17,000 tickets were sold on the opening day of sales for Anthony Joshua’s IBF World Heavyweight title defence against Eric Molina at the Manchester Arena on December 10, live on Sky Sports Box Office in the UK and on SHOWTIME in the US.
Joshua defends his crown for the second time in his third fight in a row against American opposition – with limited tickets remaining on sale priced £40 to £500 from http://www.manchester-arena.com/ and on 0844 847 8000.
VIP tickets are £800 and available exclusively from Matchroom Boxing www.matchroomboxing.com.
Joshua’s clash with Molina tops a huge night of action in Manchester as Dillian Whyte faces bitter London rival Dereck Chisora in an official eliminator for the WBC title.
Scott Quigg returns to action after treatment on his broken jaw following his unification blockbuster with Carl Frampton, and the Bury star moves up to Featherweight as he looks to regain his status as a World champion.
Kal Yafai can become Birmingham’s first World champion but the unbeaten 27 year old faces a tough task to rip the WBA Super-Flyweight title against Luis Concepcion, the two-weight World champion that will enter the ring in his 11th World title outing.
Irish amateur sensation Katie Taylor boxes for the second time in the paid ranks after making her pro debut at The SSE Arena, Wembley on November 26, Heavyweight wrecking ball ‘King Kong’ Luis Ortiz fights in Europe for the second time after clashing with Malik Scott in Monte-Carlo on November 12 and Hosea Burton will defend his British Light-Heavyweight title against Frank Buglioni.
Joshua vs Molina Odds
Anthony Joshua is set to face off against heavyweight Eric Molina in the second defence of his IBF title in Manchester on December 10, and fight sponsors William Hill have unveiled their odds for the much anticipated showdown.
Unsurprisingly the bookies have installed AJ as their 1/33 favourite to win the fight, Molina is 12/1 and the draw is on offer at 33/1. Joshua, (17-0-17 KO) will be gunning for his eighteenth consecutive knock-out victory – and he is rated a 1/10 chance for the stoppage.
Fifteen of AJ’s KO’s have come in the first three rounds and he can be backed at 4/1 to win in Round 1, 7/2 in Round 2 and 4/1 to win in Round 3.
The ‘Drummer Boy’ looks to be more durable than Joshua’s previous seventeen victims. In his last five fights, Molina has gone 36 rounds out of a possible 44 – including a ninth round loss to the heavy handed WBC champion Deontay Wilder – and he’s rated a 6/1 chance to go the distance with Joshua.
The big fight on the undercard is the grudge match between Dillian Whyte and Dereck Chisora. The pair have frequently clashed outside the ring and there’s clearly no love lost between the two heavyweights.
Whyte, who’s only loss came against Joshua, is rated the 1/2 favourite to win the fight, Chisora is 13/8 and the draw is 25/1.
William Hill spokesman Tony Kenny said “Anthony Joshua is on the fast track to becoming the biggest name in global boxing – and we’re delighted to be with him on his incredible journey.
“Molina will be a decent test for Joshua – and post-fight it will be interesting to compare and contrast both Joshua’s and Wilder’s performances against the Mexican-American.
“I don’t think anyone will be too shocked to see that AJ is the hot favourite to win the bout – but we think it will go a lot longer than people expect.”
LATEST ODDS FROM THE SPONSORS WILLIAM HILL
To win the fight: 1/33 Anthony Joshua, 12/1 Eric Molina, 33/1 Draw
Method of victory: 1/10 Anthony Joshua by KO, TKO or DQ, 7/1 Joshua by Decision or Technical Decision, 14/1 Eric Molina by KO, TKO or DQ, 50/1 Decision or Technical Decision
What round will Anthony Joshua win? 4/1 Round 1, 7/2 Round 2, 4/1 Round 3, 6/1 Round 4, 8/1 Round 5, 10/1 Round 6, 16/1 Round 7, 20/1 Round 8, 33/1 Round 9, 50/1 Round 10, 66/1 Round 11, 100/1 Round 12
What round will Eric Molina win? 100/1 Round 1, 100/2 Round 2, 100/1 Round 3, 80/1 Round 4, 80/1 Round 5, 80/1 Round 6, 100/1 Round 7, 100/1 Round 8, 100/1 Round 9, 100/1 Round 10, 100/1 Round 11, 100/1 Round 12
Undercard
To win the fight: 1/2 Chisora, 13/8 Chisora, 25/1 Draw
