Joshua vs Molina: Joshua says he might toy with Molina

By Boxing News - 12/09/2016 - Comments

Image: Joshua vs Molina: Joshua says he might toy with Molina

By Scott Gilfoid: In a bad sign for the fans that will be purchasing the fight between IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua and Eric Molina on Sky Box Office PPV, Joshua is talking about the potential of him toying with the 34-year-old Molina before feeding him to the lions. In other words, Joshua will carry the 6’4” Molina (25-3, 19 Kos) if he’s no threat to him before putting him out of his misery in their fight at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England.

It’s sad though, because why is Joshua fighting an easy mark on pay-per-view. This is not a good career-building move for Joshua to be fighting a guy who has little chance of beating him on PPV.

You can argue that the PPV worthy fights for Joshua are fighters like Deontay Wilder, David Haye, Luis Ortiz and Tyson Fury. Sorry, Molina and Wladimir Klitschko are not PPV worthy fights in my opinion. Those are mismatches. I can understand charging the British boxing fans to see you fight if you’re fighting quality guys that are a threat to beating you, but the guys that Joshua are fighting have little chance.

Molina and Dominic Breazeale are not PPV worthy fights. Joshua can do whatever he wants, but I think he’s not helping himself become a more popular fighter by sticking his mismatches on PPV rather than on regular Sky. I’m just saying.

Joshua said this to Sky Sports News HQ about his fight against Molina:

“If I can go and make him look like a kid I’m going to play with him, then feed him to the lions,” said Joshua. “As many people as there are who want me to win, there are the same that want me to fail. There’s eyes looking from every angle. The main thing is I don’t watch any face. I stay focused.”

This is what I was afraid of. Joshua openly admitting that his fight against Molina is a mismatch. If it’s such a mismatch, then why did Joshua ever agree to the fight in the first place?

Well, if Joshua can make Molina look like a kid, I would hope that he wouldn’t just keep him around to toy with him. When you get a fighter talking about keeping an over-matched opponent around for the heck of it, it suggests that his promoter is matching him too softly. It means that Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn needs to start putting Joshua on solid foods now, because he’s got a full set of baby teeth now and he’s ready to start with the real thing.

Instead of Hearn feeding Joshua the likes of Breazeale, Molina and the past his best 40-year-old Klitschko, Joshua be put in with Luis Ortiz, David Haye, Joseph Parker and Deontay Wilder. If Joshua is still the IBF champion after those tough fights, then put him in with the winner of the Alexander Povetkin vs. Bermane Stiverne fight. Let’s see if Joshua can toy with those fighters and feed them to the lions.

Haye and Klitschko will be at the Joshua vs. Molina fight on Saturday night to scout Joshua out. I don’t know Wladimir can get from the fight, because he doesn’t look like he can pull the trigger at this point in his career. I’m sure Wladimir knows how to beat Joshua, but I don’t think he’s got the youth, the nerve, the reflexes or the ability to let his hands go for him to win. I think it’s another record padding fight for Joshua.