Anthony Joshua to fight Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley on April 29 after demolishing Eric Molina
The 27-year-old brushed aside Eric Molina before promoter Eddie Hearn announced the Klitschko bout
THE Anthony Joshua KO show continued as the IBF champ set up a Wembley Stadium mega-fight with Wladimir Klitschko.
Texan Eric Molina became the 18th opponent to be stopped by the undefeated star — much to the delight of a 21,000 capacity crowd at the Manchester Arena.
Joshua, 27, sized up his opponent in the opening round and ruthlessly disposed of him in the third.
Afterwards Klitschko, 40, went in the ring with his promoter Bernd Bonte to officially confirm the April 29 blockbuster.
Standing beside his promoter Eddie Hearn, Joshua said: “I shared a ring with the champ. He’s respectful outside the ring but competitive in the ring.
“Two warriors will collide. This is the step up people have wanted. Klitschko wants his belts back — may the best man win.
“I just have to worry about myself. It’s three years in the making.”
Klitschko said: “He is the best man in the division and I believe this excitement speaks for itself. This is what the fans want and this fight must happen. I’ve been doing this 26 years and have a lot of knowledge which will help me.”
In Saturday night’s fight Joshua was happy to bide his time before rocking the challenger’s head with a sharp left uppercut.
Molina, 34, was put flat on his back in the third round by a crunching right but managed to clamber back to his feet by the count of nine.
However, it was all over in equally dramatic fashion just seconds later when Joshua went in for the kill.
With Molina desperately trying to defend himself against a barrage of blows, referee Steve Gray stepped in to save him from more punishment after two minutes and three seconds of the round.
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Joshua looked imperious once again as he swept aside Molina
Although Joshua was always expected to come through this test without any problems, he knew there was no margin for error against a challenger looking for a knockout. With both Klitschko and David Haye ringside, the Olympic gold medallist did exactly what was required with the minimum of fuss.
Of course, a collision with Klitschko in front of 80,000 fans at Wembley will be an entirely different proposition.
But Joshua is full of confidence after a bumper 2016. He ripped the IBF belt from Charles Martin inside two rounds in April and successfully defended it against Dominic Breazeale two months later before facing Molina.
And he also has previous experience of fighting at the national stadium.
Back in May 2014, on the undercard of Carl Froch’s rematch with George Groves, AJ knocked out Matt Legg in just 83 seconds.
A repeat of that quick-fire victory against the experienced Klitschko is highly unlikely.
Yet it would be fair to suggest there may not be too many eyebrows raised if the Watford-born wrecking machine did put Dr Steelhammer on his back in rapid fashion.
Klitschko will turn 41 before facing Joshua and the Ukrainian looked far from his best when dropping the WBA Super, WBO and IBF titles to Tyson Fury in November 2015.
He has an endured a frustrating period on the sidelines since that defeat in Germany, with the rematch against Fury falling through.
Klitschko had initially been earmarked to face Joshua here in Manchester but Molina stepped in when the bout failed to materialise.
While it would obviously be foolish to count out a fighter boasting a staggering 64 victories from 68 pro bouts, the momentum is firmly with Joshua.
Should he win at Wembley, future super-fights against the likes of fellow Brit Haye and WBC kingpin Deontay Wilder await.
New WBO champ Joseph Parker will also be knocking at Joshua’s door as the New Zealander sets his sights on unifying the titles.
And do not rule out Fury, who had been greeted by Shannon Briggs after making a brief appearance at the arena, returning at some point.
Business is booming in boxing’s glamour division — and Joshua is leading the charge.