BoxRec

Word is that Joshua could offer Eric Molina - who lasted into the ninth round with mega-punching Wilder - the next spot on his dance card in September.

The obvious interest here would be: can Joshua finish the Drummer Boy quicker than Wilder did? But is this enough for you?

Would Molina come in with a chance in a fight against Joshua? How does he stack up against the other two opponents in play: Wach or Thompson?

My two cents: Molina would be a poor choice. Thompson or Wach are much more preferable for me.

Imo Erik Molina only lasted as long as he did against Deontay Wilder because it was Deontay's first defence and he wasn't sure how to approach it!! I also think the pressure on him especially when the announcer made reference to him being the first American Heavyweight Champion in over a decade. As Deontay makes more defences he will relax and look more like the normal Deontay a good boxer with power and a very suspect chin!!

Anthony Joshua would take out Molina earlier because he is in the position Deontay was before he was champion and will have no fear of trying to take people out because he hasn't got a world title to lose.

He was a terrible choice of opponent for a world champion but would be a perfectly good test for AJ at this stage of his development and would be the best he's faced.

It would also probably highlight how Wilder should have gone about it when AJ takes him out inside 4 (as Wilder could have if he approached it a tad more aggresively)
and it will give a good yardstick to where AJ is relative to Wilder. Bearing in mind Wilder was caught and wobbled in the fight

davie wrote:He was a terrible choice of opponent for a world champion but would be a perfectly good test for AJ at this stage of his development and would be the best he's faced.

It would also probably highlight how Wilder should have gone about it when AJ takes him out inside 4 (as Wilder could have if he approached it a tad more aggresively)
and it will give a good yardstick to where AJ is relative to Wilder. Bearing in mind Wilder was caught and wobbled in the fight

He would come to win at least, that's true.

It's an incredibly weak fight IMO for what I imagine will be another PPV.

Regardless of Wilder defending against Molina, the real yardstick is that Arreola took him out inside a round.

I wouldn't be surprised if Joshua gets close to equalling that. Molina didn't look good at all vs Wilder. He just lasted longer than expected despite going down 4 times.

I knew Wach Vs AJ was too good to be true :x

David McAllister wrote: As Deontay makes more defences he will relax and look more like the normal Deontay a good boxer with power and a very suspect chin!!
.

'good boxer'?

Counter-puncher wrote:

David McAllister wrote: As Deontay makes more defences he will relax and look more like the normal Deontay a good boxer with power and a very suspect chin!!
.

'good boxer'?

While I think that many people are harsh on Deontay, I also think that a good sized group rate his boxing skills too highly because they overrate Stiverne. People are quick to forget that 40 year old Ray Austin, coming off a loss to Solis 6 months earlier in which he was generally dominated, also handily outboxed Stiverne before fading late. That's one reason I was fairly confident that Wilder was going to beat Stiverne, though admittedly he still surprised me by staying entirely out of trouble for 12 rounds.

As for Molina, I think that his performance against Wilder will prove to be an anomaly and I suspect that most top HWs would bomb him out. I believe he's certainly a defensible opponent given that he gave some problems and went rounds with someone commonly ranked in the top 3 of the division, but I think Wach and Thompson would be much more likely to provide a test.

Maxsplit wrote:It's an incredibly weak fight IMO for what I imagine will be another PPV.

Regardless of Wilder defending against Molina, the real yardstick is that Arreola took him out inside a round.

I wouldn't be surprised if Joshua gets close to equalling that. Molina didn't look good at all vs Wilder. He just lasted longer than expected despite going down 4 times.

I knew Wach Vs AJ was too good to be true :x

Joshua hasn't fought anyone as good as Molina before, he certainly hasn't fought anyone as good as Arreola and hasn't fought anyone near as good as Wilder (who I think is a hype job). That tells you all you need to know about the level Joshua has competed at so far

I believe he has the ability to comfortably beat the first 2 I mentioned and with the right experience under his belt can go on to beat Wilder too.
but it's not just about how good you are, it's about learning, gaining experience, earning your place at the top table and gradually upping the level of opposition.

Molina is a step up and a much better test than Johnson (who was also a decent step up in level at the time)
will he wipe him out? probably, but as mentioned, he'll come to have a go and thats something AJ has seldom seen

I don't think Joshua should be in with anybody who has a first round KO defeat on their record.

Tony Thompson is the pick for me, even though you'd have to expect a far worse version now than the version Price faced. I'd also happily take Chisora, Whyte or Price.

johnswan1 wrote:I don't think Joshua should be in with anybody who has a first round KO defeat on their record.

\thread, as ver kidz say. If they were more articulate, they might add: "...Or anybody who has TWO first round KO defeats on their record".

Datsue wrote:

johnswan1 wrote:I don't think Joshua should be in with anybody who has a first round KO defeat on their record.

\thread, as ver kidz say. If they were more articulate, they might add: "...Or anybody who has TWO first round KO defeats on their record".

I agree and not because 'anyone who has a 1st round ko loss on their record must be rubbish' but AJ needs develop by fighting rounds in pro fights. He has blown away fighters who he could have learnt something from like Johnson and Sprott because they couldn’t stand up to his power. That’s dangerous because as soon as he fights someone who can avoid or stand up to his power they’ll likely be a gulf in experience. This happened to Price with an asterisk due to his punch resistance but also to Joe Mesi – remember him? He was blowing out everyone in fine style until he faced genuine badass toughguy Jirov.

Shirow wrote:

Datsue wrote:

johnswan1 wrote:I don't think Joshua should be in with anybody who has a first round KO defeat on their record.

\thread, as ver kidz say. If they were more articulate, they might add: "...Or anybody who has TWO first round KO defeats on their record".

I agree and not because 'anyone who has a 1st round ko loss on their record must be rubbish'but AJ needs develop by fighting rounds in pro fights. He has blown away fighters who he could have le arnt something from like Johnson and Sprott because they couldn’t stand up to his power.

^^ quite so, I certainly didn't mean to infer that anyone with a first round KO on their record is rubbish, rather that Molina's specific physical & mental frailties are unlikely to mesh well with Joshua's ring presence & obvious power.

I would see Molina as a backward step from Johnson.

Chisroa, Thompson even the Swede who lost to Fury last would be better.

Decent fight for Joshua, he is obv good enough to be moved on quickly, but he needs rounds, he needs experience.

Terrible opponent. Another bum that we all know is going to get annihilated in maximum 3 rounds. When are we going to get a remotely intriguing fight with Joshua?

As much as Joshua should win comfortably I still see it as a good fight. It shows a bit of ambition to hunt down Wilders previous opponent. Do a better job and put out a genuine statement.

The Molina fight would be a good yard stick to see how AJ is progressing in comparison to Wilder. However, I would rather see him in with someone that would (should) give him some rounds a la Wach or Thompson, at this point in AJ's career.

Molina would be a good fight for someone like Price or Chisora, who are looking to re-announce themselves on the world scene and are on the hunt for that world title opportunity.

Emmseegee wrote:As much as Joshua should win comfortably I still see it as a good fight. It shows a bit of ambition to hunt down Wilders previous opponent. Do a better job and put out a genuine statement.

But mate, Arreola already did a better job than Wilder. One round. Difficult to improve on that, unless Joshua knocks him sparko before they actually ring the first bell.

Coco wrote:Decent fight for Joshua, he is obv good enough to be moved on quickly, but he needs rounds, he needs experience.

& again mate, with all due respect, this is a man who couldn't get out the first round versus Chris Arreola. Wilder's immense failure to successfully decapitate Molina early in no way makes him a credible opponent for AJ, particularly when Deontay's opposition is rightly ridiculed.

A 1-round UK cameo by Senor Molina would be a perfectly acceptable if Joshua was boxing 10, 12 times a year. But since he is boxing only once every three or four months he really needs to make the fights count. Molina now is a waste of time.

Wach and Thompson, and Ustinov, can dream up some more challenging conundrums for AJ, and we can all assess how solid his working out is.

Datsue wrote:

Emmseegee wrote:As much as Joshua should win comfortably I still see it as a good fight. It shows a bit of ambition to hunt down Wilders previous opponent. Do a better job and put out a genuine statement.

But mate, Arreola already did a better job than Wilder. One round. Difficult to improve on that, unless Joshua knocks him sparko before they actually ring the first bell.

Paging Horse to this thread!

Doesn't scream good fight to me.

Don't want Joshua to end up in a situation like Price but there are much tougher tests out there for him. Molina may even make him think that he is truly world class already if he beats him in a better fashion than Wilder and doesn't get clocked.

Could you really see Molina getting into any kind of shape for the fight too. Look how badly water retention affected the athletic build of Paul Smith!!!

Gary Cornish rumoured to be sept opponent and
Possibly Whyte in December

Have to say if this comes off not great in my view, but there we go, presumably they want
the dust to settle on Fury/Klitschko and Wilders next defence and then see where that leaves them

GlobalBox wrote:Gary Cornish rumoured to be sept opponent and
Possibly Whyte in December

Have to say if this comes off not great in my view, but there we go, presumably they want
the dust to settle on Fury/Klitschko and Wilders next defence and then see where that leaves them

Surely not Cornish what is AJ going to learn? another quick safe fight though while he toddles on to a world title.

mimmy123 wrote:

GlobalBox wrote:Gary Cornish rumoured to be sept opponent and
Possibly Whyte in December

Have to say if this comes off not great in my view, but there we go, presumably they want
the dust to settle on Fury/Klitschko and Wilders next defence and then see where that leaves them

Surely not Cornish what is AJ going to learn? another quick safe fight though while he toddles on to a world title.

Cornish?!?

Ah well, time to start ignoring the heavies again, someone wake me up if something genuinely interesting happens.

Please not Cornish