Better opponent: Johnson for Joshua, or Molina for Wilder?

[Scipio2009]

In his 13th fight, Wilder fought age 40 former light heavyweight Dan Sheehan (12-39).

Considering the amount of time Joshua has been a pro, Johnson is a decent opponent. He's obviously very difficult to stop. I remember Johnson offered to fight Wilder a couple of years ago, but Deontay wouldn't fight him.

Molina however is NOT an acceptable opponent for a world title defense.

Deontay Wilder maybe had 30 amateur fights; Anthony Joshua was a decorated amateur, with a solid amateur career and gold medal.

no use in a direct comparison between the two

[Sugar Adam Ali]

Wilder isn't going to gain much from beating molina..

Joshua will gain a lot from beating a guy like johnson, as Joshua is so inexperienced

[The Hammer]

It's about equal but I picked Molina. Molina will come into this fight and try to win. With Kevin Johnson, he's not gonna try to win; he's gonna go into his defensive shell and will try to survive the 10 rounds.

But if Joshua becomes the first to stop Johnson, it will be meaningful.

Knocking out Molina won't mean anything, since he's twice been stopped in round one.

[Tom Cruise]

Considering the stages they are at in their careers obviously Johnson is the better opponent.

There was no reason for Wilder to dip so low in the rankings for his first title defence.

[5*General]

Deontay Wilder maybe had 30 amateur fights; Anthony Joshua was a decorated amateur, with a solid amateur career and gold medal.

no use in a direct comparison between the two

The actually have a pretty similar amatuer record. Joshua was 34-3 as an amatuer including a bunch of ABAs, World Championship Silver Medal and an Olympic gold.

I think Joshua's at a more credible place at the moment. Its a shame Wilder's the WBC champ and were still talking about him stepping up. Love to see the two of them in 2-3 years!

[BostonGuy]

But if Joshua becomes the first to stop Johnson, it will be meaningful.

Knocking out Molina won't mean anything, since he's twice been stopped in round one.

Well, it seems like Wilder's team is back to 'taking baby steps' in his career. They picked the lowest risk opponent available (and probably cheapest) so that he can score the highlight reel KO without worrying about getting hurt.

If all goes right, then Wilder will face the winner of the Povetkin-Perez WBC eliminator later this year.

[saintpat]

In his 13th fight, Wilder fought age 40 former light heavyweight Dan Sheehan (12-39).

Considering the amount of time Joshua has been a pro, Johnson is a decent opponent. He's obviously very difficult to stop. I remember Johnson offered to fight Wilder a couple of years ago, but Deontay wouldn't fight him.

Molina however is NOT an acceptable opponent for a world title defense.

Showtime turned down Johnson because he doesn't throw punches. He's a try-to-survive guy. Durable, but he will do nothing to actually try to win.

[Tom Cruise]

Deontay Wilder maybe had 30 amateur fights; Anthony Joshua was a decorated amateur, with a solid amateur career and gold medal.

no use in a direct comparison between the two

Their amatuer records are actually very similar. Both started boxing as young adults and had unprecedented success very quickly (Wilder Olympic bronze, Joshua a sketchy Olympic gold and a World Championships Silver medal) in under 50 fights

[dan_cov]

Johnson seems the more obvious answer but the fact he won't even try to win I have to say Molina. At least he will throw punches.

[removed]

Well, it seems like Wilder's team is back to 'taking baby steps' in his career. They picked the lowest risk opponent available (and probably cheapest) so that he can score the highlight reel KO without worrying about getting hurt.

If all goes right, then Wilder will face the winner of the Povetkin-Perez WBC eliminator later this year.

A bum like Molina isn't going to help prepare Wilder for a classy operator like Povetkin.

Wilder should be fighting a top 15 opponent imo.