Carlos Molina vs Jermall Charlo preview March 8
Carlos Molina will be attempting to defend his IBF Jr. Middleweight Crown for the first time this Saturday, March 8 when he takes on Jermall Charlo at the MGM Grand Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The 12-round bout is on the undercard of the Canelo Alvarez vs Alfredo Angulo main event and can be seen on Showtime’s pay-per-view network in America and on pay-per-view in Canada. Molina will enter the ring with a record of 22-5-2 with 6 Kos while the unbeaten Charlo is 17-0 with 13 Kos to his name.
Charlo of Richmond, Texas is ranked number 14 by the IBF, but still has a legitimate shot at taking Molina’s title. The main reason for this is Molina’s lack of power. If this is going to be a pure boxing match then Charlo is going to be tough to handle. The 30-year-old Molina, who was born in Mexico9 and fights out of Chicago, won the belt last September when he took it by a split decision from Ishe Smith. This is an optional defense for Molina rather than a mandatory bout, but he may end up regretting facing Charlo.
Molina is a fine boxer in his own right and likes to pressure his opponents. He’s more experienced than Charlo as he’s faced some of the best out there in Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. and Mike Alvarado. He lost a majority decision to both of those stars and also fought to a draw with Chavez. He’s also fought Erislandy Lara to a draw and has beaten Kermit Cintron and Cory Spinks, but was disqualified against James Kirkland in a controversial fight.
This will be a huge step up in class for the 23-year-old Charlo and he enters the fight with some good boxing skills as well as a bit of power in his fists. However, it’s very unlikely that he’s going to be able to stop Molina. It’s possible he may outbox him though and that should be his game plan from the opening bell. Charlo has an excellent amateur career and he’s handled the professional game just as well. He’s a well-tuned athlete and is very motivated to take the title in his first shot at a world belt.
Charlo has the advantage in speed and power over Molina, but the champion’s experience could even things out. Molina has an awkward style that has frustrated better boxers than Charlo over the years. Even though he doesn’t have much at all in the way of power he has proven to be an entertaining boxer on most occasions because of his work ethic. He’s also an above average defensive boxer who possesses a solid chin.
Charlo has to try not to get frustrated, but that could be easier said than done. Getting off first will be a big factor in this encounter since the rounds could be quite close and hard to score. Molina hasn’t really had much luck on the scorecards throughout his career, but there’s not really much of a chance that he can stop Charlo in his tracks. Therefore, this fight will be up for grabs and the hungriest boxer should take it over 12 rounds.
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Prediction
Charlo stands 6-feet tall with a 73.5-inch reach while Molina is just over 5-feet-9 inches tall with a 70-inch reach. Molina will have to work his way to the inside to land his shots while Charlo would like to keep him at a distance and catch him coming in. The two styles may not make for the most exciting bout of the evening, but it should be pretty intriguing. This is basically a coin-toss prediction, but Molina’s experience against punchers and boxers should help him out here and he we shouldn’t be surprised to see him hang onto his belt via aclose decision.
Odds
Sportsbook 5dimes.eu has the latest odds on all of the big fights with a Charlo win being listed at -210 and a Molina victory at +175. Visit 5Dimes.eu to see up to date odds and to bet on this fight. You should also check out our recent boxing betting predictions to see how we’ve done of late capping the fights.
Carlos Molina betting • Jermall Charlo betting