Joshua vs Molina - mismatch

[Crease]

Joshua is two levels above Molina. Simply, it would be a real mismatch

Just as it was when he fought Wilder. The Americans can't complain...

[SaadOffTheDeck]

Anyone heard anything about Sky supposedly knocking this back as it's not PPV worthy? I saw something on twitter earlier, I know twitter isn't a reliable source but it's quite believable to be honest.

I don't see how they can sell this fight.. I know know Joshua's last three opponents haven't been amazing but the Whyte scrap was sold by Dillian being Dillian and the amateur rivalry. Martin was an unbeaten world champion and Breazeale was an unbeaten American. Molina though, stopped a few times, not a big talker, never won a world title, no credible opponents to his name..

Please tell me how they can sell this

Maybe. Thing is, if they can't sell this one, what do they do? There's seemingly no decent names about. Does Joshua just cancel the December date and focus on next year?

I think the general public would pay to watch Joshua fight me to be honest. He is very popular. It's the US tv networks that are more likely to knock an opponent back ( as they are rumoured to have done with Price )

Afternoon fights here, not big ratings and certainly not where Showtime would have any power over a fight.

[Freedom]

A 3-6 round drubbing with Molina resembling a punchbag for Joshua to get his jab going, all exclusively on pay per view in the UK.

The David Price fight could be over even quicker but at least Price would have a chance of landing a bomb and I’m sure it would gather more PPV buys in the UK than little known Molina.

Joshua should fight the winner of Parker vs Ruiz jr.

[ValMar]

A 3-6 round drubbing with Molina resembling a punchbag for Joshua to get his jab going, all exclusively on pay per view in the UK.

The David Price fight could be over even quicker but at least Price would have a chance of landing a bomb and I’m sure it would gather more PPV buys in the UK than little known Molina.

Joshua should fight the winner of Parker vs Ruiz jr.

I think Joshua should fight Ortiz or Haye. If they are not available, then Parker/Ruiz winner or Jarrel Miller (I know he is not on the highest level, but he is a huge American and can punch).

[Freedom]

A 3-6 round drubbing with Molina resembling a punchbag for Joshua to get his jab going, all exclusively on pay per view in the UK.

The David Price fight could be over even quicker but at least Price would have a chance of landing a bomb and I’m sure it would gather more PPV buys in the UK than little known Molina.

Joshua should fight the winner of Parker vs Ruiz jr.

I think Joshua should fight Ortiz or Haye. If they are not available, then Parker/Ruiz winner or Jarrel Miller (I know he is not on the highest level, but he is a huge American and can punch).

Ortiz would be suicide for Joshua, Haye would be the best bet, it may determine if Joshua has a good chin or not.

[Rob3_142]

A 3-6 round drubbing with Molina resembling a punchbag for Joshua to get his jab going, all exclusively on pay per view in the UK.

The David Price fight could be over even quicker but at least Price would have a chance of landing a bomb and I’m sure it would gather more PPV buys in the UK than little known Molina.

Joshua should fight the winner of Parker vs Ruiz jr.

I think Joshua should fight Ortiz or Haye. If they are not available, then Parker/Ruiz winner or Jarrel Miller (I know he is not on the highest level, but he is a huge American and can punch).

What, are you talking in the next few years or on Dec 10?

[ValMar]

Joshua should fight the winner of Parker vs Ruiz jr.

I think Joshua should fight Ortiz or Haye. If they are not available, then Parker/Ruiz winner or Jarrel Miller (I know he is not on the highest level, but he is a huge American and can punch).

What, are you talking in the next few years or on Dec 10?

It would be Molina (DEC 10). Unfortunately...
It seems Briggs vs Browne will be on December for WBA title. Unfortunately. Both of them don't deserve any title match.

[lefty]

Hearn needs to announce Joshua's opponent soon. It's less than 6 weeks away till the fight. None of the options are great.

(Molina)- basically a punch bag but perhaps isn't asking for too much money

(Price)- public perception of him is that he's a chinny, heartless oaf who gets knocked out any time he steps up and that Joshua would destroy him. He's also probably asking for a lot of money for the fight as he's likely looking to cash out against Joshua in all likelihood.

(Miller) - he's basically completely unknown to the British public and he's a big unit who can punch. If he was to knock Joshua out it would be pretty damaging to AJ's stock. He's also probably asking for quite a bit of money for the fight if he's been asked.

(Jennings) a proven world class fighter although a little below the elite of the division. He's coming off a knockout defeat to Ortiz though and is coming off two defeats back to back. Also very likely to be asking for big money.

(Ortiz) - far too high risk for the monetary reward that he would bring as of now. Hearn is looking to build his profile up to the point that if he does match Ortiz and Joshua together it would be a big fight generally and it wouldn't be a huge deal if Joshua lost.

(Duhaupas) he would be a solid fight to give Joshua rounds and maybe test his cardio but he's booked up to fight Takam

(Takam) - see above

(Parker) - is fighting Ruiz jnr for WBO strap

(Pulev) - allegedly wants too much money. Whether that's true or not who knows

(Haye) - they'll look to make that fight next summer in all likelihood.

(Ruiz jnr) - fighting Parker

(Glazkov) - still injured and not that great anyway

(Chisora) - that's a possible fight, he's well known to the British public but is coming off (ignoring his win over a journeyman) a comprehensive points loss to Pulev and agaim would probably want more money than Hearn is willing to pay out

(Martin) - say no more

(Ugonoh) - again probably too high risk, low reward for Hearn to consider

(Hughie Fury) - not the worse fight in the world. Maybe Hearn should look to try and make this matchup for December 10th. Not sure Peter Fury would be willing to put Hughie in against Joshua as of yet though. I don't think there's a lot to lose though as he's only just turned 22 and can easily come again.

(Teper) - just lost to Hammer.


In conclusion; there's not a ton of great options to pick from there now that Klitschko is out of the equation.

If I was Hearn though- I'd be trying hard to get either Pulev, Hughie Fury or either Duhaupas or Takam in thr ring. I don't know if there's a way he could circumvent the agreement between Duhaupas and Takam however.

[geronimo]

The opponents of Joshua, if possible, are even worst than the ones Wilder have faced.

[Rob3_142]

Hearn needs to announce Joshua's opponent soon. It's less than 6 weeks away till the fight. None of the options are great.

(Molina)- basically a punch bag but perhaps isn't asking for too much money

(Price)- public perception of him is that he's a chinny, heartless oaf who gets knocked out any time he steps up and that Joshua would destroy him. He's also probably asking for a lot of money for the fight as he's likely looking to cash out against Joshua in all likelihood.

(Miller) - he's basically completely unknown to the British public and he's a big unit who can punch. If he was to knock Joshua out it would be pretty damaging to AJ's stock. He's also probably asking for quite a bit of money for the fight if he's been asked.

(Jennings) a proven world class fighter although a little below the elite of the division. He's coming off a knockout defeat to Ortiz though and is coming off two defeats back to back. Also very likely to be asking for big money.

(Ortiz) - far too high risk for the monetary reward that he would bring as of now. Hearn is looking to build his profile up to the point that if he does match Ortiz and Joshua together it would be a big fight generally and it wouldn't be a huge deal if Joshua lost.

(Duhaupas) he would be a solid fight to give Joshua rounds and maybe test his cardio but he's booked up to fight Takam

(Takam) - see above

(Parker) - is fighting Ruiz jnr for WBO strap

(Pulev) - allegedly wants too much money. Whether that's true or not who knows

(Haye) - they'll look to make that fight next summer in all likelihood.

(Ruiz jnr) - fighting Parker

(Glazkov) - still injured and not that great anyway

(Chisora) - that's a possible fight, he's well known to the British public but is coming off (ignoring his win over a journeyman) a comprehensive points loss to Pulev and agaim would probably want more money than Hearn is willing to pay out

(Martin) - say no more

(Ugonoh) - again probably too high risk, low reward for Hearn to consider

(Hughie Fury) - not the worse fight in the world. Maybe Hearn should look to try and make this matchup for December 10th. Not sure Peter Fury would be willing to put Hughie in against Joshua as of yet though. I don't think there's a lot to lose though as he's only just turned 22 and can easily come again.

(Teper) - just lost to Hammer.


In conclusion; there's not a ton of great options to pick from there now that Klitschko is out of the equation.

If I was Hearn though- I'd be trying hard to get either Pulev, Hughie Fury or either Duhaupas or Takam in thr ring. I don't know if there's a way he could circumvent the agreement between Duhaupas and Takam however.

I think you've summed it up well here. I also think we may as well draw a line under Dec 10, and just set our sights towards Spring 2017. The December fight will in my opinion, be nothing more than a keep warm fight.

Some identify Molina as the highest level fighter than Joshua will have faced in his career to date, so if it is a keep warm fight, we cannot complain too much. If it is Molina though, they will have to consider sticking it on regular Sky. I think it's a good opportunity to get Joshua on non-PPV, perhaps some more exposure to the non-PPV market. It'll be pretty unfair to stick this fight irrespective of the undercard on PPV, and even with the pretty uninformed casuals will do poor numbers.

[lefty]

Hearn needs to announce Joshua's opponent soon. It's less than 6 weeks away till the fight. None of the options are great.

(Molina)- basically a punch bag but perhaps isn't asking for too much money

(Price)- public perception of him is that he's a chinny, heartless oaf who gets knocked out any time he steps up and that Joshua would destroy him. He's also probably asking for a lot of money for the fight as he's likely looking to cash out against Joshua in all likelihood.

(Miller) - he's basically completely unknown to the British public and he's a big unit who can punch. If he was to knock Joshua out it would be pretty damaging to AJ's stock. He's also probably asking for quite a bit of money for the fight if he's been asked.

(Jennings) a proven world class fighter although a little below the elite of the division. He's coming off a knockout defeat to Ortiz though and is coming off two defeats back to back. Also very likely to be asking for big money.

(Ortiz) - far too high risk for the monetary reward that he would bring as of now. Hearn is looking to build his profile up to the point that if he does match Ortiz and Joshua together it would be a big fight generally and it wouldn't be a huge deal if Joshua lost.

(Duhaupas) he would be a solid fight to give Joshua rounds and maybe test his cardio but he's booked up to fight Takam

(Takam) - see above

(Parker) - is fighting Ruiz jnr for WBO strap

(Pulev) - allegedly wants too much money. Whether that's true or not who knows

(Haye) - they'll look to make that fight next summer in all likelihood.

(Ruiz jnr) - fighting Parker

(Glazkov) - still injured and not that great anyway

(Chisora) - that's a possible fight, he's well known to the British public but is coming off (ignoring his win over a journeyman) a comprehensive points loss to Pulev and agaim would probably want more money than Hearn is willing to pay out

(Martin) - say no more

(Ugonoh) - again probably too high risk, low reward for Hearn to consider

(Hughie Fury) - not the worse fight in the world. Maybe Hearn should look to try and make this matchup for December 10th. Not sure Peter Fury would be willing to put Hughie in against Joshua as of yet though. I don't think there's a lot to lose though as he's only just turned 22 and can easily come again.

(Teper) - just lost to Hammer.


In conclusion; there's not a ton of great options to pick from there now that Klitschko is out of the equation.

If I was Hearn though- I'd be trying hard to get either Pulev, Hughie Fury or either Duhaupas or Takam in thr ring. I don't know if there's a way he could circumvent the agreement between Duhaupas and Takam however.

I think you've summed it up well here. I also think we may as well draw a line under Dec 10, and just set our sights towards Spring 2017. The December fight will in my opinion, be nothing more than a keep warm fight.

Some identify Molina as the highest level fighter than Joshua will have faced in his career to date, so if it is a keep warm fight, we cannot complain too much. If it is Molina though, they will have to consider sticking it on regular Sky. I think it's a good opportunity to get Joshua on non-PPV, perhaps some more exposure to the non-PPV market. It'll be pretty unfair to stick this fight irrespective of the undercard on PPV, and even with the pretty uninformed casuals will do poor numbers.

Regular sky would be a good idea. The problem with that however; is that I imagine Joshua's on such a whack these days that Hearn would lose money if he put him on regular sky. I imagine what Hearn will do is attempt to "stack" the undercard. He'll either have Whyte-Chisora or possibly (a dark horse pairing) Whyte-Ortiz on the undercard with some other domestic type interesting matchups. He might even still make the Joshua-Price matchup which is about as appealing as dog turd to me but I'm sure the sky marketing machine will go into full flow and they'll play up this alleged sparring story whereby Price knocked Joshua out 4 odd years ago like it really matters now.

[Syntax Error]

Well, it just sums up HW boxing in 2016: dire!

I wish someone would just shut the division down.

[Rob3_142]

Well, it just sums up HW boxing in 2016: dire!

I wish someone would just shut the division down.

As much as everyone thanked Fury for breaking the monotony of the Klitchko reign, he has to take a lot of responsibility for the state of the HW division in 2016. When you hold most the belts and don't manage one defence in a year, fingers need to be pointed.

Also throw in the Wilder-Povetkin fiasco, yeah not good.

I do have high hopes for 2017 though. There are great fights there.

[ValMar]

Well, it just sums up HW boxing in 2016: dire!

I wish someone would just shut the division down.

As much as everyone thanked Fury for breaking the monotony of the Klitchko reign, he has to take a lot of responsibility for the state of the HW division in 2016. When you hold most the belts and don't manage one defence in a year, fingers need to be pointed.

Also throw in the Wilder-Povetkin fiasco, yeah not good.

I do have high hopes for 2017 though. There are great fights there.

Wishful thinking for 2017 (HW only) : Joshua vs Haye, Klitschko vs Ortiz, Wilder vs Povetkin, Usyk vs Parker. It would be enough.

[Rob3_142]

Well, it just sums up HW boxing in 2016: dire!

I wish someone would just shut the division down.

As much as everyone thanked Fury for breaking the monotony of the Klitchko reign, he has to take a lot of responsibility for the state of the HW division in 2016. When you hold most the belts and don't manage one defence in a year, fingers need to be pointed.

Also throw in the Wilder-Povetkin fiasco, yeah not good.

I do have high hopes for 2017 though. There are great fights there.

Wishful thinking for 2017 (HW only) : Joshua vs Haye, Klitschko vs Ortiz, Wilder vs Povetkin, Usyk vs Parker. It would be enough.

My curse for being an optimist. It all starts with can they make the Klitchko fight in the Spring, but one suspects a lot will still depend on the WBA situation. We've also got to be thinking seriously about Haye in the summer. And then maybe even Ortiz late 2017. There's a lot that could happen in that time, so I am not expecting it all to come off, but I am hopeful that we see an improved year.

[Killer Blow]

Hearn needs to announce Joshua's opponent soon. It's less than 6 weeks away till the fight. None of the options are great.

(Molina)- basically a punch bag but perhaps isn't asking for too much money

(Price)- public perception of him is that he's a chinny, heartless oaf who gets knocked out any time he steps up and that Joshua would destroy him. He's also probably asking for a lot of money for the fight as he's likely looking to cash out against Joshua in all likelihood.

(Miller) - he's basically completely unknown to the British public and he's a big unit who can punch. If he was to knock Joshua out it would be pretty damaging to AJ's stock. He's also probably asking for quite a bit of money for the fight if he's been asked.

(Jennings) a proven world class fighter although a little below the elite of the division. He's coming off a knockout defeat to Ortiz though and is coming off two defeats back to back. Also very likely to be asking for big money.

(Ortiz) - far too high risk for the monetary reward that he would bring as of now. Hearn is looking to build his profile up to the point that if he does match Ortiz and Joshua together it would be a big fight generally and it wouldn't be a huge deal if Joshua lost.

(Duhaupas) he would be a solid fight to give Joshua rounds and maybe test his cardio but he's booked up to fight Takam

(Takam) - see above

(Parker) - is fighting Ruiz jnr for WBO strap

(Pulev) - allegedly wants too much money. Whether that's true or not who knows

(Haye) - they'll look to make that fight next summer in all likelihood.

(Ruiz jnr) - fighting Parker

(Glazkov) - still injured and not that great anyway

(Chisora) - that's a possible fight, he's well known to the British public but is coming off (ignoring his win over a journeyman) a comprehensive points loss to Pulev and agaim would probably want more money than Hearn is willing to pay out

(Martin) - say no more

(Ugonoh) - again probably too high risk, low reward for Hearn to consider

(Hughie Fury) - not the worse fight in the world. Maybe Hearn should look to try and make this matchup for December 10th. Not sure Peter Fury would be willing to put Hughie in against Joshua as of yet though. I don't think there's a lot to lose though as he's only just turned 22 and can easily come again.

(Teper) - just lost to Hammer.


In conclusion; there's not a ton of great options to pick from there now that Klitschko is out of the equation.

If I was Hearn though- I'd be trying hard to get either Pulev, Hughie Fury or either Duhaupas or Takam in thr ring. I don't know if there's a way he could circumvent the agreement between Duhaupas and Takam however.

Great post. Totally agree. I seriously think Eddie should try and sign Izu. The guy is a real talent, marketable, has an interesting backstory and his parents live in the UK.

[ValMar]

It is official : Joshua vs Molina, and Whyte vs Chisora.

[Oiky]

It is official : Joshua vs Molina, and Whyte vs Chisora.

Bad isn't it

[stayinshape]

For me...Chisora/Whyte is more interesting than Joshua/Molina.

Of course..this isn't a 5-Star Fight, but it's better to see Fighter in the ring instead these postponed & injuries delays crap we see much at these heavyweight days.

Both are the same out of shape boxers prefer coming over 240lbs
Both talking a lot of trash to heat up these matchup...
but....his fight has potential for a great slugfest.
Chisora has 6 losses..he is 32, had a chance to start new.
Whyte will show to the world Joshua Fight was only a little misstep.

[man]

Joshua takes the first step toward earning my hatred as a fan.

i feel like this is happening more and more
often, especially at heavies. these guys are
just money sucking cowards who do not
deserve the belts the greats have carried.

don't say joshua is already there, but as
you say the early warning signs come up
when he gives a non deserving a title shot.

[Freedom]

This will show just how good Whyte is and that will reflect greatly on Joshua. Joshua vs Molina is a good fight, this may be a surprise.

[crusader]

Ya, great opponent Molina is, beat the corpse of Adamek while way down on the cards, only got dropped 4 times by Wilder and once by Grano, and lasted nearly a round with Arreola! HUGE step up from the guys we've already seen AJ beat up.

As for Whyte, this is his chance to finally get a win over a top 75 opponent, albeit one who is somewhat shopworn. I haven't really been impressed with him (sloppy + lackluster even against area level fighters) and think he's pretty overrated, with some of this being due to people trying to indirectly big up AJ. Chisora would be his best win by miles and would make him significantly more credible as a contender IMO.

[Freedom]

ha ha sorry meant Andy Ruiz Jr. Molina will get crucified. Joshua is a champion, he should at least fight top 20 fighters.

[Rob3_142]

ha ha sorry meant Andy Ruiz Jr. Molina will get crucified. Joshua is a champion, he should at least fight top 20 fighters.

Well Molina is ranked 12th in BoxRec rankings...

[asdfjkl]

ha ha sorry meant Andy Ruiz Jr. Molina will get crucified. Joshua is a champion, he should at least fight top 20 fighters.

Well Molina is ranked 12th in BoxRec rankings...

It's continually what AJ does, fight guys that are ranked higher on boxrec as they deserve.