BoxRec

If Anthony Joshua beats Eric Molina, he will defend his IBF heavyweight title on April 29, 2017 against former Wladimir Klitschko, according to ESPN.

The fight is set for Wembley Stadium, where Carl Froch once beat George Groves in front of 80,000.

Joshua (17-0, 17 KO) is a massive favorite on Saturday against Molina (25-3, 19 KO). Molina has received one world title shot in his career, against Deontay Wilder in June 2015. Wilder dominated and knocked Molina out in the ninth round.

Molina is coming off of a win over a faded version of Tomasz Adamek, knocking out the Polish veteran on April 2 in Krakow. He trailed big (88-83 on all three cards) before scoring the KO.

Klitschko (64-4, 53 KO) hasn’t fought since his November 2015 loss to Tyson Fury. A mandatory rematch was in order for 2016, but never did happen, and Fury ultimately vacated the WBA and WBO titles that he had won in that fight. (Fury also won the IBF belt, which was stripped from him shortly after the fight.)

The WBA has decided to sanction Joshua-Klitschko for its vacant title, as well, if the fight does happen.

http://www.badlefthook.com/2016/12/5/13 ... ey-stadium

What an event it will be if it comes together.

great event, finaly the end of the holding grabschko

Nice! If it happens...

20-25 mills purses...2-3 mills ppv...

What a retairement party for Vladimir-)))

This is a huge fight. I've seen clips of Joshua doing leg mobility exercises. If he's able to speed up his footwork he's going to be very hard to beat.

Did Carl Froch beat George Groves in front of 80,000 at Wembley?
Now that you mention it I feel like I once heard Froch say something about it.

But looking forward to Joshua - Klitschko.

bye bye wlad

I hope Molina sparks AJ and upsets the apple cart.

Can't stand The Humble One or his fans.

tigermoth87 wrote:I hope Molina sparks AJ and upsets the apple cart.

Can't stand The Humble One or his fans.

I know they're annoying but casuals are a part of the sport that will never go away

The old, inactive man will get beaten up

Exciting match-up, and we should be grateful to Fury for demonstrating Wlad's non-invincibility.

Wonder how much Wlad has left?

Wonder if Joshua is ready?

All will be revealed in April.

Past-it king of his era big man Klitschko vs fledgling big man Joshua reminds me of Lennox vs Vitali. In 2003, Vitali only had 3 world title wins and his best win was Herbie Hide -- hardly anymore proven than Joshua is now. I think Lennox had slightly more left in the tank than Wlad does, but... pretty close to the same. Plus, just as before, it's a Klitschko vs an African Brit, if that similarity matters in any way. So anyways, I'd say Wlad - Joshua is reminiscent of Lennox - Vitali in many ways, and it's possibly the second most important heavyweight fight of the last 13 years, after Wlad - Fury, which itself was a match-up that had similarities to Lennox - Vitali (except the younger guy won).

Anyways, looking forward to it.

This is as certain as Jeb Bush becoming president.

crusader wrote:The old, inactive man will get beaten up

I think that might happen, if it happens.

Tony1244 wrote:This is as certain as Jeb Bush becoming president.

Take a look who is president now

Lackeos wrote:Past-it king of his era big man Klitschko vs fledgling big man Joshua reminds me of Lennox vs Vitali.

Excellent comparison

a 41y old wlad still has quicker feet than AJ

Is this certain (both parties have agreed to it)? If so, Joshua will get his first big test, assuming Joshua doesn't get Buster Douglased by Molina.

Like a Boss wrote:

Lackeos wrote:Past-it king of his era big man Klitschko vs fledgling big man Joshua reminds me of Lennox vs Vitali.

Excellent comparison

Not really. There weren't the same question marks about how shot Lewis was compared to Wlad. And Wlad isn't going to win this fight, by cut or otherwise.

Like a Boss wrote:

Lackeos wrote:Past-it king of his era big man Klitschko vs fledgling big man Joshua reminds me of Lennox vs Vitali.

Excellent comparison

I think it's a bit insulting to Lewis and Vitali. They were both better and more proven than current Wlad and AJ.

Anyways, if Joshua wins, the WBA's vacant title will not be on the line. Browne and Briggs should have fought for it this month, but as Browne tested positive yet again...

If Joshua wins, the following titles will be on the line vs. Klitschko:

*Super WBA heavyweight title
*IBF heavyweight title
*vacant IBO heavyweight title

Wlad will be 4 years older than the supposedly old Lennox was, with 17 months of inactivity vs Lennox's 12 (and AJ will only have 5 months). He's also coming off a loss, so I wouldn't call him the king of the division anymore.

AJ should comfortably beat whatever is left of Wlad

crusader wrote:Wlad will be 4 years older than the supposedly old Lennox was, with 17 months of inactivity vs Lennox's 12 (and AJ will only have 5 months). He's also coming off a loss, so I wouldn't call him the king of the division anymore.

AJ should comfortably beat whatever is left of Wlad

Why? Joshua has beaten anyone above domestic level.

I just think he's got the tools (such as size, power, aggression, handspeed) to deal with the version of Wlad who struggles to pull the trigger, and is increasingly less accurate when he does.

Even in Wlad's supposedly impressive showing against Pulev, he was immediately buzzed by a jab and getting hit much more than normal; all those years have definitely caught up to him.

crusader wrote:I just think he's got the tools (such as size, power, aggression, handspeed) to deal with the version of Wlad who struggles to pull the trigger, and is increasingly less accurate when he does.

Even in Wlad's supposedly impressive showing against Pulev, he was immediately buzzed by a jab and getting hit much more than normal; all those years have definitely caught up to him.

Yes, and even against Pulev, who fought a pretty dumb fight instead of moving around and using his excellent jab, Wlad landed almost exlusevily with a left hook. His right hand timing and accuracy is gone long time ago.