IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua has a new opponent for his December 10 fight date: Eric Molina.
The announcement came off the heels of a recent announcement that Wladimir Klitschko is injured and could not fight Joshua in December. The two had been negotiating a fight and while it was never made official, the understanding would have been that the two men would square off for not only Joshua's title, but also the vacant WBA title that used to belong to Tyson Fury before having to surrender it due to his numerous reported personal issues.
The one roadblock that negotiations for the Klitschko camp faced was the WBA's decision of whether or not to sanction the fight for the organization's vacant title, which Klitschko was adamant about occurring.
Since the injury, Joshua's camp and promoter were scrambling around to find a suitable opponent for the former Olympic gold medalist in time.
Before the fight with Molina was finalized, possible opponents included British countryman and one-time top prospect David Price and former world title challenger Kubrat Pulev. Mandatory challenger Joseph Parker was also an earlier consideration, but Parker elected to go in another direction and will instead face Andy Ruiz Jr. for one of the world title belts vacated by Fury.
Joshua has won all 17 pro bouts in his career, winning the IBF title against Charles Martin in his 16th pro fight back in April. Molina is on a two-fight win streak since his 2015 loss to Deontay Wilder for the WBC heavyweight title.