PHARR -- Never in the history of Boxing in the Rio Grande Valley has there been a fighter this close to a Heavyweight title bout until now. 

Eric Molina of Lyford (18-1, 14 KO’s) has officially signed his contract and will fight the number one Heavyweight contender Chris Arreola (34-2, 29 KO’s) in Corpus Christi on February 18^th at the American Bank Center as a part of Showtime Championship Boxing.  The winner of the fight will receive a guaranteed title shot against the undisputed Heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko in the near future.

“I’m happy for this opportunity.  I’m not doing it for the money, I’m doing it for a chance at a title shot,” said Molina. “This is every boxer’s dream and I thank God for this fight. This is truly a crossroads fight for me. Either I win and take home all the marbles or I lose and get nothing.”

Molina was supposed to travel to Florida this week and begin training for the fight.  Instead, he decided to stay here in the Valley and work with people he was familiar with.  

“The bottom line is that I’m not happy with my camp there, “said Molina.  “I don’t need to go out of town to be disciplined. I’m disciplined plus I have what I need here.  This is a big fight and I need people around me who are going to put me first.” 

One of those people that were willing to put Molina first was boxing trainer James Gogue. Gogue has been involved in boxing for 24 years and is no stranger to training fighters for these big fights as he has worked with former Heavyweight contender Laurence Clay-Bey and former champion Tony Lopez.

“Eric called me out the blue and asked if I would train him,” said Gogue. “I was a little hesitant at first because I have a lot of fighters that I am training already. But when I started to think about it, I thought why am I being hesitant?  This guy has the chance to fight for a world championship title; of course I’ll do it. That chance doesn’t come around every day.” 

The decision for Molina choosing Gogue wasn’t a difficult one because of his history of working with big name fighters.  

“Gogue has a long resume and he has experience with Heavyweights,” said Molina.  “I’m 100% for sure he is going to have me ready for this fight.

When you watch Molina workout, it’s hard not to be impressed with what you see.  At 29, he is in great shape and you can hear the power in his punches as he hits the heavy bag.

“A veteran coach can’t change a fighter in 4 weeks,” said Gogue. “You can only polish and sharpen the things that got him here and that’s what I am going to do.” 

While training together in the gym, Molina puts into action everything that Gogue tells him.

“Eric is going to have to put on a super human herculean performance to beat Chris,” said Gogue. “He needs to be at his best that night.”

One person that will help Molina prepare for this fight is the former WBC Heavyweight Champion Oliver McCall who will be coming to the Valley to spar with Molina to help him to be at his top best.  McCall has fought some of the greatest fighters in the business such as former Heavyweight Champion James Douglas, Orlin Norris, Tony Tucker and Frank Bruno. 

The 25-year veteran also has some huge victories under his belt as he defeated former Heavyweight champions Lennox Lewis and Larry Holmes as well as Henry Akinwande.

“Oliver is the best gym fighter and one of the toughest and most feared Heavyweights in the world right now,” said Molina. “I know training with him will prepare me for my best fight.”

When you take a look at both fighters’ records and break it down, you will see a lot of differences.  Arrerola has been fighting longer and has been involved in more fights than Molina. 

Also, Arreola knows what it’s like to be this close to that dream of becoming a champion as he lost to WBC Heavyweight Champion Vitali Klitschko in 2009.

The level of competition Arreola has faced is nothing Molina has ever seen and Molina knows this fight is definitely a stepping stone fight for him.

“I haven’t fought anyone of his caliber. But he hasn’t fought anyone of mine either,” said Molina. “People think that he is going to walk all over me.  His stats and experience on paper are far better than mine, but I have hidden stats that you can’t see that he can’t match up to.”

With Arreola about to turn 31 and already suffering a loss in a World title, a loss to Molina might not get another opportunity to fight for a title again. 

On the other hand, you have Molina who has just cracked the top 10 in the World rankings and if he loses, this chance may not come for a while or ever again. 

With the stage set and the stakes as high as they are, there can be one only winner with a chance at a dream of a lifetime.  It’s a crossroads fight alright for both Molina and Arreola.

“We both have a lot to lose,” said Molina.