By Scott Gilfoid: IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua’s December 10th fight will be televised by Showtime Boxing in the U.S, which isn’t all that surprising news, because the British fighter was recently signed by the network to a multi-fight deal. However, Showtime will be taking a gamble in showing the 6’6” Joshua’s fight, because they still don’t know who the opponent will be for him.
According to Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn, the list of candidates for his December 10 fight is down to these three options: David Price, Eric Molina and Bryant Jennings. Those are not exactly world beaters.
They’re not what you would consider can’t miss opponents that will bring in huge ratings on Showtime. What they are guys that Joshua can beat with ease without worry. Joshua is trying to stay unbeaten so that he can face Wladimir Klitschko in early 2017 with his unbeaten record intact and with his IBF heavyweight title still in his possession.
I’m frankly surprised that Showtime is still going to televise Joshua’s December 10 fight now that Wladimir Klitschko is out of the picture. You would think that Showtime would have lost interest with Wladimir no longer there for Joshua to fight. If there was a talented contender available or wanted to fight Joshua, then I could understand Showtime wanting to televise the fight. But with the three candidates available to fight Joshua in thius fight, it’s not really interesting.
“We will be telecasting Anthony’s fight on Dec. 10,” Showtime boss Stephen Espinoza said to RingTV.com. “He wasn’t part of the slate simply because the opponent has not been announced. We plan on continuing our relationship with Anthony for a long, long time, including Dec. 10. Anthony Joshua will continue to be a big part of our plans going forward.”
American Eric Molina is said to be in the leading position for the Joshua fight. That’s not a big deal for the U.S fans who remember how Molina was knocked out by WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder last year in a fight televised by Premier Boxing Champions in the States. Molina was knocked down four times in the fight, and he did little to be competitive against Wilder. There was maybe one round where Molina gave Wilder some brief problems, but after that one round it was all Wilder dominating the fight and getting an eay knockout. The best hing that Joshua can get out of fighting Molina is to see if he can score a faster knockout than what Deontay produced.
Joshua’s December 10th fight will take place at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. This means that the American fighter that gets selected to fight Joshua will be at a huge disadtange in the fight, because the fans will be rooting for Joshua, and it’ll make it tough on the visiting fighter.
Wladimir was in the running for the Joshua fight, but he suffered a calf injury and that took him out commission until next year. Some boxing fans received the news of Wladimir’s injury in seeing something sinister in terms of him waning to duck Joshua, but the reality is he’s 40-years-old now. Injuries happen when you get up to the age where Wladimir is now. If Joshua had been banging on Wladimir’s door when he was 26, it wouldn’t be an issue, because he was invincible at that time. The same will likely go for Joshua.
If he’s still fighting when he’s 40, you can bet he’ll be suffering injuries left and right, and the fans will be bellyaching about it, wondering why he keeps getting hurt. Joshua and Wladimir are expected to fight each other in March or April next year. Wladimir wants the fight. There’s a lot of cash that Wladimir can get for the fight. I don’t think it’ll be as much as the big money he made in his fight against Alexander Povetkin in 2013 in their fight in Moscow, Russia, but he’ll make some good cash. It’ll make for a good golden parachute for Wladimir’s golden years in retirement.
– David Price – Believe it or not, Price might be the most dangerous of the three potential opponents for Joshua to fight. He’s also the guy that will likely bring in the most pay-per-view buys on Sky Box Office. Price is a known figure in the UK, so it’s not going to be a big deal getting the British boxing fans to show interest in a fight between him and Joshua. Price supposedly knocked Joshua out in a sparring session that took place many years ago when he was an amateur fighter. That would possibly give him a leg up in beating Joshua in an actual fight. I don’t know if that’s realistic or not. I do think Price has more punching power in either hand that Bryant Jennings and Eric Molina. At 33, Price is now experienced enough to know that he would need to start fast against Joshua to keep from getting blasted out. As such, it would be a shootout from the 1st round. Joshua would need to worry about Price’s punching power, as well as his reach.
– Bryant Jennings – of the three candidates for Joshua to fight, Jennings (19-2, 10 Kos) is probably the least qualified to fight for a title against him, because he’s lost his last two fights against Luis Ortiz and Wladimir Klitschko. Granted, those are talented fighters, and there’s no shame in losing to guys like that. But the fact remains, Jennings has lost his last two fights, and he hasn’t fought in 2016 at all. Jennings last fight was in December of 2015 against Ortiz. I don’t know what Jennings has been doing since the loss to Ortiz, but it sure as heck doesn’t look good that he’s been inactive all that time off of a loss like the one he suffered in that fight.
– Eric Molina – There’s not much Molina has going for him other than he fought for a world title and was knocked out by Deontay Wilder last year. Other than that, Molina beat Tomasz Adamek in his last fight in stopping him in the 10th round. It was good that Molina didn’t lose to Adamek, but it still is a nothing win. You’ve got to do better than that if you want to get attention. If Molina had beaten a relevant fighter like Kubrat Pulev or Luis Ortiz, then I could see him being a good option for Joshua to be defending his title against. But he didn’t do that, and all he’s had was his wo wins over Adamek and Rodricka Ray since his loss to Deontay Wilder last year.
Since the options are pretty meager for Joshua, I’d like to see him fight David Price. At least that’s a fight where there would be a slight chance of an upset due to Price’s punching power.