Anthony Joshua vs Eric Molina: An easy knock-out will do little to ease heavyweight champion's troubles

The IBF world heavyweight champion is rumoured to be feeling a weight of expectation on his shoulders and a quick victory against an inferior opponent will do little to help

Rumours have circulated about Joshua's state of mind recently (Getty)

This Saturday at about 11pm just under 19,000 people will stand up when a man called Eric Molina goes down at the Manchester Arena.

In a neutral corner, unmarked and barely sweating, Anthony Joshua will watch closely as the referee either rules out Molina or fulfils the heavyweight ritual of counting to ten. It makes no difference, the fight will inevitably end this way by about round five.

Joshua will retain his IBF heavyweight title and leave the ring to applause - this is a joyous, unquestioning Joshua crowd - and a Christmas spent considering his many lucrative options. The big lad can fight Wladimir Klitschko next May, he can consider a fight against Dave Haye at some point next summer and start talking about the WBC champion Deontay Wilder.

And somewhere between the plunder of victory on Saturday night and the rapturous expectation of colossal takings for a Klitschko fight, there will have to be a serious discussion about the rumours of Joshua's confidence and state of mind. Joshua is at this point, under intense scrutiny with too much expected of him, far earlier than expected and much earlier than is healthy. He needs experience and not notches on his championship belt because a boxer is measured by fights and not his trophies.

The official announcement this week that Robert McCracken, the man in charge of GB boxing and architect of two glorious Olympic campaigns, will be in Joshua's corner on Saturday was not a shock. Since turning professional Joshua has divided his time equally between a base at the Essex gym run by Tony Sims and the comforting familiarity of the GB boxing headquarters in Sheffield. Sims will switch roles, descending the ringside steps to still be a part of the corner, but no longer the man in the ring.

Joshua knows that he needs more rounds and harder tests before he can ever dream of a real heavyweight fight. The IBF bauble attached to Saturday's fight only confuses the issue, seemingly adding importance to Joshua's achievements when in reality he has simply won world title fights against similarly inexperienced novices. It's not a crime, but there is an aching need for perspective.

McCracken will be in the ring in between rounds for Joshua's corner (Getty)

The heavyweight scene in 2016 is as chaotic, messy and often meaningless as it was in the early Eighties when a lost generation of heavyweights won and lost titles and drifted further away from the public's mind. It took Mike Tyson to salvage the division before his own descent nearly took heavyweight boxing back to a neglected hell.

This Saturday Joseph Parker fights Andy Ruiz for the vacant WBO title in Auckland and next Saturday Alexander Povetkin fights Bermane Stiverne for the interim WBC title in Moscow. Against this backdrop of seemingly relentless world title fights, Molina will wander out in Manchester as a prohibitive betting underdog to end a year when eleven men fought for the world heavyweight title.

It is not Joshua's fault that the IBF stole Tyson Fury's belt, tried to give it away and it somehow ended up in his possession. It will be the IBF's fault if they allow Joshua to get through next year without meeting Klitschko, Haye, Fury if he is back, Wilder, Parker if he wins, Povetkin or even the statue-like Cuban Luis Ortiz. In the ring so far, Joshua has not put a foot wrong but away from the ring in private sessions he is said to have dark moments and that is why Molina was selected in front of anybody dangerous.

Earlier this year Joshua was exhausted and that could be cured by a break from intense training. If he is struggling with the pressure, if he has been hurt or dropped or both in sparring then the healing process is far more complicated; hitting Molina on the chin this Saturday night will be the start. It is not, however, the solution.