Deontay Wilder KOs Eric Molina in the ninth round to retain heavyweight title

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - This night belonged to Deontay Wilder, the state of Alabama, and the history books.

Eric Molina did his very best to spoil Wilder's historic homecoming party, rocking the heavyweight champion in the third round, and shocking the fans with his power throughout the first world title fight ever in the state.

But in the end, Wilder did what he was expected to do and has now done 33 times in his career - knocked out his opponent - and sent his fellow Alabamans home happy. He dropped Molina four times in all, and after the last one in the ninth round, referee Jack Reiss had seen enough and stopped it.

Wilder's stopper was a right-hand counter punch followed by a left hook. Reiss took one look at Molina on his back and called a halt to the bout at 1:03 of the round, much to the delight of the sold-out house at the Bartow Arena on the campus of the University of Alabama-Birmingham.

Wilder extended his record to 34-0 before 9,347 roaring but well-behaved fans who were there to witness history, with Tuscaloosa native Wilder as the main attraction. He gave them plenty to cheer about and something to worry about, too, with a defense that was less than stellar. But after the fight, the defensive lapses were all but forgotten.

"This is not only a dream come true for me, but also for a lot of other Alabamans, because they want to see a lot more activity than what they're used to," Wilder said afterwards. "It was a definite success, and this is the reason why I'm still here (living in the state) because I got so much love and support here from the people of Alabama.

"This is not going to be a one-hit wonder. This is my home territory here, and I'm super happy. My opponent came to fight and I respect that."

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Unlike his first 33 fights, 32 of which never went beyond the fourth round, this one was anything but easy.

Wilder first put Molina down in the fourth round with a left hook, which he used effectively throughout the fight. Molina barely made the count as the bell rang. Wilder put him on the canvas twice more in the fifth round. Molina said he twisted his ankle on the second knockdown and felt weakness in the ankle whenever he tried to pressure Wilder.

Each time Wilder put Molina down, he stood over him and shouted: "Welcome to Alabama!"

But Molina, who insisted coming into the fight he could and would hurt Wilder, did just that in the third round when he threw a wild left hook that staggered the champion, something nobody had ever done. The 6-5, 240-pound Texan connected several more times to Wilder's head and body, but the 6-7 former Olympian nicknamed "The Bronze Bomber" weathered the blows.

Wilder said the punch did not hurt him, and stopped short of saying it was the hardest he's ever been hit. But he credited Molina for getting up time after time to continue fighting.

I was really surprised he kept coming," Wilder said, "and hanging in there. A lot of people said he wouldn't last. There were a lot of doubters, but he showed a lot of heart, and I need that kind of guy to fight here in Alabama. A lot of people here tonight were first-timers so I wanted to put on a good show."

Wilder outworked Molina, landing 141 punches to Molina's 49. He also landed 56% of his power punches, 66 of 118. Molina landed 43 of 116. Wilder's jab was also a key weapon in keeping Molina at bay, as he threw 185, landing 75, while Molina connected on only 6 of 72.

Wilder was defending for the first time the WBC title he won in January against Bermane Stiverne, when he went the full 12 rounds for the unanimous decision.

"I brought everything I had tonight and tried my hardest," Molina said. "Not the result I wanted but what can I do? I'm just blessed to have the opportunity to fight for the title. Deontay is a great fighter and I want him to do great things as the heavyweight champion."

Molina said he could have continued to fight when Reiss stopped it. "I got up and felt like I was fine but he did his job and I have no argument with that," Molina said. "I have no regrets. I left it all in the ring and I can live with that."

The two fighters praised each other after the fight.

I told (Wilder) I want you to go on and be great. I want him to be as great as he says he can be," Molina said.

Molina was criticized coming into the fight, with some publications wondering if he might be the worst heavyweight challenger of all time.

"I used all the negativity coming in to motivate myself," he said. "The world never knew what I was coming with into this fight.

"I'm a teacher. I work with special-ed kids. It would've been the most beautiful thing in the world to conquer Wilder, but it didn't happen."

Molina's promoter, the legendary Don King, said the people of Alabama were the big winners on this night, and praised Wilder for bringing Birmingham "back into the world in a positive light" for the first time in many years.

"Everyone around the world should take note that Birmingham is back and there ain't no stopping it now," he said.

Wilder said he wants to be an active heavyweight and plans to fight again in September. Asked if he would fight the mandatory challenger, Russian slugger Alexander Povetkin, at that time, he said, "It very well could be against Povetkin. That's definitely a possibility."

He also said his right hand, which he fractured against Stiverne, was sore after the fight but otherwise felt good.

On the undercard, in a WBC lightweight eliminator, Dejan Zlaticanin wore down Ivan Redkach with body shots, then went upstairs and punished Redkach with two powerful left hooks, knocking the Ukrainian out in the fourth round. Zlaticanin, from Montenegro, earned a title shot at champion Jorge Linares with the victory.

Zlaticanin (the Z is silent) improved to 21-0, with 14 KOs. The loss was the first for Redkach, who fell to 18-1 with 14 KOs.