The star-studded undercard for Floyd "Money" Mayweather's September 14th superfight with Saul "Canelo" Alvarez has been finalized, as Mayweather Promotions fighter Ishe Smith will defend his junior middleweight belt against Carlos Molina.
Smith won his belt on Showtime in February by taking a majority decision from Cornelius "K-9" Bundrage. Both fighters had previously appeared on The Contender, a reality competition show that aired on NBC that pitted boxing hopefuls in elimination-style bouts until one emerged as a champion.
This fight will be Smith's first title defense, and Molina could prove to be a tough customer. His record stands at 21-5-2 with six knockouts. His biggest wins have come against known commodities Cory Spinks and Kermit Cintron, while his highest-profile loss was against power-punching James Kirkland.
Molina's promoter, Leon Margules, said his fighter is extremely excited about the bump in profile he'll receive. "We are very excited to be on the biggest show of the year and one of the biggest shows in the history of boxing," Margules said. "Getting that kind of exposure is great. Not only do we get to win a world title, but we get to do it on a huge show. Carlos trains 12 months a year and he lives in the gym, so he is always ready to go. When the fight was postponed, he just kept working. He will be ready for Ishe."
Following Smith vs. Molina, undefeated 140-lb. champion Danny Garcia will take on knockout artist Lucas Matthysse. Both men are light welterweight titlists, and stand to gain a great deal from victory. Should Mayweather prevail against Canelo, the winner is expected to be next in line for a shot at Mayweather's pound-for-pound crown.
There will be a fourth featured bout on this loaded card, between Pablo Cesar Cano and Ashley Theophane that is expected to deliver fireworks.
Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer, talking about the year's biggest boxing event said, "With Mayweather and Canelo and Garcia-Matthysse we already know this is a huge show, but now we've added another world title fight with Ishe Smith and Carlos Molina and the opening fight between Cano and Theophane."
"(Golden Boy matchmaker) Eric (Gomez) told me he believes the Cano-Theophane fight is going to be a barnburner. That's what we wanted. We wanted to put on another great fight, not just a showcase fight. It's not a mismatch or a showcase for either guy. I have no idea who's going to win, and Eric says it's going to be a tough, tough fight."
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