Former Lightweight Title Challenger Molina Jr. to Meet Undefeated Lightweight Klimov on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights
The June 7 edition of ESPN’s Friday Night Fights presented by Corona Extra will feature former Lightweight world- title challenger “The Gladiator” John Molina Jr. (25-2, 20 KOs) and undefeated Lightweight Andrey Klimov (15-0, 8 KOs) in the 10-round main event. Friday’s show from the Little Creek Casino in Shelton, Wash., will air live at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN2 HD, ESPN Deportes and WatchESPN. Friday’s card is promoted by Goossen Tutor Promotions.
Commentators:
Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas will be ringside describing the action for ESPN2 HD, while studio host Todd Grisham (@GrishamESPN) will provide the latest boxing news and look back at the best of Friday Night Fights from the month of May. Pablo Viruega and Delvin Rodriguez will call this week’s fights for ESPN Deportes’ Viernes de Combates (Friday Night Fights) with Claudia Trejos and Leopoldo Gonzalez in the studio. Bilingual reporter Bernardo Osuna (@osunaespn) will present live interviews and reports for both shows.
Main Event:
California’s Molina, who is trained by former Jr. Lightweight titlist Robert Garcia, is coming off a January fourth-round knockout win over Dannie Williams.
“We took care of Dannie Williams now we’ve got to take care of Klimov,” Molina said. “I’ve done my studying of him. He’s a tough cat, undefeated. We’re going to have to take it from him, and we’re training for such. Klimov has a very European style, herky-jerky. But I’ve watched him on several occasions and the one punch he throws very well – he sneaks that right uppercut underneath you where you don’t see it. I’ve got to watch that, because I’ve been caught by that punch before. But now that I’ve got it in my head that he’ll be throwing that punch, I’ll be watching out for it.”
Russia’s Klimov scored a March seventh-round technical decision win over Matias Gomez in his last fight.
Klimov said through an interpreter, “I’m a technical boxer. Molina is a fighter with a lot of professional experience, with very hard punching power, but I’m probably the best guy he’s ever fought.”
Co-Feature:
Friday’s 10-round co-feature will pit Super Middleweights Farah “Quiet Storm” Ennis (20-1, 12 KOs) of Philadelphia against North Carolina’s Tony “The Tyger” Hanshaw (23-2-2, 14 KOs). Ennis scored a 10-round unanimous win over Richard Pierson in his last fight, while Hanshaw will look to get back to his winning ways following a 10-round draw against Derek Edwards.
Upcoming Schedule:
| Date | Time (ET) | Main Event | Location | Networks | |
| Fri., Jun 14 | 9 p.m. | Juan Carlos Payano (13-0, 7 KOs) vs. Jundy Maraon (15-0-1, 12 KOs)—12-rounds, Bantamweight | Richard J. Codey Arena, West Orange, N.J. | ESPN2, ESPN Deportes WatchESPN | |
| Fri., Jun 21 | 10 p.m. | Rances Barthelemy (18-0, 11 KOs) vs. Fahsai Sakkreerin (39-3-1, 21 KOs)—12-rounds, Junior Lightweight | Minneapolis Convention Center, Minneapolis, Minn. | ESPN2, ESPN Deportes WatchESPN | |
| Fri., Jun 28 | 9 p.m. | Grzegorz Proska (29-2, 21 KOs) vs. Sergio Mora (23-3-2, 7 KOs)—10-rounds, Middleweight | Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville, Fla. | ESPN2, ESPN Deportes WatchESPN | |
*Schedule subject to change
Follow ESPN’s Friday Night Fights on Twitter @ESPNFNF or like it on Facebook. Follow ESPN Deportes’ Viernes de Combates on Twitter @ESPNBoxeo. Also score the fights round-by-round with the “Live Friday Night Fights Facebook Voting App,” an application on the ESPN FNF Facebook page that allows viewers to score the fight round-by-round.
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