Jose Pedraza gave one of the strongest performances yet in the MGM Grand “bubble” during the coronavirus pandemic. Now he’s coming back for more.

The former two-division titleholder will face 2008 U.S. Olympian Javier Molina in a 10-round junior welterweight fight on Sept. 19 at Las Vegas hotel. The card will be streamed live on ESPN+.

Pedraza (27-3, 13 KOs) lost unanimous decisions to Vasiliy Lomachenko and Jose Zepeda in 2018 and last year, raising questions about his future as an elite fighter.

Then, on July 2, the 31-year-old Puerto Rican turned what was supposed to be a competitive fight against Mikkel LesPierre into his own showcase. Pedraza, looking to be in peak form, put LesPierre down twice and generally outclassed him to win by a near-shutout decision.

Just like that, Pedraza was back in the 140-pound conversation. The next step: beat Molina, who he was supposed to have fought on May 9 before COVID-19 stepped in.

“I’ve been looking for a fight against Javier Molina for a long time,” Pedraza said. “I also had him on my radar because we were supposed to fight earlier this year, but the whole situation with the pandemic changed those plans and the fight was postponed. I kept training hard to keep improving and I ended up fighting against another opponent and had a great performance.

“This fight will bring me even closer to a world title opportunity. My goal is to become a three-division world champion, and Javier Molina will not stop me from achieving my dream.”

Molina (22-2, 9 KOs) also pumped life back into his career recently.

The Los Angeles-area fighter was once a hot prospect but never seemed to take off. He suffered his first loss to Artemio Reyes by decision in 2011, rebounded with a winning streak but then lost a wide decision when he stepped up in class to face Jamal James in 2016.

Molina fought once in the next three-plus years, which left him off everyone’s radar. He seemed to be finished.

Then, determined not to squander his potential, he signed a contract with Top Rank early in 2019 and has won four consecutive fights, including a break-through decision over Amir Iman on the Tyson Fury-Deontay card in February.

Molina, 30, was back.

“Going into this year, I had big expectations for myself,” Molina said. “I know what I’m capable of, and I’m here to make a statement against Pedraza. I haven’t received the respect or recognition I feel I deserve but getting a win over Pedraza will put my name out there.

“It’s a huge opportunity, and I plan on taking advantage of it.”

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Jose Pedraza gave one of the strongest performances yet in the MGM Grand “bubble” during the coronavirus pandemic. Now he’s coming back for more.

The former two-division titleholder will face 2008 U.S. Olympian Javier Molina in a 10-round junior welterweight fight on Sept. 19 at Las Vegas hotel. The card will be streamed live on ESPN+.

Pedraza (27-3, 13 KOs) lost unanimous decisions to Vasiliy Lomachenko and Jose Zepeda in 2018 and last year, raising questions about his future as an elite fighter.

Then, on July 2, the 31-year-old Puerto Rican turned what was supposed to be a competitive fight against Mikkel LesPierre into his own showcase. Pedraza, looking to be in peak form, put LesPierre down twice and generally outclassed him to win by a near-shutout decision.

Just like that, Pedraza was back in the 140-pound conversation. The next step: beat Molina, who he was supposed to have fought on May 9 before COVID-19 stepped in.

“I’ve been looking for a fight against Javier Molina for a long time,” Pedraza said. “I also had him on my radar because we were supposed to fight earlier this year, but the whole situation with the pandemic changed those plans and the fight was postponed. I kept training hard to keep improving and I ended up fighting against another opponent and had a great performance.

“This fight will bring me even closer to a world title opportunity. My goal is to become a three-division world champion, and Javier Molina will not stop me from achieving my dream.”

Molina (22-2, 9 KOs) also pumped life back into his career recently.

The Los Angeles-area fighter was once a hot prospect but never seemed to take off. He suffered his first loss to Artemio Reyes by decision in 2011, rebounded with a winning streak but then lost a wide decision when he stepped up in class to face Jamal James in 2016.

Molina fought once in the next three-plus years, which left him off everyone’s radar. He seemed to be finished.

Then, determined not to squander his potential, he signed a contract with Top Rank early in 2019 and has won four consecutive fights, including a break-through decision over Amir Iman on the Tyson Fury-Deontay card in February.

Molina, 30, was back.

“Going into this year, I had big expectations for myself,” Molina said. “I know what I’m capable of, and I’m here to make a statement against Pedraza. I haven’t received the respect or recognition I feel I deserve but getting a win over Pedraza will put my name out there.

“It’s a huge opportunity, and I plan on taking advantage of it.”

[lawrence-related id=11199]

[vertical-gallery id=11213]