Agencies
MANCHESTER
Anthony Joshua has risen to the top of boxing's heavyweight division in serene fashion, with barely a clean punch landing on him in 17 straight professional wins.
For the British fighter, the real work starts now.
On Saturday, Joshua makes the second defense of his IBF title against a 34-year-old American with nothing to lose and a huge punch in his armory.
Everyone is in agreement: Eric Molina is a credible challenger and Joshua's most dangerous fight to date.
"We've specifically trained to land the knockout shot," Molina said Thursday. "There's nothing else we've worked on, other than landing that shot."
That one big punch wobbled fellow American Deontay Wilder in Molina's only other world title fight, in June last year in Alabama. Molina landed a clean left hook that shook the WBC champion in the third round, but couldn't follow it up and was knocked out in the ninth round.
For Molina, who has already lost three times in his career and knows this might be his last shot at the big time, it's all about getting that one chance.
"I think Anthony Joshua's at the point in his career where he needs to get tested," Molina, dressed sharply with a bow tie and a waistcoat, told The Associated Press in a Manchester hotel, two days before the fight in the northern English city. "I think he's hitting that time of his career where he's going to have to start facing situations he hasn't faced before."
Few are giving the 34-year-old Molina a chance against Joshua, heavyweight boxing's new big thing. Then again, Molina's life has revolved around dealing with adversity.
He has been playing catch-up in his boxing career since first putting on a pair of gloves in 2006, at age 23. A strong all-round sportsman, especially at baseball, the Texas native was studying at college and working in a restaurant when he gave boxing a try.
