(Photo credit: Emily Harney/Banner Promotions) NEW YORK (April 12, 2016) – Former junior welterweight world champion Ruslan Provodnikov, former world title challenger John Molina Jr. and undefeated former 154-pound world champion Demetrius Andrade participated in a media luncheon on Tuesday hosted by SHOWTIME® and Banner Promotions before beginning training camp for their June 11 showdown, live on SHOWTIME® from Turning Stone Casino in Verona, N.Y.
John Molina
Ruslan Provodnikov to face John Molina Junior in June – a can’t-miss slugfest
Showtime yesterday announced a string of upcoming fights set for the summer and one of these match-ups caught the eye of any discerning fan of a slugfest: the June 11th Ruslan Provodnikov-John Molina Junior clash. Provodnikov – who will be making his Showtime network TV debut – against Molina Junior will surely feature plenty of drama, for however long the light-welterweight shootout lasts.
PBC is The One and Keith Thurman’s a Close 2nd
Unfortunately, PBC hoped for a barn burner with Molina. Instead the flames were doused when Molina failed to press the fight as promised. He impressed no one except for Referee Robert Byrd, who early on warned him to keep his head up. Molina’s style was head down, eyes closed, throwing wild right hand swings. He impressed no one, including the crowd.
Thurman defeats Guerrero; Broner decisions Molina
WBA 147lb champion Keith Thurman (25-0, 21 KOs) gave Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero (32-3-1, 18 KOs) a methodical beating in winning a 12 round unanimous decision tonight in their fight on NBC in the Premier Boxing Champion series at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. The judges scored the fight 120-107, 118-109 and 118-108. Guerrero was cut over his left eye and knocked down in the 9th round after getting tagged hard by a left hand from Thurman.
In the 3rd, Thurman and Guerrero rammed heads with each other, leaving Thurman was a big goose egg on the left side of his forehead.
“PBC” on NBC: Spotlight Shines On Keith Thurman & Adrien Broner
Since their arrival to the sport, both Adrien “The Problem” Broner (29-1, 22KO’s) and Keith “One Time” Thurman (24-0, 21KO’s) have lived in the proverbial ‘under the radar but above the rim’ echelon of the sport. Heavy with the hands, yet light with sympathy for anyone standing across from them with plans to prevent their rise to the top. While very different in presentation, there is a lone common thread between these two talents. Both seem to embody that patented “it” factor, making them easy to love, yet equally easy to hate.
Broner vs. Molina/Thurman vs. Guerrero: 4 Fighters 2 Crossroad Fights on NBC
Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions on NBC brings boxing back on free television with the winners likely to get a bump in terms of overall marketing reach and the potential viewership. All four fighters in the co-main events will face a crossroads in their respected careers. Two promising young boxers face two veteran fighters that have already been through the ringer a time or two.
Al Haymon will of course have a plan to feature the newly crowned Heavyweight Champion Deontay Wilder on NBC but the favorites for this Saturday night’s card are crucial to the success of the PBC on NBC as well. Adrien Broner being a full fledge named fighter in the sport and a young counterpunching knockout artist who remains unbeaten in 25 fights Keith Thurman.
Marcos Maidana, Leo Santa Cruz, Miguel Vazquez And John Molina Oxnard Media Day Quotes
(Photo credit: Esther Lin/Showtime) OXNARD, Calif. (Aug. 26, 2014) – Marcos “El Chino” Maidana, the former welterweight world champion who gets his eagerly awaited rematch with Floyd “Money” Mayweather in the main event of “MAYHEM: Mayweather vs. Maidana 2” on Saturday, Sept. 13 live on SHOWTIME PPV, world champions Leo “El Terremoto” Santa Cruz (WBC Super Bantamweight), Miguel “Títere” Vazquez (IBF Lightweight), junior welterweight contender John Molina, Maidana’s trainer Robert Garcia and Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe participated in a Media Workout Tuesday at Robert Garcia Boxing Academy in Oxnard.
Matthysse Beats Molina In Fight Of Year
On an exciting night when unbeaten WBA Interim Welterweight Champion Keith “One Time” Thurman retained his title with a third-round TKO over former world champion Julio “The Kidd” Diaz and undefeated Omar “Panterita” Figueroa successfully defended his WBC lightweight crown with a 12-round split decision over Jerry Belmontes, Lucas “The Machine” Matthysse stole the show with a spectacular, brutal 11th-round knockout over John Molina in the leading Fight of the Year candidate Saturday on SHOWTIME®.
The Argentine, ranked No. 1 in the world at 140 pounds, was hurt in the first and dropped in the second and fifth rounds. But the former interim WBC 140-pound world champion came back with knockdowns in the eighth, 10th and 11th to turn back a determined bid by Molina and capture the WBC Continental Americas Super Lightweight Championship.
Is this Golden Boy/Showtime Tripleheader entertaining matchmaking or mismatches on premium cable?
This Saturday night from the fan friendly StubHub Center in Carson California, yet another Golden Boy Promotions Tripleheader will broadcasted by Showtime Sports.
The card has recognizable names in what some boxing fans, many media members, and all the betting websites, have labeled as showcase type action fights that will surely be a boom or bust on social media Saturday night.
As a team in 2013, Richard Schafer, Stephan Espinoza, and who else Al Haymon, saw increased ratings, huge PPV numbers, and quality fights that produced a banner year. Showtime has put all their chips in fueling the sport of boxing and creating real competition with HBO.
Lucas Matthysse faces John Molina on Thurman-Diaz card on April 26th
Lucas Matthysse (34-3, 32 KO’s) will be taking a tune-up/stay busy fight against lightweight slugger John Molina (27-3, 22 KO’s) on the Keith Thurman vs. Julio Diaz fight card on Showtime at the StubHub Center, in Carson, California, USA. The Matthysse-Molina fight should provide entertainment for boxing fans anxious to see straight slugging, even if the fight does prove to be a mismatch.
Hopefully, the Molina doesn’t fold in one round like he did against Antonio DeMarco in 2012. Matthysse is a bigger puncher than DeMarco, so it’s quite possible we could see Molina drop for the 10 count early in the fight. In that case, hopefully Golden Boy Promotions and Golden Promotions learn from the experience that they can’t match Matthysse against lightweights and expect the fights to be entertaining.