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Anthony
Joshua, left, will face Eric Molina in Manchester
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Anthony Joshua will
defend his IBF world heavyweight title against American Eric Molina on December
10.
Press
Association report continues:
The
announcement ends weeks of speculation over Joshua's next opponent after a
prospective bout against Wladimir Klitschko was scuppered by a combination of
boxing politics and a minor injury sustained by the Ukrainian.
The
34-year-old Texan has won 25 of his 28 career bouts and stretched WBC champion
Deontay Wilder to the ninth round before being stopped in June last year.
Joshua
said: "I am pleased that everything is now set for December 10 and I can
concentrate on getting the business done in the ring.
"There
has been plenty of talk about who I may face but all I'm doing is
concentrating on finishing Molina in style and putting on a great show.
"Every
fight is dangerous in this division and this is no exception. I saw Molina have
a great fight with Wilder and he is now coming off a strong KO win against
(Tomasz) Adamek in Poland.
"I'm
expecting this to be the toughest fight of my career so far and I will be ready
for an all-out war."
Joshua
beat Dominic Breazeale in seven rounds in his last fight in June, having won
the title over a woefully outclassed Charles Martin two months earlier.
If
Molina does not represent the big-name draw he was hoping for, he will at least
provide a direct comparison to a potential future foe in Wilder.
Molina,
who earned his shot after an impressive stoppage of an admittedly fading Adamek
in Krakow, said: "There is no heavyweight in the world who has bounced
back like I have.
"That's
the man that Joshua faces on December 10 and that man is a very dangerous one.
"I'm
confident. These types of fights don't shake me up. I'm a very strong mental
fighter. I know exactly what to do, mentally and physically, to go out there
and perform."
Former
world title challenger Dereck Chisora continues his quest to return to the
title picture as he takes on former Joshua foe Dillian Whyte for the British
heavyweight title.
Scott
Quigg will make his debut at featherweight as he returns for the first time
since suffering a broken jaw in his world title defeat to Carl Frampton in
February.
And Birmingham's Kal Yafai will challenge WBA super-flyweight Luis Concepcion on the undercard.
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