By Keith Idec

Eric Molina isn’t concerned about being viewed as a hopeless underdog during the buildup toward his shot at WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder.

Molina (23-2, 17 KOs), of Raymondville, Texas, has been knocked out twice in the first round and hasn’t beaten a consensus top-10 heavyweight during his 10-year pro career. The hard-hitting Wilder (33-0, 32 KOs) is a 50-1 favorite approaching their June 13 fight at Bartow Arena in Birmingham, Alabama.

The 33-year-old Molina is generally regarded as a safe foe who’ll make Wilder look spectacular while defending his title for the first time before a capacity crowd near his hometown of Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

“It’s definitely motivation,” Molina said Wednesday on a conference call. “People have their opinions. Like Wilder said, a lot of people don’t know much about different angles of boxing. So if people don’t want to give me a shot, if people don’t think I have a shot, then that’s fine. I’ll use it as motivation. I’ve definitely trained hard. I’m stronger than I’ve ever been. And I’m not here to convince people to give me a shot or not.

“I know what I bring to the table. I know the size and strength I bring to the table. I don’t have to convince nobody to root for me or to give me a shot or to believe in me. The people that love me, the people that are my family and my fans, they believe in me. And I believe in myself, more importantly, so I’m coming in June 13th and I’m blessed God has given me more strength than I’ve ever had. And I’m excited and we’re good to go.”

Showtime will televise the Wilder-Molina match as the main event of doubleheader June 13. The co-featured fight will pit Puerto Rico’s Jose Pedraza (19-0, 12 KOs) against Russia’s Andrey Klimov (19-1, 9 KOs) in a 12-rounder for the vacant IBF super featherweight title.

Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.