Interviews
Eric Molina is in his twilight years, but he’s still perilous
Published
3 months agoon
By
J. HumzaFabio Wardley says Eric Molina remains a perilous operator and a victory on March 6 would elevate his name even further in the heavyweight division.
Wardley (10-0, 9 KOs) will face former two-time world heavyweight title challenger Molina (27-6, 19 KOs) on the undercard of his manager Dillian Whyte’s rematch with Alexander Povektin scheduled for March 6 at a venue yet to be confirmed.
The Ipswich fighter, who stopped Richard Lartey inside two rounds in November, believes the 38-year-old Molina is still a threat and has experience on his side heading into the fight.
“Don’t get me wrong, he’s certainly not a top-tier Eric Molina, he’s obviously in the twilight of his career,” Wardley said. proboxing-fans.com.
“But that doesn’t make him any less perilous, the last thing you lose is power and all that time in the ring, and the only thing you gain is more experience.
“So he knows his way around the ring, he’ll know how to withstand my punches, how to counter, how to strike back, how to try to move me, a lot of little things that he’s already done and done,” and I know 100 times.
“So the thing is, I’m really trying to figure this out.”
Molina has six losses in his 33-fight career, most recently to unbeaten Croatian Filip Hrgovic, who stopped him in three rounds on the undercard of Anthony Joshua’s rematch win over Andy Ruiz Jr in Saudi Arabia in December 2019.
The Texan had two chances at heavyweight glory following a nine-round defeat to Deontay Wilder in 2015, while he was stopped by Joshua in three rounds in 2016, and Wardley believes it would be something of a statement for him, especially given his lack of experience as both an amateur and professional boxer.
Asked where a win over Molina would put him, the 26-year-old replied: “That’s not really a concern.
“The problem is, as I said, getting the quality of the fight that I want. Someone good and with a good name, with a good reputation that I can praise and say, ‘Oh, great, we got through this, we did pretty well.’
“As far as where it puts me, it doesn’t really matter to me, I’m not trying to fight for world titles next.
“All it does is that I managed to beat a good name, and it just puts my name out there a little bit more and the bigger names out there and just gets me in the conversation, which is fine by me because all I want to do this year is stay dynamic and keep growing and keep going.
“Of course [it would be a statement] but there will always be people who when it happens will say, “well, it wasn’t the same, there was this, there was that”, which is a fair point, I understand it like don’t get me wrong
“But ultimately, if you want to take it as it is, I have 10 fights under my belt or if you want to go back in time, I have 14 fights under my belt, four of which are white-collar, that’s where I’m at and for my 11th fight I decided to face a two-time former world title challenger.
“Who else takes that kind of risk? Who takes those kinds of fights, 10, 11 fights, who does that kind of stuff?
“That’s all I’d say to that is, don’t get me wrong, this isn’t the best Eric Molina you’ll ever see, but I’m still very early in my career and at this point or this, it’s a huge risk and a huge fight.
Watch the full interview with Fabio Wardley below, where he discusses Anthony Joshua’s sparring, Alexander Povetkin vs. Dillian Whyte 2, Oleksandr Usyk vs. Joe Joyce, and more:
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Janibek Alimkhanuly successfully defended his IBF middleweight crown in Sydney, systematically defeating the brave Andrei Mikhailovich, stopping him in the ninth round at The Star.
Janibek came close to stopping Mikhailovich in the second round, but had to wait before crushing him in the ninth round.
Originally, the two teams were supposed to meet in July in Las Vegas, but the undefeated Kazakh could not allow it make weight safelyand the fight had to be postponed one day until fight night.
After a delayed dispute over the WBO belt, only the IBF crown was at stake.
Janibek (16-0, 11 KO) quickly found his advantage, landing paws and body shots in the first minute, and Mikhailovich (21-1, 13 KO) tried to finish the champion.
‘Qazaq Style’ waited patiently for his debut which came in the second half when a perfectly timed shot put the challenger on unsteady feet and as the maestro applied surgical pressure he began to play with the Novel Zealander who was wobbly until another powerful left hand threw it backwards and finally onto the canvas.
It was just right and the minute’s rest came at the right time as Mikhailovich fought brilliantly in the third and fourth quarters, constantly coming forward.
Janibek largely toyed with his opponent and his rival had restricted success, but in round seven he stepped on the gas, landing sturdy combinations.
However, the 26-year-old showed courage, had miniature displays of joy after clubbing, but his race came to an end in the ninth, when Janibek uncorked his customary left uppercut and Mikhailovich moved backwards towards the ropes, the referee rightly stopped the ball contest.
The 31-year-old was frustrated in trying to secure a unification fight, but once again called up WBC champion Carlos Adames and WBA champion Erislandy Lara.
“Adames or Lara, I’m ready anytime,” he told Fox Sports after the fight.
“Send me the document and I will sign it anytime.”
Motu flows from O’Connell
Another undefeated Kiwi got into action as Mea Motu (20-0, 8 KO) warmed up for a shot at the IBF and WBO super bantamweight titles before forcing Shannon O’Connell to withdraw from a corner kick at the end three rounds of their catchweight fight.
The current IBO champion will face Ellie Scotney on October 26 in Manchester, who proved ruthless in several hefty attacks with two fists that broke the bloody O’Connell (24-8-1, 12 KO).
With the Australian having a huge cut and massive swelling on her head, her corner wisely threw in the towel.
Statement made by Mea Motu 😲#nolimitboxing #nolimitfox #janibekmichajłowicz pic.twitter.com/R5fvGVrlrE
— No Limit Boxing (@NoLimit_Boxing) October 4, 2024
Undercard remaining
Lightweight prospect Charlie Kazzi (7-0, 3 KO) won the WBC silver title in Australia, defeating Lui Magaiva (4-7, 1 KO) in the penultimate round of their eight-man bout.
Ahmed Reda (3-0, 3 KO) opened the card and scored his third straight early victory, defeating Joe Kara (5-7-1, 5 KO) in the second of a scheduled six-round lightweight bout.
Interviews
Janibek vs Andrei Mikhailovich – preview and predictions for the huge fight
Published
4 days agoon
October 2, 2024Unified middleweight world champion Janibek Alimkhanuly goes to Australia next Friday, to The Star in Sydney, where he will risk winning the IBF title in a fight with undefeated Up-to-date Zealander Andrei Mikhailovich, although his WBO crown is not at stake.
ESPN+ TV Janibek vs Mikhajłowicz live in the USA, however Heavenly sports broadcast the fight in the UK.
This match was originally scheduled to take place in July in Las Vegas, but the champion was reportedly hospitalized after trying to gain weight and the fight had to be canceled after a delay.
Janibek (15-0, KO10) was promoted from WBO interim champion in 2022 and defeated Denzel Bentley in his first defense.
After knocking out Steven Butler in two rounds, the Kazakhstan added the IBF title to his collection by defeating Vincenzo Gualtieri in six rounds last October.
“Qazaq Style” will now face undefeated Aucklander Mikhailovich (21-0, 13 KO), his country’s top amateur who has won multiple free titles but has no professional victories.
The 26-year-old, who holds the IBF Pan Pacific title, has not faced anyone in the Kazakhstan class, and last April he fell before scoring to stop Edison Saltarin in the fifth round.
Mikhailovich was last seen stopping Less Sherrington in the round in April.
Prediction: This could be a miniature night for Janibek, and the guy seems to be out of his league. I think the champion can hold on through a stoppage in the first half of the fight.
Motu meets O’Connell
The undercard features another undefeated Kiwi in action, with Mea Motu taking on Shannon O’Connell in a scheduled top ten super bantamweight bout.
Motu (19-0, 7 KO) is scheduled to win the IBF and WBO titles in three weeks against defending champion Ellie Scotney and cannot afford to slip up in this fight.
“The Night” will bring her IBO title to England, which she won last April on points over Tania Walters.
The 34-year-old defended twice, and in her only fight in 2024 in April, she defeated Noppaket Srisawas in two rounds.
Former Commonwealth champion O’Connell (24-7-1, 12 KO) has fought for two world titles, most recently losing an eighth-round fight for the IBF bantamweight crown against Ebana Bridges in December 2022.
The 41-year-old was last sidelined in May, defeating Siriphon Chanbuala in the second round.
Prediction: Motu’s safety will likely be paramount with such a huge fight on the horizon, and she may score points in this one.
Undercard remaining
Prospective lightweight competitor Charlie Kazzi (6-0, 2 KO) fights for eight rounds for the second time in his career and should have already defeated Lui Magaiva (4-6, 1 KO), and the fighter from Papua Up-to-date Guinea was suspended five times in six defeats.
Wayne Telepe (1-0, 1 KO) can claim his second straight stoppage victory, this time in a scheduled four-round lightweight fight against Bashir Nassir (0-1-1).
Interviews
Gervonta Davis’ opponent has been leaked and it is not Shakur Stevenson
Published
6 days agoon
September 30, 2024Gervonta Davis appears ready for a December return against WBA super featherweight world champion Lamont Roach Jr
Roach Jr will move up in weight to challenge Davis for the WBA lightweight world title after Washington’s request to fight his compatriot was approved.
The WBA announced December 14 as the date for the Davis-Roach fight, although the location of the fight is unknown.
AND statement on the WBA website read: “The World Boxing Championships (WBA) Committee has granted special permission to super featherweight world champion Lamont Roach Jr. move up in class and face Gervonta Davis for the lightweight championship on December 14.
“NoXcuse Boxing Promotions submitted a formal request on September 13, which was accepted by the committee for consideration and consultation with Albert Batyrgaziev’s team, which has a mandatory 130 pounds. pretender.
“After appropriate consideration and based on the organization’s internal policies, it has been decided to grant Roach’s request, subject to certain conditions.”
If Roach dethrones Davis, he will have five days to decide which belt he will keep.
If “The Reaper” loses to the undefeated knockout fighter in Baltimore, he will have to drop down to 130 pounds to defend his belt against mandatory challenger Batyrgaziev.
The 29-year-old has won six straight fights since his lone professional loss to Jamel Herring for the WBO super featherweight world championship in 2019.
Roach once defended his WBA crown, stopping Feargal McCrory in eight rounds in June, and won the belt via split decision. Hector Luis Garciawhom “Tank” stopped in nine rounds.
Davis (29) defended his belt after a stunning knockout in the eighth round Frank Martin in Las Vegas in June and is heavily linked to a unification fight with WBC champion Shakur Stevenson.
The 27-year-old is sidelined with a hand injury and is expected to go straight into a fight with William Zepeda upon his return, ahead of a potential blockbuster against Davis.
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