Anthony Joshua successfully retained his
IBF heavyweight title after stopping Eric Molina inside 3 rounds. Following his
victory, Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn announced that his charge will face
Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley Stadium next April in a classic battle between
the young lion and the old veteran.
Molina was hardly ideal preparation for
Joshua ahead of this fight though as the champion barely got out of first gear
to win. From the opening bell, ‘AJ’ worked behind the jab and landed several
right hands to Molina’s body. The 2nd round followed a similar
pattern with Joshua controlling range with the jab and thundering home with a
powerful left hook to take full control of proceedings.
The end came in round 3 as Joshua upped the
tempo of his work. He started unloading combinations which were piercing
through Molina’s defence with regularity when a huge right hand eventually
dropped the ‘Drummer Boy’ to the floor. Whilst Molina did well to make the count,
Joshua immediately stepped in to finish the job.
Joshua will now move onto his greatest test
in the professional ranks against Klitschko. Whilst many will legitimately argue
that he has not been in with anyone at the level of the former unified
champion, Klitschko is 41 years old and would have been out of the ring 18
months by the time the pair meet. Timing is everything in boxing, and with this
in mind it just might be the perfect coming out party for Anthony Joshua.
Article courtesy of Neel Khagram @BehindtheFight
www.behindthefight.com
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