By: Hans Themistode
Jose Pedraza just won’t stop until he becomes a three weight world champion.
The Puerto Rican native will look to make it two wins in a row when he takes on Javier Molina later on tonight.
Pedraza’s last win was a much needed one as he outclassed former title challenger Mikkel LesPierre. The former two division titlist boxed circles around his man, dropping him several times over before cruising to a unanimous decision victory. The win boosted Pedraza’s (27-3, 13 KOs) stock after watching it hit an all-time low when he was thoroughly beaten by Jose Zepeda last year.
For Molina, he’s never found himself on the brink of a world title opportunity at any point in his career. But with five straight wins, including an upset over the once highly touted Amir Imam, Molina (22-2, 9 KOs) could be on the verge of his first shot at gold should he pick up the biggest win of his career Pedraza.
While the main event will get its fair share of attention, there are several other notable fights on this card as well.
Recent Top Rank signee Efe Ajagba will make his debut in the co main event slot as he takes on journeymen Jonathan Rice. Ajagaba, 26, jumped ship from Premier Boxing Champions to find a new home with Top Rank. He’ll look to make promoter Bob Arum happy as can be later on tonight.
Another fighter that Arum will most definitely have his eyes on is amateur star Robeisy Ramirez. He’ll look to dismantle Felix Caraballo much faster then his fellow Olympian Shakur Stevenson did when the two matched up earlier this year. In said contest, Stevenson got rid of his man in the sixth round, stopping him with a body shot.
The action kicks off in just a few hours at 8 PM Eastern Time on ESPN.