Deontay Wilder will take his first challenger as the WBC Heavyweight Champion of the World on Saturday night against Eric Molina. Wilder has selected Bartow Arena as the sight of the fight, bringing Alabama’s first title fight to the city of Birmingham.
“It’s definitely a blessing to be able to fight in my state.” said Wilder. “When we set the goal to be heavyweight champion of the world that was one of the goals we set, to bring it to Alabama.”
TALE OF THE TAPE
Deontay Wilder Eric Molina
33-0, 32 KOs Record 23-2, 17 KOS
6'7" Height 6'5"
230 lbs Weight 240 lbs
83" Reach 79"
29 Age 33
Tuscaloosa, AL Hometown Raymondville, TX
Deontay Wilder is now 33-0 in the ring, with 32 of those wins coming by knockout. In Wilder’s last match, he defeated Bermane Stiverne for his title by going 12 rounds in a unanimous decision victory. Challenger Eric Molina doesn’t have such a bad record for himself either though, sitting at 23-2 with 17 knockouts. Wilder is a heavy favorite in this fight but both fighters say it will not be an easy fight.
“I’ve embraced the role of the underdog,” said Molina. “I’ve always been the underdog in my career and this fight is nothing new. I’ve accepted it and used it to strengthen me.”
Wilder is an offensive-first fighter but he showed against Stiverene that his quickness and footwork can help him defensively while being able to take a couple of big punches. His all-around boxing skills showed that he can be more than just a knockout specialist when needed.
Molina will be one of the taller fighters that Wilder has seen and packs a big right hand that has taken down many fighters in the past. Some people are laughing this fight off though because of Molina’s inconsistency in the past. Both of his defeats were by first-round knockouts, something that Wilder is very capable of doing.
“I know (Molina) is going to be scared but they say if you push a rabbit back in the corner he’ll fight back too,” said Wilder two weeks before the fight. “He’s coming to home territory and that’s when I perform the best.”
Wilder’s undefeated record may not last forever, but through his first 33 fights he has some impressive stats. In his 32 knockouts, Wilder has fought just 58 rounds while never being knocked down to the mat. In comparison, Molina’s 25 fights have gone for a total of 90 rounds.
PREDICTION: Everything points to an easy win for Deontay Wilder. Bleacher Report even said that Molina just “looks a lot like the kind of guy Wilder was fed to fatten his record during his climb up the ranks.” That being said, Wilder will still have to be careful of Molina’s right hand. The Mexican-American has a lot of power and can maybe throw of Wilder with a few big punches early on. Molina has been known to drop his head left when he jabs so look for Wilder to take advantage and get a big right hook in. Wilder by KO in Round 3.
Wilder has been getting a lot of hype as the next big American boxer and he wants to fill that role and bring prestige back to the sport in the United States. His last fight proved a lot of people wrong but there are still plenty of doubts about how good he can really be.
However, with his astounding record and the dominant title-winning performance he had against Stiverne, he is giving up plenty of hope to American boxing fans. If Wilder retains his belt on Saturday night, we may get to see a much better fight in the fall as Wladimir Klitschko holds the WBO and WBA titles that Wilder will be chasing. And we may even get to see the fight happen at Coleman Coliseum.
