(Photo Courtesy of tapology.com) “Boxer Nick Molina wins match.”
Jake Messer
Connector Staff
The world of boxing has seen a resurgence in mainstream media over the past few months. Boxers like Tyson Fury, Canelo Alvarez, Anthony Joshua and Gervonta Davis are bringing the sport back from long periods of irrelevance with their spectacular main events bringing in huge pay-per-view numbers. However, one guy is making a name for himself on the local scene that people need to know about.
His name is Nick Molina.
Molina is a 24-year-old, undefeated pro boxer fighting out of Lowell, Massachusetts. “Saint Nick” has been making a name for himself over the past three years by winning his first thirteen professional fights, five of which came by knockout. Knockouts occur when a fallen boxer cannot get back up within 10 seconds
Molina began his boxing career as an amateur in 2013. During this time, Molina went an unimpressive 9-13. It seemed as if Molina was just going to be another stepping stone for other more talented boxers as he seemed to lack the speed and power he needed to be successful.
But Molina has something that most boxers lack today: determination. Molina was never knocked out; every time he got knocked down, he got back up. He never let his losses get to him, and he continued to hone his craft in the gym. Eventually, Molina made the bold choice to go pro in 2020.
Many believed this was a foolish decision, that he would never become a world-renowned boxer as he lacked true star-making knockout power.
Since going pro, Molina has been proving the doubters wrong. Molina has been a completely different fighter. Instead of winning split decisions and leaving it up to the judges, he is now knocking people out and securing unanimous victories.
Molina secured his first career knockout on May 8, 2021, which came against Bruno Dias in the first round. After years of winning on points, Molina had finally won via knockout. He had finally showcased his fight-ending power.
Molina would go on to win his next three fights with relative ease. However, many of the fighters he beat were either past their prime or making their debut. Many believed he was stat padding his record, making it seem he was better than he actually was.
Once again, these doubters would be proved wrong as Molina would unanimously defeat Daniel Robles in a six-round bout in November 2021. Up till that point Robles had only lost one fight and boasted seven wins, five of which came by knockout.
In the fights after that, Molina dazzled every time he stepped into the ring. He performed so well that he was finally given a shot at a title: the American Boxing Federation Lightweight Championship.
On October 29, 2022, in the Lowell Memorial Auditorium, Molina captured his first championship belt as a professional. In front of his family and friends, Molina had become a champion.
“It feels awesome to win my first belt as a professional,” Molina said after the fight. “There’s nothing like it.”
Molina followed up this win with two more impressive victories against Brandon Higgins (9-2-0) and Aldimar Silva (22-23-0). Both were unanimous decisions.
Molina has come a long way since his debut in 2013. The road to success hasn’t always been easy as he has been knocked down, beaten and doubted since the beginning. But through hard work and perseverance, Molina has become a household name in the New England boxing world.
Fast forward to today. Molina has the opportunity to become a household name all over the country.
On November 7, Molina (13-0-0) will take on former WBO Junior Featherweight World Champion Jamel Herring (23-4-0) in a super featherweight bout in New York, which be shown live on DAZN at 7 p.m. If Molina wins, he will be known probably as the most successful fighter since Micky Ward, the Pride of Lowell.
(Editor’s Note: this article has been edited to make a statement more factual.)
