At 6-foot-5 and 199 pounds, Eric Molina is an imposing presence in and out of the ring.

He's a cruiserweight (7-1, six knockouts) with a chance to capture a Texas title belt in a scheduled eight-rounder that will headline a boxing show Oct. 18 at Harlingen's Casa de Amistad presented by Budweiser and Anthony Cavazos Promotions.

"I've been blessed to have the opportunity to fight for a title, and it's going to be right here in the Valley," said Molina, 26, who played football, basketball and baseball at Lyford before graduating in 2000.

He now resides in Weslaco, works at Chili's in Mercedes and is studying education at the University of Texas at Brownsville.

"This fight (in Harlingen) is something I never dreamed would happen," he said.

Originally, Molina was scheduled to fight Oct. 3 in Houston for the title, but his Houston opponent reportedly was injured and the bout was called off.

Now he's excited about fighting with his numerous supporters on hand.

"The Valley has been good to me, and I appreciate it," Molina said. "With my family, friends and fans all being there, it definitely gives me a feeling of being over the top."

Cavazos said Molina's tentative opponent is Mike Alderete of Albuquerque, N.M. (6-3-1, 3 KOs). Last year, Alderete won a six-round split decision against an opponent who was 15-0-2.

Molina is grateful for how his boxing career has turned out considering it didn't start off too well.

In his pro debut in Las Vegas on March 17, 2007, he suffered a first-round knockout against Ashanti Jordan.

"I was a joke and a nobody because no one thought I would really be much of anything (after the loss)," Molina said. "But I've worked really hard and come back to win seven fights in a row."

UPCOMING

Light middleweight James De La Rosa of Harlingen (17-0, 12 KOs) continues to train in Arkansas under Danny Smith for his scheduled 10-round clash Oct. 3 on Showtime's Show Box against Tim Coleman of Baltimore, Md. (14-0-1, 3 KOs). Smith previously trained ex-champions Fernando Vargas and Ishe Smith plus Weslaco's Roberto "La Amenaza" Garcia. The bout is expected to be the fight of the year involving a Valley boxer. So far, De La Rosa has had three 12-round sparring sessions and dropped all three opponents with strong body shots.

The next Julio Marines boxing show is tentatively scheduled for late November at Brownsville's Jacob Brown Auditorium. It is expected to feature fighters from the Valley going against fighters representing Mexico. Brownsville bantamweight Sergio Perales (6-0, 4 KOs) likely will fight in the main event. It's possible that brothers Gilbert and Jerry Guevara of Brownsville could appear on the card, too. Jerry would be making his pro debut.