known as “The Drummer Boy,” acknowledges the fact that he will have to train harder than he ever has before if he’s to beat 30-year-old Arreola, 34-2(29).
“This fight is very important because it will tell me where I’m at,” Molina said. “If I win, it’ll mean greater things ahead for me. If I lose, I’ll know that I had my shot. But I don’t plan to lose. This is it, all or nothing. I’m more focused than ever. Something is telling me I may have to visit hell to get myself ready for Arreola. May God be with me.”
A pro since March of 2007 (a pro debut Molina actually lost by 1st-round KO), the 6’5” approx 230-pound Molina has yet to face anyone approaching Arreola’s class. A huge step up for him, on paper at least, next month’s fight could end badly for Molina. Then again, with nothing to lose, the man who has scored 14 KO’s might get lucky and score the upset.
Back in 2010, Molina was fighting down as cruiserweight, yet he has bulked up and won four in a row at heavyweight since. Scanning Molina’s record, there are no obviously notable names on his record.
Arreola, very much in line for a shot at Wladimir Klitschko according to reports, has won six in a row since his points loss to Tomasz Adamek. In no mood for any slip-ups, Arreola might look to end this fight quickly. Set to be televised by Showtime, Arreola-Molina might wind up being a fun fight for as long as it lasts.
Not having seen Molina fight, it’s tough to make a prediction. The 29-year-old will be scoring some big upset if he derails Arreola though.