Joshua vs Molina: Wladimir Klitschko hopes Anthony Joshua can set up world title fight in 2017
Friday 9 December 2016 12:24, UK
Wladimir Klitschko hopes Anthony Joshua defends his IBF title in dominant fashion as he wants to test himself against one of the world's best heavyweights.
The Ukrainian is part of the Sky Sports Box Office team and will be watching from ringside as IBF champion Joshua faces Eric Molina at Manchester Arena on Saturday night.
A planned fight between Klitschko and Joshua is expected to take place next April, with the WBA 'super' title also at stake, and the 40-year-old wants to prove he is still a major force after losing his WBA, IBF and WBO belts in a points defeat to Tyson Fury.
The better he performs, the better it is for the fans and also for myself, because I definitely want to fight the better man to get my titles back.
"The better Joshua performs, the better it is, because I believe Joshua is right now one of the best men in the heavyweight division," Klitschko told Sky Sports.
"The better he performs, the better it is for the fans and also for myself, because I definitely want to fight the better man to get my titles back."
Klitschko tipped Joshua as a future champion after they sparred together two years ago and has been impressed with his swift progress.
"I think he's got even better since we sparred because he definitely gained more experience," he said.
"Even in sparring I could see the talent and obviously he was green and not as much experienced when we fought.
"But since that time which was 2014, in the past two years he has gained a lot of experience, so I was definitely expecting him to be better than in the sparring session."
Watch Anthony Joshua v Eric Molina at the Manchester Arena, on December 10, live on Sky Sports Box Office. Book the event via your Sky remote or online here.
