Deontay Wilder vs. Eric Molina: Preview and Prediction for Title Fight
There's a high-profile heavyweight clash on tap for this Saturday night in Alabama, as WBC belt-holder Deontay Wilder comes back to his native state to defend his strap against Eric Molina in Birmingham.
Last January, Wilder beat Bermane Stiverne to bring back at least a portion of the heavyweight crown to the United States for the first time in nearly a decade. The undefeated Wilder has knocked out 32 of 33 opponents.
Holding the WBC belt doesn't make Wilder a true champion, of course. IBF, WBA, WBO and lineal champion Wladimir Klitschko is unquestionably the man at heavyweight.
And Molina is hardly an opponent who inspires great anticipation among the fans.
But Wilder is a big, athletic man with monster power. And if his belt doesn't make him a champion, it at least makes him extremely relevant. So it's exciting to see him back in the ring.
Tale of the Tape
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| Per BoxRec | Deontay Wilder | Eric Molina |
| Record: | 33-0, 32 KOs | 23-2, 17 KOs |
| Height: | 6'7" | 6'4" |
| Reach: | 83" | 79" |
| Weight: | About 225-230 lbs | About 240 lbs |
| Age: | 29 | 33 |
| Stance: | Orthodox | Orthodox |
| Hometown: | Tuscaloosa, Alabama | Raymondville, Texas |
| Rounds: | 70 | 95 |
Molina has weighed about 240 pounds or more in recent fights, but he started his professional career at 215 and fought as a cruiserweight at the start of this decade before getting steadily bigger.
With an average KO percentage of 84, both of these fighters can bang. Don't expect to see this fight go the distance.
Wilder will be making his first title defense and doing it close to home.
Main Storylines
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Wilder created a nice amount of enthusiasm last January when he beat Stiverne by one-sided unanimous decision to capture the WBC version of the heavyweight title. For the first time since Shannon Briggs in 2007, a U.S. fighter held at least a portion of the heavyweight crown.
But American boxing fans long to see Wilder develop far beyond the likes of Briggs and truly return the heavyweight division to the kind of prestige it enjoyed in the United States with champions like Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson.
With 32 straight knockouts to start his career and a dominant, title-winning performance over Stiverne, Wilder teases at least a hint of hope.
But this defense against Molina is hardly the sort of bout that will keep his momentum building. It's frankly hard not to dismiss this fight as a joke.
Molina is a tough guy with punching power, but he's been knocked out twice in the first round, most recently by Chris Arreola in 2012. Arreola is the fighter Stiverne knocked out when he claimed the vacant WBC belt.
Molina's best wins came over Tony Grano and DaVaryl Williamson. Those are the kinds of wins that should earn a guy a shot at another contender, but not the chance to win the belt itself.
Molina looks a lot like the kind of guy Wilder was fed to fatten his record during his climb up the ranks. He's not the sort of opponent fans dreamed of seeing Wilder face when they were celebrating his title victory last January.
Wilder has the belt, and he has an undefeated record. One assumes that, eventually, he will have to risk both against a true threat.
In the meanwhile, boxing fans will wait patiently, because that's what boxing fans so often have to do.
Strengths
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Deontay Wilder is a monster puncher, having stopped 32 of 33 opponents with none of those victims making it past Round 4. Against Stiverne, he showed some defense and all-around boxing skills, employing a nice jab and good lateral movement.
He also showed that he can stand up to a legitimate heavyweight punch against Stiverne. Still, Wilder is an offense-first fighter.
Eric Molina is a rugged fighter with a big right hand. He's been in the game for a long time and has faced some decent opponents, although the best one of the bunch, Chris Arreola, knocked him out in the first.
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Weaknesses
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Deontay Wilder is 33-0 with 32 KOs, so he's shown little in the way of weakness so far in his professional career. But his torso and legs are extremely slender for a heavyweight. His thin frame has yet to be exploited, but it has to be viewed as at least a potential weakness.
Eric Molina looks to me like a fighter who was designed to be knocked out by Wilder. He's flat-footed and has a habit of dropping his lead left when he jabs, which makes him very vulnerable to a big right hand like Wilder's.
With two first-round KO losses on his resume, Molina's chin has to be considered suspect.
Deontay Wilder Will Win If...
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I just can't see Wilder losing this fight, short of getting caught by Molina with a shocking right hand. Molina does have decent punching power.
To avoid that right hand, Wilder needs to push Molina onto his back foot with a battering-ram jab. When Molina tries to jab with him, Wilder should come over the top with his right hand.
That could very well be enough for Wilder to win this fight. But if Molina is able to avoid the straight right, Wilder should look to catch him leaning forward with either the left hook or uppercut.
Wilder has fight-ending power in both of his hands, so if he stays relatively patient and works in a methodical manner, he should be able to set up a big shot that ends things in a hurry.
Eric Molina Will Win If...
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To win this fight, Molina is going to have to touch Wilder on the chin with a Hail Mary right hand. But to have any hope to connect with that, he's first going to need to tighten things up and return his jab in a swift, timely manner.
If he flicks it out as lazily as he did against Arreola in 2012, he'll once again be put to sleep in a hurry.
Molina is going to need to use that jab, though, to work his way inside against Wilder. When he gets inside, he's going to need to make the fight ugly and rough.
Molina is one the weakest heavyweight challengers in history. Even by the standards of a degraded era, he stands out as a weak challenger.
Still, this is the heavyweight division, and Molina can punch a little bit. So if he can find a way to connect with that right hand, who knows?
Prediction
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I often pull for the underdog when I'm watching a fight. Rocky-style upsets are exciting for the sport and engage fans.
However, if Molina manages to beat Wilder, it will be a nightmare for the sport. Wilder has been the most promising American heavyweight to emerge in a generation. If the lightly regarded Molina manages to upset him, it will merely tear down Wilder, not build up Molina, who will remain a guy who was knocked out in the first round by Arreola.
It will simply reduce the heavyweight division to ashes in the United States.
But I'm not really concerned that it will happen. Wilder should win this fight by stoppage within the first three rounds.
I'm not happy about Wilder fighting Molina, but I'm not worried about him losing to Molina, either.
Hopefully, this will simply be a stay-busy fight for Wilder, and next time out, he'll take a fight that means something. After his impressive Round 1 KO of Mike Perez last month, Alexander Povetkin definitely deserves a shot at Wilder's belt.
Tyson Fury vs. Wilder would be a very intriguing matchup of two undefeated young skyscrapers. And sooner or later, Wilder needs to face the true man at heavyweight, Wladimir Klitschko.
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