Tonight from the Grand Oasis Cancun Resort in Mexico, incumbent IBF Junior Middleweight Champion Carlos Molina (22-5-2, 6 KOs) will finally make his first title defense against mandatory challenger and former champ Cornelius “K-9” Bundrage (33-5, 19 KOs).
The championship bout is slated to be broadcast on ESPN Deportes and ESPN3.com, with a start time of 9:30 p.m. eastern time.
Since capturing 154 pound gold on the undercard of Canelo/Mayweather last year, the 31 year old fighter has been dormant due to several legal issues that affected his ability to train, live and compete within the United States.
The Mexican born title holder was originally scheduled to make his first title defense against contender Jermall Charlo on March 8, as part of the Canelo/Angulo undercard in Las Vegas, Nevada, but was forced to cancel after being jailed because of an outstanding warrant for failing to register as a sex offender from a previous conviction in 2001.
While the former Chicago resident was being detained, it was discovered that he was living in the U.S. illegally, and was consequently deported back to his native country. Because of his inability to fight in America, the incumbent champ is being forced to defend his title in Mexico this evening.
The 41 year old mandatory challenger earned his opportunity to compete for Molina’s title by scoring a unanimous decision victory over Joey Hernandez (23-2-1, 14 KOs) on January 24, 2014, at the Fantasy Springs Casino. The Detroit native first won the world title by knocking out Cory Spinks on August 7, 2010, and eventually relinquished the IBF strap to Vegas born fighter Ishe Smith in February of 2013.
Molina current fights under the Warriors Boxing Promotional banner, while “K-9” Bundrage is a free agent at this time.
Video: Busca Molina nuevo inicio; Tras problemas legales que lo llevaron a ser deportado de EEUU, Carlos Molina inicia el camino de redenci?n al defender en M?xico ante K-9 Bundrage.
