Three months ago, 27-year-old lightweight John Molina Jr. entered the ring inside of the Grand Ballroom at Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, Ca, as the headliner of a card that was nationally televised by premium cable giant Showtime. Tonight, Molina (18-1-14 KOs) will enter that same exact ring, in the same exact venue, but he will not be reprising his role as the evening’s main attraction. In fact, Molina will not even be showcased on the televised portion of tonight’s edition of ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights- that will originate from Pechanga. The downgrade is attributed to the loss that Molina suffered last November- his first as a professional to Mexico’s crafty veteran- Martin Honorio.

For Molina, the loss was disappointing on many levels. Heading into the bout with Honorio, he was heavily touted as one of the hottest prospects in all of boxing, and with good reason. His exciting style coupled with his one- punch- knockout power, and undefeated record made him an attraction worth seeing. After two impressive performances on Showtime, Last November officials at the network decided to give Molina the opportunity to headline a card on their Shobox: The New Generation series- a program that is designed to showcase boxing’s rising stars. Going into the bout, many saw Molina as a heavy favorite. Along with a two-inch advantage in height, Molina possessed a  a five- inch reach advantage, and was coming off of the most impressive victory of his career, a 34-second knockout victory of veteran Efren Hinojosa. Needless to say, many felt that Molina’s opponent Martin Honorio would meet that same fate, and become Molina’ 15th knockout victim.

The night of the fight, a sold out crowd gathered in anticipation to witness the coronation of boxing’s next star. Instead, the stunned crowd witnessed a boxing clinic put on not by Molina, but by the underdog Honorio. The man known as “El Brochas” would go on to put forth the performance of his life en route to winning a lopsided victory via unanimous decision.

So what went wrong? Did Molina succumb to the pressure of the intense spotlight? Was he rushed into a situation in which he clearly was not ready for? According to Molina it was neither. Molina says that he was just the victim of a bad case of the flu. I recently had the opportunity to catch up with John Molina Jr., to get his thoughts on that night.

La Prensa: What are your thoughts when you go back, and you view the footage of your fight with Martin Honorio?

JM:  When I look back at the fight, all I could see is a shell of me, that’s all I was- I wasn’t able to pull the trigger, and I really believe whole heartedly, that Honorio would last maybe five rounds with me, if I’m at 100%.

LP: When did you get the flu?

JM: It actually hit me at the weigh-in, I started feeling kind of funny, and that whole night before the fight, I did not sleep. My body was so achy that it woke me up out of my sleep. Before I got called down to walk out of the dressing room, I drank half a bottle of Dayquil-so not only was I sick with a fever going into the fight, but I was a medicine head as well. No disrespect to Honorio, but he fought the fight of his life, while I was at 30 percent.

LP: Did you ever think about postponing the fight?

JM: No, other fighters have done it before, like Gabriel Ruelas when he fought Azumah Nelson; he fought him with flu. Look it Alfredo Angulo when he lost to Kermit Cintron, he was sick that night as well, but two fights later he’s back on top of the heap-everyone has an off night.

LP: How did you feel after the first round?

JM:  After the first round to be honest with you, I was gassed, I was done. After the first round I was already gasping for air. I got off some decent shots, but nothing ever to finish him, because I didn’t have that extra gear to kick it into.

LP:  After the fourth round, your trainer Joe Goossen said to you, that he felt like you could knock Honorio out. Despite the state in which you were in; did you ever feel that you were in a position to deliver the knock out?

JM: I did have a feeling that if I caught him, I’d be able to take him out, but I didn’t have that fire in me- that tenacity in me- I was always a step behind.

LP: What was the biggest lesson you learned from that experience?

JM: That no matter what I go through, I’m going to be there to fight all the way through the end. I learned a lot about myself, and what I’m about, and I do know whole heartedly that no matter what, I’m going to go down on my shield- I’m going to go down swinging till the last bell. I guarantee that to all my fans.

LP: Do you still want a rematch against Honorio?

JM: We already went forward, and wanted to go with Honorio, unfortunately it’s not going to work out. To be honest with you, he’s not coming back up to 135 (pounds) and I’m not going back down to 130. At this point, I got to step away from my pride, and know that it is, what it is. It’s said and done, and now we go forward-my sights are set on the bigger picture.

LP: After the fight, there were a lot of negative things that were said, and that were written about you, does that stuff just give you the motivation to want to come out, and prove people wrong?

JM:  It really is ammo; I learned that there are a lot of haters out there. A lot of people that don’t know the full story about me-in a sense that when I pulled away from Ben Lira (Molina’s former trainer) to go with Joe Goossen, that was a smart move on my part —financially, and career wise— full circle. A lot of these guys feel like I snaked him, but what people don’t know is that Ben Lira collects a check every time I fight. I could have gone to arbitration, and pulled out of that contract, but I thought he was entitled to that for taking me in. A lot of the hate stems off of that

LP: On March 5th you return to Pechanga, can you tell the fans what they can expect to see, as well as what they can expect from you in 2010?

JM:  I’m coming in there with a mission, to make a statement-to show to people that I didn’t go anywhere-that it was a fluke victory for Honorio. By the end of 2010, you should see me in the top 5, and who knows maybe DeMarco’s maybe Valero’s we shall see. I’m not here to maybe be a good fighter, I’m here to be “the” best fighter, and in order for you to be the best, you have to go after the best.

In addition to John Molina Jr: Martin Honorio defends his NABO lightweight title against undefeated Wilton Hilario. Rising Jr. Welterweight Michael Dallas Jr. is also slated to see action on the card. Tickets priced at $70, $60, $45 and $30 General Admission are available at the Pechanga Box Office. Doors open at 5:00 PM.  First Bout is at 6:00 PM.