Cain Sandoval made a name for himself in 2023 and hopes to continue riding that momentum into 2024.

Sandoval will face Javier Molina on February 23, as 360 Boxing Promotions announced Wednesday afternoon. The 10-round bout will take place at the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, California and will precede the main event bout between welterweights Gor Yeritsyan and Quinton Randall.

Both fights will stream live on UFC Fight Pass (9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. PT).

The 21-year-old Sandoval (11-0, 11 knockouts), who resides in Sacramento, California, scored an impressive fifth-round knockout win over once-beaten Wesley Ferrer in his last fight on November 9. The fight took place at The Hulu Theatre in Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Promoter Tom Loeffler was impressed with the knockout win, but also in how Sandoval has developed as a prospect over the last several months.

“This is Cain’s fourth fight on UFC Fight Pass and the feedback from the fans and the media to his performances, particularly his recent knockout of Wesley Ferrer, has been sensational,” said Loeffler, who is the President of 360 Boxing Promotions. “He’s only 21 years old and Javier Molina is much more experienced, but we feel Cain is ready for another step up in competition.”

In his previous fight on July 22, which also took place at the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, Sandoval dropped Jose Marruffo once en route to a sixth round knockout victory.

Sandoval, who is managed by Oscar A. Sanchez, fought four times in 2023, three of them under the 360 Boxing Promotions banner.

Molina (22-5, 9 KOs), who resides in the Los Angeles suburb of Norwalk, has not fought since a split-decision loss to Robbie Davies, Jr. on May 21 of 2022. His previous two defeats came at the hands of Jesus Ramos and Jose Pedraza.

The 33-year-old does have victories over former world title challenger Amir Imam and once-beaten Hiroki Okada. Molina represented the United States at the age of 18 at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

Molina is the twin brother of amateur standout and former prospect Oscar Molina.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at [email protected]

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