Éric Lee Molina (born April 26, 1982) is a Mexican-American professional boxer. He has challenged twice for a world heavyweight title, in 2015 and 2016.
Professional career Molina turned professional on March 17, 2007, losing his first professional bout by knockout. Despite losing his first pro bout, Molina went on an 18-fight unbeaten streak. On January 18, 2012, he stepped up and fought former two-time world heavyweight title challenger Chris Arreola, losing the fight by first-round knockout. Two and a half years later in May 2014, Molina scored his biggest professional career win by stopping former world heavyweight title challenger DaVarryl Williamson in five rounds.
On June 13, 2015, he fought for the WBC world heavyweight title against defending champion Deontay Wilder. Molina hurt the champion during the early rounds, but was knocked out in the ninth round. Molina scored the biggest win of his entire professional career in April 2016 by stopping former two-weight world champion Tomasz Adamek in the 10th round. Later that year, on December 10, he challenged for the IBF heavyweight title against champion Anthony Joshua in Manchester, England. Molina lost by third-round knockout.
On November 4, 2017, Molina, ranked #12 by the WBC at heavyweight, faced WBO #3, WBC #6 and IBF #7 Dominic Breazeale. In the eighth round, Breazeale caught Molina with a right hand to Molina's side of his head, which prompted Molina to take a knee. Molina managed to beat the count, but didn't look fit enough to continue. Despite making it to the end of the round, Molina's corner decided to stop the fight.
On May 22, 2018, Molina was suspended from fighting in the United Kingdom for two years by the UK Anti-Doping organisation after testing positive for the prohibited substance dexamethasone, a substance that the World Anti-Doping Agency lists as being prohibited during the "in competition" period only, following his December 10, 2016 world title fight with Anthony Joshua. The suspension ran from the date of an imposed provisional suspension, which began on October 28, 2017, and ended at midnight on October 27, 2019.
On December 7, 2019, Molina faced Filip Hrgovic, ranked #9 by the WBA and the IBF and #11 by the WBC. Hrgovic dominated the fight, and finished Molina in the third.
In his next fight on March 27, 2021, Molina fought heavyweight prospect Fabio Wardley at Europa Point Sports Complex in Gibraltar. Molina caught Wardley with a right hand in the fifth round, which prompted Wardley to retaliate and floor Molina. Molina would not beat the count and Wardley was awarded the KO win against Molina.
On 23 March 2023, he lost to Simon Kean by stoppage in the seventh round at Montreal Casino in Montreal, Canada.
Professional boxing record
ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes38Loss29–9Simon KeanTKO7 (10), Mar 23, 202337Win29–8Jose CastroRTD3 (8), Jul 30, 202236Loss28–8Alen BabićKO2 (8), Oct 30, 202135Win28–7Alejandro de La TorreKO3 (8), Aug 28, 202134Loss27–7Fabio WardleyKO5 (10), Mar 27, 202133Loss27–6Filip HrgovićKO3 (12), Dec 7, 201932Win27–5Nick GuivasUD6Feb 15, 201931Loss26–5Dominic BreazealeRTD8 (12), Nov 4, 201730Win26–4Jamal Woods6Sep 2, 201729Loss25–4Anthony JoshuaTKO3 (12), Dec 10, 201628Win25–3Tomasz AdamekKO10 (12), Apr 2, 201627Win24–3Rodricka RayTKO6 (6), Sep 10, 201526Loss23–3Deontay WilderKO9 (12), Jun 13, 201525Win23–2Raphael Zumbano LoveTKO8 (8), Jan 17, 201524Win22–2Theo KrugerTKO3 (6), Aug 2, 201423Win21–2DaVarryl WilliamsonTKO5 (10), May 10, 201422Win20–2Tony GranoUD12Apr 27, 201321Win19–2Andrew GreeleyUD6Jun 16, 201220Loss18–2Chris ArreolaKO1 (12), Feb 18, 201219Win18–1Warren BrowningTKO3 (12), Aug 13, 201118Win17–1Joseph RabotteTKO6 (6), Mar 12, 201117Win16–1Rayford JohnsonUD6Dec 10, 201016Win15–1Leo Bercier3 (6), Sep 30, 201015Win14–1Chris ThomasTKO4 (10), Jun 18, 201014Win13–1Andrew GreeleyUD6Feb 6, 201013Win12–1Gabriel HolguinUD10Sep 10, 200912Win11–1Clinton BondsKO1 (4), Jun 19, 200911Win10–1Osvaldo MartinezTKO3 (8), May 15, 200910Win9–1Rayford JohnsonTKO3 (8), Feb 27, 20099Win8–1David RobinsonTKO1 (8), Sep 18, 20088Win7–1Douglas Robertson4Jul 4, 20087Win6–1Anthony GreeleyTKO1 (6), Jun 21, 20086Win5–1Isaac RuizTKO2 (6), Mar 28, 20085Win4–1Robbie McClimansTKO2 (8), Dec 20, 20074Win3–1Brad BowersTKO1 (4), Sep 26, 20073Win2–1Ras ThompsonKO2 (4), Aug 10, 20072Win1–1Tim Harris1 (4), Jun 22, 20071Loss0–1Ashanti Jordan1 (4), Mar 17, 2007
References
External links
Eric Molina - Profile, News Archive & Current Rankings at Box.Live