Samuel Molina (32-3-1, 15 KOs) is taking a bold gamble on November 28, making a voluntary defence of his EBU welterweight title against veteran contender Egidijus Kavaliauskas (24-3-1, 19 KOs) at Žalgiris Arena in Kaunas, Lithuania. It’s an unusual matchup on paper: Kavaliauskas isn’t ranked by the EBU due to spending most of his career in the U.S., yet his résumé and top-five WBC ranking were enough to earn approval for the shot.
Molina enters the fight ranked No. 15 by the WBC and coming off a tough majority draw in his previous defence against Belgium’s Anass Messaudi. That bout, staged at Malaga’s historic bullfighting arena La Malagueta, saw Molina pushed to his limits. Messaoudi used his height, reach, and sharp hand speed to control long stretches of the fight before the champion rallied late. Scores of 115-114 for Messaoudi and two cards of 114-114 allowed Molina to retain the belt, but it was a narrow escape.
For Kavaliauskas, ranked No. 5 by the WBC, this is a major opportunity to rebound from his recent loss to Souleymane Cissokho. At 37, the Lithuanian contender returns home with a chance to win a major regional title in front of home support.
Molina faces real danger in accepting this voluntary challenger. Kavaliauskas brings experience, power, and a long history at elite level. But victory for the 26-year-old champion would be significant.
Fight card:
▪️Egidijus Kavaliauskas vs. Samuel Molina, 12 rounds, for the vacant EBU European welterweight title
▪️Bohdan Myronets vs. Jonathan Exequiel Vergara, 8 rounds, heavyweight
▪️Edgaras Skurdelis vs. Korede Lawrence, 4 rounds, lightweight
▪️Aleksandr Trofimcuk vs. Vaggelis Soumpakas, 4 rounds, super welterweight
▪️Jonas Jazevicius vs. Michal Czykiel, 4 rounds, cruiserweight
▪️Algirdas Baniulis vs. Hamza Ourahou, 4 rounds, heavyweight
