Javier Molina
Javier Molina is an American professional boxer in the junior welterweight division. He was born on January 2, 1990, in Commerce, California. He is best known for winning the 2007 U.S. National Championships when he was 17 years old.
Personal life
Molina's father, Miguel, had a successful amateur boxing career in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, before he migrated to the United States. His older brother Carlos is a highly regarded prospect with a 17-1-1 record, and his twin brother, Oscar Molina, fights on the Mexican Olympic team.
Amateur career
With a Vicente Fernández ring entrance song of "No Me Se Rajar", a tune that reflects the macho culture that prevails in Mexico, Molina finished his amateur career with a record of 111-12. He won a bronze medal at the 2006 Cadet World Championships at lightweight and a national title at the 2006 Junior Olympic International Invitational. He knocked down Karl Dargan (a two-time 141-pound U.S. champion and winner of the 2007 Pan American Games) twice at the U.S. championships. He then won against Jeremy Bryan and Dan O'Connor, followed by Brad Solomon in the finals, to win the junior welterweight title. At the World Championships in 2007, he beat Azerbaijan's Emil Maharramov, the 2005 bronze medalist, 27-10, but lost to England's 2008 Olympian Bradley Saunders.
