Joshua will fight Molina

People thinking Molina is just a replacement need to realize that Eddie Hearn was supposed to have had a decent opponent settled a couple of weeks before Wladimir was even a factor. Wladimir was fighting Tyson Fury, so wasn't even available.
Hearn has accused a lot of opponents of pricing themselves out. He even said Hughie Fury priced himself out.
Perhaps Hearn needs to dig into his pocket and offer something special to get a decent opponent. He's boasting about AJ being the next big thing, and the financial success and the financial potential, so decent opponents WILL expect big money.

 

It's disappointing considering the other options that were talked about prior to Molina. Fact is Joshua needs to step up, he's far better than the the likes of Martin, Breazeale and Molina.

I understand this was done on relatively short notice and Joshua still only has 17 fights but when you step up and grab a title peoples expectations change.

If the next fight isn't a big fight against a proven opponent the criticism of Joshua will only grow and rightfully so.

 

What a top quality choice of opponent by AJ as predicted by many here.

He is fighting a guy that Chris Arreola brutally knocked out in only 2 minutes 30 seconds 4 years ago!

Wow, just wow.

Talk about taking the big fights that the fans want to see.

The link to Wlad was a just a plant- to make a excuse for a pitifully difficult defence like this one.

 

There's been no "short notice" really.
Hearn has been dropping Molina's name often ever since AJ won the title.
Hearn had AJ scheduled to fight the end of this year all along.

There's been a lot of talk of fighters turning down the fight, pricing themselves out, negotiations that went nowhere. A lot of talk, a lot of talk.

NO ONE "pulled out" of the fight because no one was actually ever secured.
Maybe Hearn can convince us everyone except Eric Molina is scared to face Anthony Joshua, and they all turned down really great deals, or turned white when the contract was put in front of them. If Eddie talks enough, I'm sure he'll convince me too.

 

Check the other place and let me know your thoughts mate.

 

Means Whyte will still be his career best win.

 

Define decent money. None of Joshua's opponents have complained about the size of their purse thus far and the ones you've mentioned who have turned down offers have either gone on record asking for an absolute fortunate - Pulev - or have a history of turning down anything remotely resembling a big fight - Hughie.

It's clear that Hearn always thought he had Parker to fall back on but has ended up coming unstuck after he was offered a different route to a belt.

He'd want longer to build a Haye fight and he's just been inexplicably given mando status by the WBO.

Povetkin, Stiverne and Wilder are out of reach and the situation couldn't be more complicated with the WBA concerning their multiple champs and mandos. This leaves a not particularly great selection although I was hoping for better than Molina. Perhaps Jennings.

Fighters shouldn't need to be bribed to accept a world title shot.

 

The bottom line is we still don't know how good Joshua is .He looks the part for sure but apart from white he's faced no one remotely decent . A world title belt holder who has never had a proper fight .when will he meet someone in the top ten? And what will happen?this situation is like Bruno never meeting Bonecrusher Smith .Interesting times ahead I think.

 

Well, to be fair to Hughie Fury, if we are to believe reports, it was Andy Ruiz who pulled out of the fight, and now Ruiz is being lined up as Parker's foil for the WBO title.

How much did Pulev ask for?
Was it more than they paid Martin?

It's not a case of "bribing" fighters to take a world title shot, it's a case of giving them a big chunk of the revenue.
Good high-ranked fighters tend to ask for a big chunk nowadays because they think they can become mandatory challengers or titlists of some sort, soon enough.
It's only the ones who don't have as much chance of a future who accept the least terms for voluntary challenges.

I'm not saying it's right but it's the reality.
Anthony Joshua will be the one facing the increasing credibility issue as IBF champion, just as Deontay Wilder does as WBC champion, unless his promoter pays up to secure the better opponents.
Pulev is an improvement on previous opponents. Ortiz would be an excellent opponent. Even Hughie Fury is above Dominic Breazeale.
At this rate, I'd be happy to see AJ-Whyte 2 next, rather than Molina/Price etc.

 

5m for Pulev. That seems excessive to me considering not he's not bring many viewers to the bout. I think Pulev deliberately priced himself out. Martin was selling a belt, he isn't so doesn't have the kind of leverage 'Prince' Charles had.

Re. Hughie, I'm just pointing out that he's been offered plenty of opportunities already and hasn't seemed interested in any of them. He might regret that later on, he might not. We'll see.

I totally agree and would have thought Ortiz would be the fight to make. The stumbling block being that he isn't ranked with the IBF due to that silly WBA trinket he owns. It's not the super title so isn't up for unification and if he gave it up would he have been able to get ranked in time for December?

It's a very complicated landscape to make a fight in at the minute.

 

Very true. I would love to see Joshua - Ortiz, but it's just so totally unrealistic from a financial point of view. I don't actually think the IBF ranking is so much of a problem as the fact that there is no way Hearn risks his best cash cow against a guy who is:
- very dangerous (I suspect half of ESB would pick Ortiz right now)
- old (so even if he beat AJ, Hearn would not get much money out of him)
- not British and a former drug cheat (no marketability)

That's why I'm not even bothering to hope AJ - Ortiz gets made now. The only possibility for it in the future is if Hearn can build Ortiz up to make AJ - Ortiz a megafight, cue in the fact that Ortiz is getting old and Aj getting better, which makes the odds much better for AJ/Hearn/Matchroom.

 

Ducking is probably strong, my only gripe is if it was Joshua who did what Parkers done, a lot of people would call him a ducker.