By Sev Sarkisian:

 On Sunday, September 30^th fight fans around the world will be treated to an action-packed fight between Former WBC welterweight world champion Victor Ortiz (32-6 25KO’s) and power punching former title challenger John Molina Jr (30-7 24KO’s) at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario California.  This event will be televised live on Fox Sports 1 at 9 pm ET and is part of the PBC boxing series. 

Back in 2008, Victor Ortiz was a red hot up and coming prospect with true punching power who was dispatching solid opponents with relative ease.  ESPN even anointed him the prospect of the year in 2008.  However, In the summer of 2009, his career took a major turning point when he faced his first world-class opponent in a young hungry Marcos Maidana.  That fight turned out to be a great action packed fight in which both fighters knocked each other down multiple times in what turned out to be in my opinion fight of the year for 2009. However, the fight finished with Ortiz basically quitting.

Since then, Ortiz has gone through many ups and downs and that includes attaining the WBC welterweight world title in 2011 after beating Andre Berto in yet another fight of the year in 2011.  From a physical standpoint, Ortiz had it all at one point.  He is an extremely hard puncher with both hands, has good hand speed, decent reflexes, and a strong physic. He also had good offensive skills to go along with his physical attributes though I believe his skills have gradually eroded over the years.  His biggest problem and weakness have always been his mind, however.  He is known to panic and quit when under duress.     

John Molina, on the other hand, is a fighter’s fighter.  He may not be the most talented or skill full fighter but he’s big, strong, rugged, durable and hits like a mule.  He also always comes into a fight with extreme determination each and every time out and gives it his all.  He has challenged for the WBC lightweight title back in 2012 against Antonio Demarco but got stopped in the very first round in a weird fight.  His next title shot came at 140lbs against Terrance Crawford.  Molina put in a great and brave effort against Crawford but ended getting stopped late in the fight and coming up short against one of the sports best fighters.  Molina holds wins over the likes of Hank Lundy, Mickey Bey, and Ruslan Provodnikov. 

Making a prediction for this fight was hard because on paper Victor Ortiz should be able to handle a guy like Molina. However, fights aren’t won on paper and I have a difficult time trusting Ortiz with big punchers.  History shows us that Victor Ortiz doesn’t handle punchers well and that enough for me to slightly lean towards John Molina to pull off the win. 

However, one thing is guaranteed and that’s an exciting fight for however long it lasts!