Eric Molina on Saturday became the second boxer to last past four rounds against Deontay Wilder. He barely survived to make it to that point, and he was knocked down four times in the process as Wilder defeated him when the referee called an end to the bout in the ninth round.
Wilder knocked Molina down once in the fourth, twice in the fifth, and then in the ninth, which is when the fight was stopped and awarded to the Birmingham native by TKO.
Fighting in front of his hometown fans in Birmingham, Ala., Wilder sent Molina to the canvas in the fourth round with a perfectly-timed left hook:
Deontay Wilder drops Molina in the 4th https://t.co/tXzmS61765
— gifdsports (@gifdsports) June 14, 2015
Molina was pretty much saved by the bell after the first knockdown, which came at the end of the round. He wasn’t quite as lucky in the fifth when he was knocked down twice, but he was able to beat the 10-count both times to allow the fight to continue.
Deontay Wilder destroying Eric Molina in the 5th https://t.co/vldq8rZoFn
— gifdsports (@gifdsports) June 14, 2015
Despite being knocked down three times, Molina rallied to make it through the next three rounds. He even did some more damage in the eighth round when he landed quite a few body blows, but his fortunes changed in the ninth. That’s when Wilder secured the knockdown to end the fight.
Deontay Wilder vs Eric Molina #DeontayWilder @BronzeBomber KO https://t.co/ot3h4z2jSM
— ZombieProphet (@ZProphet_MMA) June 14, 2015
Wilder landed a total of 141 punches out of 303 (47 percent) compared to 49 of 188 (26 percent) for Molina.
Wilder admitted after the fight he was surprised Molina refused to quit.
“I definitely was surprised. This guy has heart. All the critics doubted him, all the naysayers said he wasn’t going to last,” Wilder said.
Wilder appreciated that Molina was able to last until the ninth round because it gave the crowd a better show.
Photo: Showtime Sports
