Majority draw leaves Lara, Molina unhappy
One of Erislandy Lara’s streaks ended Friday at the Cosmopolitan. He was lucky his other streak didn’t end, too.
Lara failed to continue his streak of four first-round knockout victories, and he was fortunate to escape with a 10-round majority draw with Carlos Molina in their junior middleweight main event.
Judge Dick Houck scored the fight in Molina’s favor 97-93, while Robert Hoyle and C.J. Ross had it 95-95 after both gave Lara the final two rounds.
Neither fighter was happy with the decision.
"When I heard the first judge’s score, I thought I had won a split decision," said Molina (17-4-2). "I thought I did enough to win the fight."
The Cuban Lara (15-0-1) found no consolation in maintaining his unbeaten record.
"After the fight, I raised my hands because I was certain I had won," he said through a translator. "I blocked all of his shots and he never hurt me. So how could (Molina) win?"
Molina pressured Lara through most of the fight. He crowded Lara and would not allow him to box.
"I wasn’t going to give him room, and I wasn’t intimidated by him," Molina said. "I kept pressuring him, and he didn’t really do much."
Lara often looked tentative, failing to take the fight to Molina.
"It was an off night," Lara said. "He’s an unconventional fighter and he made me miss."
Lara’s trainer Ronnie Shields was at a loss to explain why his fighter looked wooden in his toughest fight to date.
"He’s gotten into the habit of not countering," Shields said. "He holds his hand up high, but then he’s not punching. He wasn’t throwing punches like he normally does.
"The other guy is a seasoned veteran. He didn’t land many punches."
While Molina would love a rematch, Luis DeCubas, Lara’s manager and the card’s co-promoter, said no.
"I want to see (Molina) at 147 (pounds)," DeCubas said. "Nobody will beat him."
Lara’s performance was an indication that he has more progress to make before he merits a world title fight against Miguel Cotto, Austin Trout or any of the other top contenders at 154 pounds.
"We’ve got to get back in the gym and get this straightened out," Shields said. "If he doesn’t wake up from this one, there’s something wrong."
Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or at 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.