Deontay Wilder vs. Eric Molina

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Challenger rankings
Org. Pos. As of Published
1+ Mth. Old
WBA NR 09.04.2015 10.04.2015
WBC 12 31.03.2015 04-14.04.2015
IBF NR 31.03.2015 02.04.2015
WBO NR 14.04.2015 14.04.2015
Ring NR 17.03.2015 by 04.04.2015
2+ Mth. Old
WBA NR 07.02.2015 10.02.2015
WBC 12 28.02.2015 by 10.03.2015
IBF NR 31.01.2015 08.02.2015
WBO N/A N/A N/A
Ring N/A N/A N/A
3+ Mth. Old
WBA NR 07.02.2015 10.02.2015
WBC 11 05.02.2015 14.02.2015
IBF NR 31.01.2015 08.02.2015
WBO N/A N/A N/A
Ring N/A N/A N/A

Deontay Wilder 229 lbs beat Eric Molina 239 lbs by KO at 1:03 in round 9 of 12

Notes

Birmingham, Alabama, USA-Show-714392.jpg

Timeline

  • On May 1, Wilder announced that he would make his first title defense on June 13 in his native Alabama, though did not disclose his opponent: "No opponent has been announced yet – we still gotta lot of ironing out to do – but June 13th I’ll be back."[1][2]
  • Fight announced on May 14.[3]

Ranking Movements

  • Molina ranked No. 26 contender by the WBC as of December 2014, went up to No. 11 in the February 2015 rankings, making him eligible to fight for the WBC title.
  • WBC afterwards moved Molina to ninth in its May 2015 rankings and seventh in the June 2015 rankings released a few days before the fight.

The Fight

  • First all-American world heavyweight title fight since August 12, 2006.
  • For WBC World Heavyweight title. First heavyweight title fight held in the state of Alabama, native to Evander Holyfield (who was in attendance), Earnie Shavers and Joe Louis. Molina sought to become the first Mexican-American World Heavyweight champion in history.
  • The 6'7" inch Wilder got tested by the 50 to 1 odds underdog Molina. Wilder dominated, knocking down Molina near the end of round four, twice in the fifth, and knocking him out on his back in the ninth round. Molina actually won two rounds, and pursued his counter strategy of landing damaging power body shots whenever Wilder came in to try to tire Wilder and break him down, and also throwing uppercuts. Molina loaded up on the right hand all night, and staggered Wilder once but could not get close enough to follow up. Molina had no jab, and Wilder made him eat 75 jabs.
  • To his credit, Molina gave a courageous accounting of himself and the best performance of his career. Molina had no answer, though, for Wilder's power shots, which caused maximum damage when they landed. Wilder boxed patiently for several more rounds waiting for the right moment, and upon finding it landed a right hand coup de grace, sending Molina down and out on his back for the full count, and the bout was over.
  • Wilder had respect for Molina after the bout, stating "I was really surprised he kept coming and hanging in there. A lot of people said he wouldn't even be around, he wouldn't last. There were a lot of doubters, but he showed a lot of heart, and I needed that kind of guy to fight here in Alabama."
  • Molina attempted to join Bernard Hopkins, Mike Weaver and others who lost their pro debuts, but went on to win a world title.
  • The fight averaged 678,000 viewers on Showtime.[4]
  • CompuBox Championship Statistics: jabs-Wilder 71 of 185 42%, Molina 6 of 72 8%, power punches-Wilder 66 of 118 56% Molina 43 of 116 37%, total punches-Wilder 141 of 303 47% Molina 49 of 188 26%



Preceded by:
Wilder vs. Stiverne 		WBC Heavyweight Title Fight
# 107 		Succeeded by:
Wilder vs. Duhaupas


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