Highlights
–Oscar Molina connected with a right early in the third round that staggered Domonique Dolton, but the Detroit native weathered the storm and recovered later in the round to stay on his feet.
–By the later rounds, Dolton abandoned his strategy of trying to fight off the counter and went in the trenches with Molina, finding particular success in ducking Molina’s big winging shots and stepping in to work the body.
–While Dolton was most effective early and late, Molina did his best work in the middle rounds. Overall, it was too close to call as the judges ruled the fight a majority draw.
Domonique Dolton and Oscar Molina both came into their fight at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas undefeated, and they’re both going to leave that way. The 154-pound prospects showed plenty to like throughout the fight, but in the end it went 95-95 on two cards and a 97-93 edge for Dolton on the third, resulting in a majority draw.
A twitchy, deceptive Dolton looked to draw Molina in early and counterpunch, and he saw success with the tactic through the first half of the fight—except in the third, when Molina caught Dolton with a big right that staggered him.
Dolton was able to cover up on the ropes and weather the storm, though, turning in a strong back half of the round. It was, effectively, a microcosm of the fight as a whole.
That counterpunching strategy went out the window in the middle rounds as Molina started to time the counters well enough to evade Dolton's shots and come back with the second effort.
By the end, both fighters, exhausted, were hanging on each other and banging the body. Although it seemed like Molina might be pulling away in the middle rounds, Dalton proved the superior in-fighter and was more effective later on.
Overall, it was too close to call as a deadlock on two of the judges' scorecards resulted in the fight being a majority draw.
Domonique Dolton gets inside with a right hand against Oscar Molina during their 154-pound fight in Las Vegas. (Lucas Noonan/Premier Boxing Champions)
