Anthony Joshua has been labelled the "present and future" of the heavyweight division by Eric Molina ahead of the Briton's fight with Wladimir Klitschko.

Undefeated IBF world champion Joshua (18-0, 18 KOs) will put his strap on the line and fight for the vacant WBA, IBO belts when he meets Klitschko at Wembley on April 29.

Klitschko had long been the dominant force in the division prior to his defeat to Tyson Fury in November 2015, but Molina - who was easily knocked out by Joshua in December - believes the 41-year-old's time has passed.

On Joshua, Molina told Sky Sports: "He's a great champion and I personally do not see too many heavyweights beating him, he's very strong.

"One thing that Joshua has shown is, he's getting bigger, better, faster, stronger, every fight.

"I don't want to disrespect Klitschko, but the torch is going to be passed that night. If it hasn't been already, I think it's going to officially get passed."

Should Joshua defeat Klitschko, then Molina sees the unbeaten WBC champion Deontay Wilder (38-0, 37 KOs) as the only logical remaining opponent for Joshua. Wilder knocked out Molina in 2015, but not before the Mexican fighter had Wilder in a lot of trouble after catching him right on the chin.

Wilder's most recent defense came a few weeks ago when he knocked out undefeated Gerald Washington, but also had a lot of trouble in that contest after Washington was able to keep him at bay for several rounds before he was caught in the fifth.

"If he goes through Klitschko, which I believe that he can, there is only one fight left for him after that and that is the fight that everybody knows - the Wilder-Joshua fight," Molina added.

"After that fight, I don't really see much else out there for him, maybe Tyson Fury, but yes definitely he is the present and the future."