Anthony Joshua vs. Eric Molina: The Major Questions Ahead of the Manchester Card
The last big show of the year in Britain should offer something for everyone.
If you like seeing heavyweights hammer away at each other, Saturday's bill in Manchester, England, is perfect for you.
Anthony Joshua defends his IBF heavyweight title, as the unbeaten Englishman takes on Eric Molina in the main event at the Manchester Arena.
However, they're not the only big men in action on the pay-per-view card. Dillian Whyte and Dereck Chisora clash for the British belt, while the Cuban Luis Ortiz faces David Allen.
There's no need to panic if heavies don't really float your boat.
Super flyweight Khalid Yafai bids to become a world champion, plus Scott Quigg makes his comeback from injury. Add in Katie Taylor's second outing as a pro and you have a pre-Christmas cracker in store.
Bleacher Report takes a look at some of the key questions ahead of Saturday's action.
Can Katie Taylor Build on Her Impressive Pro Debut?
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Katie Taylor didn’t put a foot wrong—or a glove, for that matter—during her professional debut.
Having said all the right things in the buildup, she proved far too good for Karina Kopinska on November 26, recording a third-round TKO victory.
In the final fight before the main event at Wembley Arena in London, and live on Sky Sports, Taylor seized the opportunity to showcase her skills and also make a mark for professional women's boxing in Britain.
The five-time world amateur champion is back out again just two weeks later, taking on Viviane Obenauf (9-1, 4 KOs), a Swiss-based Brazilian who went the six-round distance with Kopinska in October.
Taylor already has a huge following in her homeland and is respected for her in-ring skills—how many other novice fighters would get a congratulatory tweet from Conor McGregor?
Promoter Eddie Hearn wants to strike while the iron is hot, hence his new recruit appearing in Manchester.
Taylor has big plans for the future, as she told the Telegraph’s Gareth A Davies before her first outing: "I'd love to win a world title, unify the belts and try to go up the weights and try to win belts at higher weights too. I'd like to do what the likes of Ronda Rousey has done in the UFC and become a big name in professional boxing and raise the profile of the sport."
Much like Anthony Joshua, Taylor's switch to the pros has created a real buzz in the trade.
Finding challenging opponents on a regular basis could prove tricky for promoter Eddie Hearn, but there is no need to hold Taylor back.
Will Khalid Yafai Cope with the Step Up in Class?
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Khalid Yafai has waited for an opportunity at a world title.
The unbeaten super flyweight—the eldest of three fighting brothers—has been active in 2016, recording facile victories over Dixon Flores, Jozsef Ajtai and Johnson Tellez.
However, Luis Concepcion is a considerable step up from that trio of names.
El Nica is the WBA champion at 115 pounds. He outpointed Kohei Kono in the Japanese fighter’s backyard in August to upgrade his interim status, so travelling to England shouldn’t bother him.
The challenger, however, is confident he can get the job done and become the first pro boxer from Birmingham, England, to win a world title.
"Knowing you could be the first Birmingham fighter to win a world title is pressure, but I love pressure,” the 27-year-old told Mike Lockley of the Birmingham Mail.
Yafai, who has previously picked up the British and Commonwealth belts, is a powerful puncher for the division, as demonstrated by his 70 per cent KO rate.
While he cannot rely on blasting his way through Concepcion, the challenger is prepared for a long, tough fight, judging from Matchroom Boxing's tweet on Monday.
If he paces himself correctly and gets those body shots home, Yafai can walk out of the ring on Saturday night as a world champion.
Will Scott Quigg Be Better for a Step Up in Weight?
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Scott Quigg has endured a tough year.
In February, he lost his unification battle with longtime rival Carl Frampton, which ended not just his reign as the WBA's champion at super bantamweight but also his unbeaten record.
As if the defeat wasn't painful enough, the Bury-born boxer suffered a broken jaw that required surgery to fix.
In June, the plates inserted into Quigg's skull had to be removed following a bad reaction. The setback further delayed his ring return, which was a real frustration for a boxer who lives for his job.
The 28-year-old told Bleacher Report in August: "I couldn’t do any training. I couldn’t even get out running because the impact would have been an issue with the jaw."
Now, finally, he's fit and ready for action.
Quigg's comeback is in a new division, as he has followed Frampton in moving to featherweight. Those extra four pounds will help, although his dedication to training isn't in question.
He faces Jose Cayetano, a Mexican who lost on points to Leo Santa Cruz in a 10-rounder last year, but will have his sights on the big names in a division packed full of options.
As well as the winner of the rematch between Frampton and Santa Cruz, there is the possibility of pushing for a shot at IBF champion Lee Selby.
Fighting at featherweight should hold no fears for Quigg, so long as that repaired jaw holds up.
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Can Luis Ortiz Recover from His Dour European Debut?
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Luis Ortiz's maiden outing with new promoters Matchroom didn't quite go according to plan.
The Cuban was victorious against Malik Scott in November, but the performance in the points triumph was disappointing (and that's pointing it mildly). It may well become a cure for insomnia.
He made the audience sit through 12 rounds of tedium against an opponent who at times needed his corner to cajole him into carrying on.
It wasn't the first impression King Kong wanted to make on Europe.
However, he's quickly got a chance to redeem himself. The 37-year-old southpaw is back out against Dave Allen, an inexperienced British heavyweight who was last seen losing to Dillian Whyte in July.
Allen believes he can ruin any plans Ortiz and his team have to challenge for a world title in 2017.
"Luis Ortiz is an old man, and I’m going to make him look like an old man in there," he told Matchroom Boxing's official website. "When he hits me, I’m going to stand there and smile at him."
Allen has a granite-like chin. Whyte dominated him for 10 rounds yet couldn't budge the White Rhino.
Ortiz cannot afford another snoozefest. The onus is on him to show he is still the same fighter who flattened Bryant Jennings last year rather than the one who bored us to tears last month.
Who Will Win the Battle for the British Heavyweight Title?
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Dillian Whyte and Dereck Chisora are two combustible heavyweights who don't have a lot of time for each other.
The pair nearly came to blows on the set of Sky Sports' The Gloves Are Off.
Their final pre-fight press conference on Wednesday will have a heavy security presence—the British Boxing Board of Control have requested no head-to-head meetings in front of the media, per Sky Sports.
As for the actual fight, you know what to expect from Chisora.
He is a tough, uncomplicated fighter who is willing to do whatever it takes to gain control. Don't forget that this is a man who once took a chunk out of Paul Butlin's ear during a bout.
"I've met a lot of good people in boxing, but Chisora has always had an attitude. He butted me the first time we boxed, then bit me in the rematch," Butlin once told the Telegraph.
However, Del-Boy has fallen short in the big fights. His CV includes defeats to Tyson Fury (twice), David Haye and Vitali Klitschko.
In contrast, Whyte is still something of an unknown quantity. He may have lost to Anthony Joshua, but he remains the only foe to take the attack to the IBF champion.
That loss remains the Jamaican-born fighter's best performance as a pro. If he doesn't want to become the next Chisora (durable but a tad below world level), he has to do a number on the real thing.
Expect Whyte to win on the night.
Is Eric Molina Tough Enough to Trouble Anthony Joshua?
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Which version of Eric Molina will turn up in the ring for the main event on Saturday?
Will it be the one Chris Arreola walloped inside a round in 2012 or the one who put up a decent fight against Deontay Wilder last year?
The Texan lasted into Round 9 with the heavy-handed Wilder. Anthony Joshua will know he has the chance to lay down a marker by getting the job done quicker than one of his major rivals.
However, since that defeat, Molina—who also works as a special-needs teacher in Texas—has won twice.
Last time out, he stunned Tomasz Adamek, knocking out the Pole at the end of Round 10. Adamek, though, was 39 at the time and well past his prime.
Scary as it may be for the rest of the division, Joshua still has room to grow (in terms of his boxing ability, perhaps not physically).
We will find out how good he is when opponents start fighting fire with fire. Other than settling an old score against Dillian Whyte, the 2012 Olympic gold medalist has had it easy in the paid ranks.
As Wilder told Keith Idec of BoxingScene.com: "Joshua has only fought D-level opposition."
Hopefully, Molina is above D-level. While an upset result appears unlikely (per Odds Shark, the challenger is a 10/1 shot for victory), he can at least makes Joshua work for win No. 18.
As ever, Bleacher Report welcomes your boxing opinions. Feel free to offer your predictions on the Manchester card via the comments section.
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