Carlos Molina Outworks Cintron

I began writing about sports as an intern with the Detroit Pistons in the summer of 2003. The Pistons at the time were a gritty bunch, lead by an undersized center named Ben Wallace who averaged less than 7 points per game. That team featured three starters chosen almost entirely for their defensive ability (Wallace, Michael Curry and Cliff Robinson) and still managed to win 50 games in back-to-back season based purely on effort and professionalism.

They were one of the few sports teams that ever deserved the label blue collar and the city was justly proud of them, even more so when they won the title a year later after acquiring Rasheed Wallace and moving Tayshaun Prince into the starting lineup. They knew they may not be the most talented bunch of individuals but together they realized they had an opportunity and seized it against a Lakers team billed as one of the greatest of all-time.

Time proved those Pistons were more talented than at first, with several players going on to multiple All-Star berths. But I couldn’t help but think of that team while watching Carlos Molina (above right) scratch and claw his way from gatekeeper to a legitimate junior middleweight contender over the past few months. His workmanlike defeat of Kermit Cintron on Saturday night in Carson, Calif. has firmly established him among the top names at 154 lbs.

The victim of several questionable decisions, Molina hasn’t lost since February 2007 and has worked his way into the championship picture by earning a disputed draw against touted Cuban Erislandy Lara in March and following it up with an impressive stoppage of Allen Conyers in April, both on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights. Neither especially fast nor powerful, Molina also lacked the benefit of an extensive amateur career and has instead been forced to learn on the job. He has done so admirably; what he lacks in style or technique he makes up for in grit, effort and constant punching.

Against Cintron Molina brought the same steady, conventional attack: constant jabs followed by straight rights, hooks to the body, uppercuts in close and unrelenting pressure. After some early success by Cintron, who looked sharp initially after a 14-month layoff, Molina settled into the fight and began imposing his will.

Cintron became inexplicably withdrawn and often came up short when firing his right hand. Either his tumble through the ropes against Paul Williams appears to have robbed Cintron of his prime or some serious adjustments in training are warranted. At 31 years old a return to the top level for him appears questionable.

Like my beloved Pistons against those dysfunctional Lakers Molina showed little regard for what was wrong with Cintron, choosing instead to take advantage of his foe’s reticence by banking rounds and unloading precise combinations to Kermit’s head and body. Molina knows it doesn’t matter how you arrive at a title shot, just whether or not you seize the moment once you’re there. Having seen him take advantage of his last three opponents I would be reluctant to bet against Molina doing the same against any opponent ranked by Ring magazine at junior middleweight.

There’s talk of Molina fighting Pawel Wolak or Vanes Martirosyan on the Cotto-Margarito undercard; either man would be wise not to underestimate what the Chicagoan will bring to the ring. He apparently is waiting for a big payday to get married to his longtime girlfriend; something tells me a call to the wedding planner is not too far away

–Editor Gautham Nagesh