DIRIYAH, Saudi Arabia — Eric Molina has been in the ring with the best of the heavyweight division, with title fights against Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua under his belt. Unfortunately, he came up short in both tries. Although he refuses to make excuses, there is some curiosity surrounding his preparation for both fights, as he had abbreviated training camps for both opponents.
The 37-year-old will work his way back up the ladder when he faces 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Filip Hrgovic on the undercard of Andy Ruiz Jr.’s heavyweight title defense against Anthony Joshua on Saturday.
Molina (27-5, 19 KOs) recognizes that he’s supposed to be a steppingstone for the undefeated Hrgovic (9-0, 7 KOs), who has a decorated amateur career and is looking to climb into the upper echelon of the heavyweight division. But with the experience Molina possesses, combined with a full training camp, Drummer Boy is set to prove that he’s still in the upper crust of the division.
“I think I’ve been in some good fights, but I’m always battling something,” Molina told DAZN News when asked if the world has seen the best version of Eric Molina. “I have had to make the most out of these situations. I don’t have time to complain. It is what it is.”
After starting his career 0-1, Molina has pushed through the hard way. He's found himself being brought in on short training camps, dealt with inactivity and suffered some heartbreaking losses. Still, the 6-4 heavyweight pushes on. He's not in it for the money or even to become the heavyweight champion of the world. His cause surrounds inspiring others who have found themselves with the odds stacked against them.
"I want to be remembered as the heavyweight who has inspired people and use my story to bounce back in their lives," Molina said. "Money and world titles come and go but inspiring someone lasts forever."
With that, Molina looks to add to his book of bouncing back when he tests Hrgovic’s chin on Saturday. Not only does he want to build on his narrative, but he also wants to end the night early so he can get comfortable for the main event. As a Mexican fighter, Molina takes great pride in watching Ruiz’s ascent and feels that he was the right man to represent the community as the first boxer of Mexican heritage to become heavyweight champion of the world.
“I tried two times to be the first Mexican heavyweight champion but was unable to do it, and there have been others who have tried to accomplish the feat, but I didn't feel that would make the right representation of our people,” Molina said without mentioning any names. “I think he’s a great fit. He’s humble and works hard. I’m a big fan and will be rooting for him on Saturday night.”
Molina is admittedly inspired by Ruiz and hopes to eventually become the second fighter of Mexican descent to claim heavyweight gold before he calls it a career. But first, he needs to string together a few wins in a row. He’s 4-3 in his last seven fights with losses to Wilder, Joshua and Dominic Breazeale. But should he manage to put away the Croatian Olympian, he’d certainly find himself in line for another big fight.
"That's the plan," he said. "That's why we flew to Saudi Arabia and took on an opponent like this."
As for Hrgovic, Molina has seen it all and is not the least bit concerned about his power.
“Everyone is so riled up with Hrgovic, but I don’t see anything special with him,” Molina said. “They said he’s a big puncher, but I haven’t seen him knock anybody out with one punch. I’ve seen Wilder and Joshua do it, and I’ve fought both of them.
"I’ve been in there with the man who I think is the biggest puncher in boxing history in Deontay Wilder. Once you’ve faced those guys, everybody else is…come on. I’m not facing anything that I haven’t faced before."