Norwalk's 2008 U.S. Olympian welterweight Javier “El Intocable” Molina (17-1, 8 KOs) returns to the ring when he takes on undefeated welterweight prospect Minnesota’s Jamal James (18-0, 9 KOs) on Tuesday January 19 at Club Nokia at L.A. Live in Los Angeles on the Fox Sports 1 PBC Toe to Toe Tuesday’s main event. We caught up with Molina during training camp as he talked about his camp and upcoming fight with James.
“I will be headlining Toe to Toe Tuesday’s at the Club Nokia against Jamal James. I am excited I get to fight here in front of my family and friends against a good undefeated fighter,” Javier Molina told Southern California Boxing.com
Molina held camp in southern California doing his gym work at the Maywood Boxing Club in the Maywood. Working strength and conditioning at the track on the campus of Cal State University Long Beach as he prepares for James.
“Training has been good. I have been in camp for ten weeks, sparring is good. We are two weeks away and ready to go,” Molina said. “My conditioning is good I am going ten to twelve rounds sparring,” Molina added.
Working with his trainer Arnulfo Bravo, along with his father Miguel Molina there is always a great supporting cast during camp. With his twin brother 2012 Mexican Olympian super welterweight Oscar Molina (13-0-1, 9 KOs) and his older brother super lightweight Carlos Molina (17-2-2, 7 KOs) pushing him along the way as they do to each other.
“It’s always great having my brothers around I have fought all my career training with them. They are always here helping me out,” Molina said.
Coming off a seventh round stoppage, Molina stopped Lenwood Dozier this past October in Sheldon, Washington. Prior to that Molina had last fought in November of 2014 with a sixth round split decision over Luis Prieto. Out of the ring for almost a year, the 2008 Olympian had a long period of inactivity due to an injury.
“My last fight a couple of months ago in Sheldon was good. I stopped the guy in seven rounds but before that I was out a year and a half due to injury,”
His undefeated counterpart Jamal James stands at 6 feet, 2 inches tall and has fought the majority of his career in his home state of Minnesota. James scored a unanimous decision over Juan Carlos Abreu in his last fight in September.
“I have seen him fight a couple of times. His biggest advantage is that he is tall and lanky. He likes to throw a lot of punches he is a good fighter,”
The 26 year old, looks to get his career cranking having been setback most of his career due to a plaguing hand injury. Molina fractured his right hand in January of 2014 as he prepared for an upcoming fight, he returned nine months later fighting two fights against lower opposition but him and his team decided to sit out to allow more time for his hand to recover. Just to add more to the list of injuries, Molina also suffered an elbow injury as he talked about his injuries.
“My hand is great but my last injury was on my elbow. I had a tear in my ligaments, but my hand has been good since the surgery,” Molina said. “I want to stay busy but I haven’t been able to do that because of my injuries. Hopefully we can stay healthy and stay in the ring,” Molina added.
With the injuries behind him Molina will now fight in a crossroads match against the undefeated James as Molina looks to begin his 2016 campaign with a win. As the goal for Molina this year will be to stay more active and be injury free.
“This is a big fight its one of the biggest of my career because I am fighting an undefeated fighter,” Molina said. “I have been inactive for so long, fighting once or twice a year. I just want to get going, it’s hard to put your name out there when you are not fighting but now I have a chance to headline fighting on national TV. Now I can make a name for my self,” Molina added.
Molina vs. James will be a scheduled ten round welterweight bout. The Toe to Toe Tuesday’s card at Club Nokia kicks off fight week as that weekend will be the debut of “PBC on FOX” featuring undefeated Danny “Swift” Garcia (31-0, 18 KOs) against Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero (33-3-1, 18 KOs).
“I will put on a great show. I am ready. I have been training hard so I will go out and get that victory,” Molina added.
Follow Miguel on Twitter @MigMaravilla
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