Deontay Wilder Knocks Out Eric Molina
It was a homecoming, but I’m sure Deontay Wilder pictured it just a tad different.
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The atmosphere, as expected was top notch with the packed house in Birmingham, Alabama screaming every time the champ’s face was shown overhead during the preliminary fights and warm up.
The fight itself took on a different tone than previous Wilder fights. The first 2 rounds were mostly feeling out sessions as both fighters mostly threw probing punches; Wilder landed a few shots here and there but nothing of note.
The action quickly heated up in the 3rd as Molina had his best round, even hurting the Champion. His weapons of choice were an uppercut and hook that he landed periodically, giving Wilder pause before pressing the Mexican.
He was also able to do some exceptional bodywork, something that no fighter had been able to do before. To his credit, Molina was not completely outclassed as many had had predicted him to be.
He showed veteran grit and craftiness until he could take no more. After being knocked down for a 4th time in the 9th round Jack Reiss had seen enough.
Through and through the fight turned to be a much tougher test for Wilder expected. Interestingly enough, Wilder’s attack featured less of his right hand and more of his left hook, which turned out to be a very good weapon, even dropping Molina.
The only thing that mattered in the end is that Wilder got the W, no matter how the process went. Wilder has a dangerous mandatory waiting for him in the form of Alexander Povetkin. The matchup will be interesting to say the least.
The night overall was certainly a homecoming for Alabama’s native heavyweight champion, but I’m sure Deontay Wilder would have pictured it tad bit different beforehand.
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