| Fight Name: | Anthony Joshua vs Éric Molina |
| Fight Date: | 10 December 2016 |
| Location: | Manchester Arena, Manchester, England |
| Titles: | IBF Heavyweight Championship |
| Fighter1: |  Anthony Joshua |
| Nickname1: | AJ |
| Hometown1: | Watford, Hertfordshire, UK |
| Purse1: | £5,000,000 |
| Record1: | 17–0 (17 KOs) |
| Height1: | 6 ft 6 in |
| Weight1: | 243 lb |
| Style1: | Orthodox |
| Recognition1: | IBF Heavyweight Champion TBRB No. 2 Ranked Heavyweight The Ring No. 5 Ranked Heavyweight |
| Fighter2: |  Éric Molina |
| Nickname2: | Drummer Boy |
| Hometown2: | Raymondville, Texas, US |
| Record2: | 25–3 (19 KOs) |
| Height2: | 6 ft 4 in |
| Weight2: | 237 lb |
| Style2: | Orthodox |
| Recognition2: | IBF No. 7 Ranked Heavyweight |
| Result: | Joshua defeated Molina in the third-round by TKO |
Anthony Joshua vs Éric Molina was a heavyweight professional boxing match contested between undefeated IBF champion Anthony Joshua, and the IBF's number 7 ranked contender and former world title challenger, Éric Molina. The bout took place on 10 December 2016 at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Joshua defeated Molina, retaining his heavyweight title via third-round technical knockout (TKO).
Following Joshua's win over Dominic Breazeale on 25 June, a seventh-round technical knockout (TKO) to retain his IBF heavyweight title, the IBF ordered Joshua to fight undefeated mandatory challenger, Joseph Parker, by 9 January 2017.[1] Following unified heavyweight champion Tyson Fury's withdrawal from a scheduled rematch with Wladimir Klitschko, Hearn revealed on Twitter in late September that he had contacted team Klitschko for a potential fight.[2] On 16 October it was reported that a deal with Klitschko was almost finalised, with the WBA and WBO titles potentially being on the line after Fury vacated the titles days earlier.[3] A week later, it was reported that Klitschko had sustained an injury in training, scuttling plans of a potential fight.[4] After Joseph Parker had agreed to fight Andy Ruiz Jr for the vacant WBO title, relinquishing his IBF mandatory position,[5] the three names in the mix for Joshua's opponent were Éric Molina, David Price and Bryant Jennings.[6] In November, it was officially announced that Joshua would make the second defence of his title against the IBF's number 7 ranked contender and former world title challenger, Éric Molina,[7] with the fight to be televised live on Sky Sports Box Office in the UK and Showtime in the US, on 10 December at the Manchester Arena.[8]
Frank Buglioni and Callum Smith both scored knockout victories in british title fight, while Khalid Yafai won the vacant WBA super-flyweight belt. There were also wins for former Super-bantamweight champion Scott Quigg (making his Featherweight debut) and Katie Taylor.
In the chief support, British heavyweight champion Dillian Whyte faced former world title challenger Derek Chisora in a WBC title eliminator.[9] The fight was originally slated to be Whyte's first defence of the British heavyweight title he won against Ian Lewison. However, at the final press conference on 7 December, following Whyte making a comment that he'd attack Chisora anytime he sees him after the fight, Chisora picked up the table he was sitting at and threw it towards Whyte, just missing everyone in the way which included the promoters and trainers.[10] As a result, the British Boxing Board of Control withdrew their sanction of the fight and the British title would not be at stake.[11] Chisora was also fined £25,000, ordered to pay £5,000 in costs and given a two-year suspended ban from boxing.[12]
Chisora often had Whyte on the back foot in the early stages and would land with a number of heavy body shots. A overhand right from Chisora had Whyte wobbling in the fifth round but Whyte was able to weather the storm and come on strong in the sixth round. A left hook from Chisora in the eight left Whyte covering up on the ropes. The remaining rounds featured both man exchanging heavy blows but neither man was able to finish off the other. On two occasions in the twelfth, Whyte was knocked off balance by Chisora after being hit with huge shots to the head but he made it to the final bell.
Two judges scored the fight 115–113 and 115–114 for Whyte, and one scoring 115–114 in favour of Chisora giving Whyte a split decision victory. The fight was widely praised, with former WBC super-middleweight champion Richie Woodhall saying "I don't think you'll see a better heavyweight 12-round contest anywhere in the world" and WBC cruiserweight champion and BBC Radio 5 Live pundit Tony Bellew claiming that "That has taken me back to the Ali days, the Frazier days. I've not seen a heavyweight fight like that for 20 years. What a contest!".[13]
Post fight, Whyte stated he would not give Chisora a rematch but changed his mind later saying he would be open to a rematch.[14] [15]
The opener saw little action, with the highlight being a left hook from Joshua in the final seconds of a round which the champion comfortably won on the scorecards. The second round saw much of the same; Molina cautiously backing up as Joshua stalked the American around the ring, with the highlight again coming from the champion–a left uppercut that momentarily stunned Molina. Joshua began the third round with more intensity, throwing combination punches as Molina continued to remain on the back foot. At the halfway point, Joshua landed a powerful straight right hand to drop Molina to the canvas. The challenger beat the referee's count of ten, only for Joshua to pounce on the American with a flurry of punches culminating in a left hook to force the referee to call a halt to the fight.[16]
Following Joshua's win, promoter Eddie Hearn brought Wladimir Klitschko into the ring to announce Klitschko as Joshua's next opponent, with the fight scheduled for 29 April 2017 at the Wembley Stadium in London.[17]
Confirmed bouts:[18]
| Weight Class | vs. | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heavyweight | Anthony Joshua (c) | def. | Éric Molina | TKO | 3/12 | |||
| Heavyweight | Dillian Whyte (c) | def. | Derek Chisora | SD | 12 | |||
| Lightweight | Katie Taylor | def. | Viviane Obenauf | PTS | 6 | |||
| Featherweight | Scott Quigg | def. | Jose Cayetano | TKO | 9/12 | |||
| Super-flyweight | Khalid Yafai | def. | Luis Concepción | UD | 12 | |||
| Super-middleweight | Callum Smith (c) | def. | Luke Blackledge | TKO | 10/12 | |||
| Light-heavyweight | Frank Buglioni | def. | Hosea Burton (c) | TKO | 12/12 | |||
| Heavyweight | Luis Ortiz | def. | David Allen | TKO | 7/8 | |||
| Welterweight | Conor Benn | def. | Steven Blackhouse | TKO | 1/4 | |||
| Middleweight | Marcus Morrison | def. | Harry Matthews | PTS | 6 |
| align=center | Country | align=center | Broadcaster |
|---|---|---|---|
| Showtime |