Josesito Lopez drops and stops John Molina Jr!
In the first fight to start the Errol Spence vs Shawn Porter pay-per-view portion of the PBC event, “The Riverside Rocky” Josesito Lopez completely dominated John “The Gladiator” Molina Jr en route to an eighth round stoppage.
Both men were coming off losses in the first quarter of 2019. Lopez to former WBA champion Keith Thurman and Molina to former WBC lightweight champion Omar Figueroa. As a result, this match-up served as a crossroads bout as both men desperately needed a win to stay relevant at welterweight.
Lopez would be the man that could not be denied. In the first round, he come out with guns blazing as he scored two knockdowns. Many felt the fight would not reach the first three minutes, however, the heart and determination of Molina helped him to survive the knockout.
Although, not for long!
Lopez never let off the gas. While Molina would land some good shots in subsequent rounds, The Riverside Rocky would clearly dominate the rest of the fight. The Gladiator has never been known for his defense throughout his career, but he really had no idea how to defend the straight right had or the jab. At 36 years-old, whatever reflexes he used to have are completely gone at this point.
Molina would go down again in the seventh round by a right hand before ultimately being stopped in the next round.
“John Molina is a warrior for sure. It was pleasure to be in the ring with Molina. I want to thank Robert Garcia and my whole team for turning my career around. I’m the ‘Riverside Rocky’ and I’m here to challenge all champions.
“I knew he wasn’t going to quit. He’s a warrior. I had to keep on the pressure. I was thinking that hopefully the ref and the team made the right call to finish it at the right time.
“There’s a lot more ‘Riverside Rocky. Robert Garcia has turned my career around. I’m a race car and like NASCAR, I’ve got a whole team behind me.
“We both carry power in our hands so it wasn’t a surprise someone went down. It easily could have happened to me with the power he has. I was able to catch him early, find openings and get the finish.
“I’m a top 10-level fighter. I’m going to give any fighter and any world champion a run for their money. I want memorable fights and I want the best.
“It was an honor to fight Keith Thurman last fight and I’d love to fight him again. I want all big challenges and all the titles.
Josesito Lopez – Welterweight Contender”
“You can never take the fight out of a fighter. I have a never say die attitude and I have my whole career. It was a tough fight, but the better man won tonight.
“I wanted to keep going at the end. I thought I was still coherent and could still move well. But you can’t go against what the referees say.
John Molina Jr – Welterweight Contender“
By: EJ Williams
I like Molina, but IDK, he was big time dirty in that Ruslan fight, loaded up on PED’s, and I lost respect for him. I liked that Ruslan guy. I felt he was a true warrior, just had the wrong people in his corner. Clearly…if fighters like Molina can take advantage of him. I think Molina came in 20 pounds heavier the night of the fight and it showed. I think the was the last time we saw poor Ruslan. I dont think much of Lopez either. Could fighter for the top tier guys to fight if they are looking to stay busy. Porter could fight Lopez next, just so Porter isnt sitting around. I’m not sure who Porter fights next, so why not Lopez? If he knocks Lopez out, that’ll look good. Personally I’m not sure what Lopez is suppose to do now. What does he want? Clearly he’s not getting a fight with Errol, Manny or Crawford, so title fights are out. Thurman is on the bench again, bruised his left butt cheek this time. So he could fight Porter, I guess…IDK What do you guys think?