California-based light-welterweight John Molina (27-6, 22 KO’s) has not entered the ring since a unanimous decision loss to Adrien Broner in March. Seeing as he had some free time on his hands, he kindly gave his thoughts on the recently confirmed heavyweight clash between Wladimir Klitschko and Tyson Fury.
Klitschko (64-3, 53 KO’s) will put his WBA Super, IBF, WBO and IBO belts on the line in Dusseldorf, Germany against the travelling Brit Fury (24-0, 18 KO’s) whose current undefeated streak saw him climb the WBO’s rankings to gain a shot at the long-reigning champion.
Speaking to Esnewsreporting.com, Molina gave the young Fury his credit but sees this title defence as a poor alternative to a big unification fight he feels warrants more attention.
“I don’t wanna take anything away from Tyson Fury; he’s done well making a name for himself. He’s a hell of a heavyweight but at the end of the day the heavyweights that everyone is intrigued about and interested in seeing is Klitschko and [WBC champion] Deontay Wilder.”
Wilder (34-0, 33 KO’s) earned his belt by completing the twelve round distance for the first time in his career against Bermane Stiverne in January. Prior to that, he had been blasting everyone out of there early and with apparent ease, leaving room for questions regarding his stamina and durability.
He seemed to answer his critics conclusively by beating Stiverne in the manner that he did but looked shaky on his homecoming to Alabama in his first title defence against Eric Molina. Wilder looked hesitant and plagued by thought against the school teacher and was even wobbled on one worrying occasion himself. Still, he managed four knockdowns by the time the TKO victory came in the ninth round.
Based on that performance Wilder still has a way to go before he can match the heavy handed Ukrainian champion, but Molina still feels he “deserves the shot” more than the man who has worked his way up the rankings.
Klitschko himself looked far from infallible last time out in April against the relatively inexperienced Philadelphian Bryant Jennings, who went into the fight with just 19 wins under his belt. Klitschko was the clear victor, but caught a surprising amount of punches to the face, and was deducted a point for holding.
Klitschko vs. Wilder would be for all the marbles and is undoubtedly the biggest fight in the division. However, Klitschko is a man that has always taken on his mandatory challengers and so he was likely to take care of his obligations before the prospect of a perceived super fight caught his attention.
