As previously reported on BoxingScene.com, Anthony Joshua set up an April showdown with veteran heavyweight Wladimir Klitschko on Saturday after retaining his IBF world title with a clinical third round stoppage of outclassed American Eric Molina in Manchester.

After two probing opening rounds, 2012 Olympic super-heavyweight champion Joshua sent his opponent crashing to the canvas for his 18th win inside the distance in as many professional fights.

Molina, 34, clambered unsteadily back to his feet as the count reached eight, but the referee stepped in again to stop the fight after two minutes and two seconds of the round with a technical knockout declared. The Texan had fought for the world title once before, losing to Deontay Wilder for the WBC belt in 2015.

Moments after the fight, promoter Eddie Hearn stepped into the ring to announce an April 29 bout against Ukrainian Klitschko at London's Wembley Stadium for the "unified heavyweight championship of the world".

That can be taken as hyperbole, much as Hearn's assertion that it would be the "biggest fight in British boxing history", with New Zealander Joseph Parker the newly-crowned WBO champion while American Wilder still holding the WBC belt.

"It will definitely be 80,000 but we will ask for permission to go to 90,000," Hearn told BBC. "London mayor Sadiq Khan was at the Boxing Writers' Club dinner talking about how he wants to bring major fights to London, so he better help us out."

"The fight will hopefully be for the WBA, IBF and Ring Magazine belts. The official press conference will take place at Wembley next Wednesday and tickets will go on sale before Christmas. It's two Olympic champions, two guys at different stages of their careers, the hottest prospect in heavyweight boxing against a legend. And I think Joshua will knock him out."

Britain's Tyson Fury, who beat Klitschko in November 2015, vacated the WBA, IBO and WBO belts in October after having his licence suspended pending investigation of anti-doping and medical issues.

He had already been stripped of the IBF belt for not fighting a mandatory challenger.

The WBA, IBO last month officially sanctioned the match between the two fighters for the vacant title.