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Unbeaten heavyweight titleholder Anthony Joshua obliterated American knockout puncher Eric Molina on Sunday morning to set up a lucrative bout against Wladimir Klitschko on April 29 at Wembley Stadium.
Molina was not able to inconvenience, let alone hurt, Joshua once during the IBF world heavyweight championship bout in Manchester.
The 34-year-old veteran was a sitting duck from the opening bell. Joshua, who had only allowed four pro fights go past the second round heading into yesterday’s bout, was patient, calmly picking his shots.
The 2012 Olympic gold medalist created an opportunity in the third, flooring the timid Molina with a right-hand. The tough-as-nails American got back to his feet but was finished by a torrent of punches shortly thereafter.
Klitschko, who sat ringside during the important heavyweight bout, stepped between the ropes after the 27-year-old champ’s dominant victory to confirm the rumoured Joshua-Klitschko championship clash for the 2017 schedule.
“Klitschko wants his belts back and may the best man win,” a soft-spoken Joshua said to the crowd after the win. “I will worry about myself and training.”
Less than 12 hours earlier in New Zealand, Auckland’s Joseph Parker captured the vacant WBO heavyweight championship, winning a questionable decision against Mexican-American puncher Andy Ruiz.
In a captivating back-and-forth fight, the undefeated 24-year-old was backed into a corner early, losing five of the first six rounds.
Parker, the taller, leaner boxer, relied on his deep gas tank down the stretch to steal rounds, and, according to several boxing experts, the fight.
Two of the three ringside judges awarded Parker the heavyweight crown with scores of 115-113, and the lone dissenting judge scored the fight 114-114. On my unofficial card, I also had the fight a tie.
“What a dream come true,” the Kiwi said after punching his way into New Zealand’s history books by becoming the nation’s first heavyweight champion. “(Ruiz) showed he was a great fighter.”
Whether you felt that Parker deserved to hoist the championship over his head or not after Saturday night’s outstanding main event fight, there’s no denying that, along with Joshua, these 20-something-year-old, hard-hitting heavies represent new hope for the dumpster fire that recently was the heavyweight class.
For the longest time, boxing’s heaviest weight class was filled with slow, lumbering, non-athletic men with a few rounds of cardio under their belt. There are still a number of them who fill up the talent pool, but over the past few years, there has been a rise in athletic, marketable big men that have evolved into contenders and champions.
Joining Joshua and Parker on the A-Team of heavyweights stars to lead boxing into the next generation is Deontay Wilder, a six-foot-seven power puncher who has won by knockout in 36 of his 37 pro bouts.
The WBC heavyweight kingpin is not as youthful as Joshua and Parker, having recently celebrated his 31st birthday, but with his God-given skill and athleticism, it doesn’t sound absurd to suggest he has another half-decade as an elite fighter.
With this trio, along with established veterans like Klitschko, Alexander Povetkin, and Tyson Fury, and a six-foot-four, 240-pound wild card like Luis Ortiz in the mix, the heavyweight division is suddenly one worth paying attention to.
Not since the late 90s, when the class was helmed by Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, and a post-self-destruction Mike Tyson, has the heavyweight division been this interesting.