The latest respected, retired professional boxer to sign up to BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing is none other than John Molina Jnr.

Aged 43 and having not fought since being stopped by Josesito Lopez at welterweight in September 2019, the former lightweight and junior-welterweight world-title challenger and one-time opponent of Terence Crawford has signed what BKB have described as a “multi-fight, multi-year agreement”.

He follows in the footsteps of Paulie Malignaggi, Yuriorkis Gamboa, Victor Ortiz, Lee Selby, and more. BKB say that he will have his first fight under their banner in the “coming months”.

“I had a great career, being a fighter for 13 years professionally, and I didn’t wanna be one of these guys that accomplished all these accolades in boxing and then was, ‘What else do I do with myself?’” Molina said. “So I went out and became a cop, which was a great choice.

“I wanted a career I can be proud of. Being a cop, our fight or flight is second to none, and there’s a lot of reactions that need to be made and that’s right up my alley.

“I’m at the age where it’s kind of like, excuse my language, but shit, or get off the pot kind of moment for me. This is the time and I feel young enough to still do it and anxious to get out there and showcase my abilities. You know, to be honest with you, if this would’ve happened when I was early on in my career, who’s to say I wouldn’t go bare-knuckle?

“We’re gonna get right to business. So it works out perfect. It lends itself perfectly to someone with my style. And then when I started seeing other names like Paulie and Victor, we were together under the same banner of PBC [Premier Boxing Champions], I think it’s gonna be a good fit for all of us to get out there and showcase our abilities.

“My legacy is to be a champion in the sport of bare-knuckle boxing and for people to say, ‘Hey, he fought the best of the best and was considered one of the most entertaining fighters in the world during his era of fighting’. Now I’m gonna take it over to bare-knuckle boxing to be a champion in my respective weight class. And who knows? Maybe we cross the bridge with Paulie. Maybe we cross the bridge with Victor. I think that can be explosive. But first things first, let’s get to the first one and get on to the next. If you guys ever seen my fights in the past, you guys will definitely see I’m ready to go to war. I like it. That’s what we expect.”