Anthony Joshua vs. Eric Molina: Early Fight Preview and Full Career Records

Britain’s IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua will make the second defence of his title against American Eric Molina on Dec. 10 at the Manchester Arena.

Joshua (17-0, 17 KOs) had been expected to fight former champion Wladimir Klitschko, but after plans collapsed, as per the BBC, Molina (25-3, 19 KOs) stepped in. Joshua should be able to comfortably win his bout with the American, who lost to WBC champion Deontay Wilder last year.

The Briton’s latest win came in June against Dominic Breazeale, who was knocked out in the seventh round of their fight in London. Molina, meanwhile, beat Tomasz Adamek back in April for the vacant IBF Inter-Continental heavyweight title.

Here are the complete career records of both boxers:

Joshua	Molina
W - Dominic Breazeale (TKO)	W -Tomasz Adamek (KO)
W - Charles Martin (KO)	W - Rodricka Ray (TKO)
W - Dillian Whyte (TKO)	L - Deontay Wilder (KO)
W - Gary Cornish (TKO)	W - Raphael Zumbano Love (TKO)
W - Kevin Johnson (TKO)	W - Theo Kruger (TKO)
W - Raphael Zumbano Love (TKO)	W -DaVarryl Williamson (TKO)
W - Jason Gavern (KO)	W - Tony Grano (UD)
W - Michael Sprott (TKO)	W - Andrew Greeley (UD)
W - Denis Bakhtov (TKO)	L - Chris Arreola (KO)
W - Konstantin Airich (TKO)	W - Warren Browning (TKO)
W - Matt Skelton (TKO)	W - Joseph Rabotte (TKO)
W - Matt Legg (KO)	W - Rayford Johnson (UD)
W - Hector Alfredo Avila (KO)	W - Leo Bercier (RTD)
W - Dorian Darch (TKO)	W - Chris Thomas (TKO)
W - Hrvoje Kisicek (TKO)	W - Andrew Greeley (UD)
W - Paul Butlin (TKO)	W - Gabriel Holguin (UD)
W -Emanuele Leo (TKO)	W - Clinton Bonds (KO)
	W - Osvaldo Martinez (TKO)
	W - Rayford Johnson (TKO)
	W - David Robinson (TKO)
	W - Douglas Robertson (UD)
	W - Anthony Greeley (TKO)
	W - Isaac Ruiz (TKO)
	W - Robbie McClimans (TKO)
	W - Brad Bowers (TKO)
	W - Ras Thompson (KO)
	W - Tim Harris (TKO)
	L - Ashanti Jordan (KO)

Having failed to secure a fight with either Klitschko or New Zealand’s Joseph Parker, as per Ben Dirs for BBC, Joshua is clearly the favourite for what might be considered an underwhelming fixture. A WBA heavyweight title bout with Klitschko looms large in 2017, but the Briton cannot afford to let himself be distracted by this prospect. His promoter, Eddie Hearn, thinks that the fight with Molina is a serious test.

"Molina can hurt any heavyweight, and Joshua is no exception," said Hearn, as per the BBC.

The promoter continued: "Joshua is happy to sign for the Klitschko fight, but it would be a terrible mistake for him to start thinking about him; preparations for that fight; where it's going to be; where the training camp going to be. Anthony won't let himself give even five percent of his focus to Klitschko until his hand is raised in Manchester.”

Hearn is not alone in his view. Wilder, who nearly lost to Molina in the third round before eventually winning in the ninth back in June 2015, does not believe the fight is a foregone conclusion, and he thinks that Molina will be spurred on by the thought of taking Joshua’s title.

Brynn Anderson/Associated Press

"Molina will be a challenge for him," Wilder said, as per James Dielhenn of Sky Sports. "He'll come and try to fight, that's for sure, and that's what people don't understand. It's not about who he is, or what his record is. It's about what he is, and what he stands for, right now. People don't understand that when fighters have something to fight for, it's different.”

Nevertheless, Joshua is undefeated in 17 fights and, if focused, should be able to knock Molina out and retain his title. One of the people who missed out on a chance to face Joshua was British boxer David Price, who has voiced the concerns of many by declaring that this was a safe choice for Joshua.

"They've taken the safer option without a doubt," Price said, as per Nick Parkinson for ESPN. "I always thought that Joshua's team—not Joshua himself—think that Molina is a safer bet. It's less likely that something will go wrong.”

This is, perhaps, not the fight that fans were hoping for, as the Guardian have hinted at:

But if Joshua has half an eye on the more exciting fight against Klitschko next year, then Molina has a chance of causing a huge upset in Manchester.