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IBF: Carlos Molina has until June to defend title

Fighters Network
08
Mar
Ishe Smith v Carlos Molina

Carlos Molina (L) vs. Ishe Smith on Sept. 14, 2013. Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images.

 

Jailed junior middleweight Carlos Molina has until June to make the mandatory defense of his IBF belt or risk being stripped, according to organization official Lindsay Tucker.

Molina was arrested Tuesday and remained in a federal immigration holding cell at The Clark County Detention Center in Las Vegas during the weigh-in for Saturday night's card at The MGM Grand, in which Molina was scheduled to face Jarmall Charlo. The fight was pulled from the card and replaced on the pay-per-view broadcast by Ricardo Alvarez vs. Sergio Thompson.

A Mexican-born fighter who lives in Chicago, Molina is wanted in Wisconsin for obstruction and failing to register as a sex offender, according to a Clark County Detention Center spokesperson.



U.S. immigration officials told The Associated Press Molina was deported in 2006, and could be removed once again in the wake of his arrest.

Molina has nine months from September, when he dethroned Ishe Smith, to defend his title, according to Tucker.

"This was an optional defense. When it comes time to do the mandatory, if he is still unavailable, then it becomes a problem," said Tucker during a Friday interview with RingTV.com. "He beat Ishe Smith on Sept. 14, and we will notify him on April 14, and then his mandatory is due on June 14."

 

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