titleholder Humberto Soto and then was outclassed in a on

Unified junior welterweight world champion Terence Crawford is poised to defend his crown against contender John Molina Jr. on Dec. 10 now that the camps have come to an agreement, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum told ESPN on Friday.Arum emphasized that the fight is not yet signed, but he said the terms are agreed to and the paperwork is in the process of being finalized for a bout that would headline a doubleheader on HBOs World Championship Boxing.Arum said the card will take place at the CenturyLink Center in Crawfords hometown of Omaha, Nebraska. The arena originally was booked to host a Creighton University mens basketball game on Dec. 10, but Arum said his staff worked with the school to move the game to another date, freeing up the arena for the fight card.We cleared out the basketball game and Molina has agreed to the fight, Arum said. Weve sent the contract. Everything is agreed to. Molina is a tough dude as he proved in the [Ruslan] Provodnikov fight [in June]. Hes a quality opponent.HBO made room for a Crawford fight on Dec. 10 when the originally planned fight between unified middleweight titleholder Gennady Golovkin and Daniel Jacobs got bogged down in negotiations and they gave up the date, leaving HBO with a major hole in its fourth-quarter schedule.If Crawford-Molina is finalized, it will be something of a milestone in that it would mark the first time in many years -- other than the 2015 mega fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao -- that Top Rank and manager/adviser Al Haymon, creator of Premier Boxing Champions, have agreed to match their fighters together in a non-mandatory bout.The nuts and bolts of the deal were negotiated by Top Rank vice president Carl Moretti and Tom Brown of TGB Promotions, but Arum and Haymon had to first sign off.I have absolutely no problem making fights with Haymon now. I respect him as a very smart guy, and I would do business with my fighters on his cards and I have no problem offering his fighters opportunities to fight my fighters on my cards, Arum said. That wasnt true when we were in litigation, but the litigation is over now.The 29-year-old Crawford (29-0, 20 KOs), who was the 2014 fighter of the year, vacated his lightweight world title in 2015 and moved up to junior welterweight and knocked out Thomas Dulorme in the sixth round to win a vacant belt. He has defended it three times, including a dominant decision victory against Viktor Postol on July 23 in Las Vegas to unify two belts in a fight between the boxers widely considered Nos. 1 and 2 in the weight division.It appeared as though Crawford would not get the third fight this year that he and Top Rank had hoped for before the Dec.10 date opened up because of the Golovkin-Jacobs delay.Molina (29-6, 23 KOs), 33, of Covina, California, known as an all-out brawler, figures to be a heavy underdog but is coming off a major victory over former junior welterweight world titleholder Provodnikov in a Showtime-televised main event on June 11.Molina, the underdog in that fight as well, boxed a bit more than usual and won a unanimous decision in an exciting fight. It was the kind of win that turned his fortunes around after a rough three-fight losing streak between 2014 and 2015, when he got knocked out in the 11th round by Lucas Matthysse in the 2014 Boxing Writers Association of America fight of the year, lost a 10-round decision to former world titleholder Humberto Soto and then was outclassed in a one-sided 12-round decision to Adrien Broner, after which he tested positive for a banned diuretic and was fined and suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.Molina was one of four opponents HBO approved for Crawford. There was also interest in a unification fight with Eduard Troyanovsky (25-0, 22 KOs), 36, of Russia; Antonio Orozco (25-0, 16 KOs), 28, of San Diego; and 2008 Dominican Olympic gold medalist Felix Diaz (18-1, 8 KOs), 32, a top contender. Arum said they tried to get Troyanovsky but there was not enough time to get it done with the fight so close. Orozco and promoter Golden Boy turned down the fight. Diaz, who very much wanted the fight and was seen by many as the most worthy available opponent, was never offered the bout.My [matchmakers] said Diaz is a stinker and that it would not be a good fight to watch, Arum said.Arum said there will be a televised cofeature. He said it likely would match two of three Top Rank lightweights: former unified titleholder Juan Diaz (42-4, 21 KOs), Jose Felix Jr. (35-1-1, 27 KOs) and Raymundo Beltran (31-7-1, 19 KOs). Cheap Adidas Shoes China . Aside from the trilogy main event title fight, there are a number of intriguing matchups in the heavyweight, welterweight and lightweight divisions. Cheap Adidas Shoes Wholesale . The Americans, skipped by John Shuster, seized the advantage in the eighth end by scoring five points for a 7-3 lead. The Czechs pulled two back in the ninth, but Shusters team of third Jeff Isaacson, second Jared Zezel and lead John Landsteiner ended with another point to secure the last Olympic berth on offer. http://www.wholesalefashionsuperstar.com/ .ca NHL Power Rankings for the second straight week, ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Colorado Avalanche. Adidas Superstar Slip On Outlet . Self was acquired from the Buffalo Bandits in a trade for Alex Hill midway through last season, and made his debut in Rochester on March 16, 2013. Cheap Adidas Superstar Black . -- Stanfords Kevin Danser knelt on one knee and hardly moved on the sideline as Michigan State celebrated its Rose Bowl victory and his Cardinal teammates made their way to the locker room. ATLANTA -- The Washington Wizards will try to ensure the Atlanta Hawks Dwight Howard Era gets off to a rocky start when they meet in the season opener on Thursday.Howard was the biggest offseason acquisition for the Hawks, who hope to return to the Eastern Conference finals and beyond. Atlanta signed the 6-foot-11 center to a three-year, $70 million deal in the offseason after incumbent center Al Horford took less money to sign with the Boston Celtics.Atlanta went 48-34 last season, finished fourth in the Eastern Conference and was swept by Cleveland in the conference semifinals. Washington went 41-41 to finish 10th in the East and missed the playoffs.The Hawks are hopeful that the 30-year-old Howard, a native of Atlanta, can revive his career. He averaged 17.8 points, 12.7 rebounds and 2.1 blocks over his 12-year career, but slipped to 13.7 points for the Rockets last season.Playing at home, where people have great expectations for what is supposed to happen here, sometimes it can get a little nerve-racking, Howard said. For me, I just try not to think about it. I just try to approach it as though its any other game. But I know this city. They have their hopes real high on us and on me.Its a new start for Washington, too. The Wizards fired coach Randy Wittman and hired Scott Brooks, who spent six seasons at Oklahoma City and took the Thunder to the NBA finals in 2011-12.The Wizards are led by guard John Wall, who averaged 19.9 points and 10.2 assists last season, and Bradley Beal, who averaged 117.dddddddddddd4 points while dealing with hip and leg issues that limited him to 55 games. Beal showed he was fully recovered in the preseason, when he effectively distributed the ball and had very few turnovers.Us as players are coming in with a mindset of whatever we have to do, getting it done, Wall said. Its an all-new beginning for all of us, so we want to get off to a good start with a new coaching staff and new group of players we have on the team.Washington is also expected to start Otto Porter, Markieff Morris and Marcin Gortat. The Wizards are hopeful that Morris can become the 3-point shooting threat the team has been missing.The Wizards also expect to see second-year player Kelly Oubre Jr. take big strides forward and be a key player off the bench. He should play more than he did a year ago, when he averaged 11 minutes.The Hawks had their starting five on the court at the same time in their final two preseason games. Atlanta will start Howard, forwards Paul Millsap and Kyle Korver and guards Dennis Schroder and Kent Bazemore.Schroder will be the starter at point guard after veteran Jeff Teague was traded to Indiana. Malcolm Delaney will be the backup at point.The Wizards play their first two games on the road, going to Memphis on Sunday, before playing at home on Wednesday against Toronto. The Hawks travel to Philadelphia for a game on Saturday afternoon. ' ' '