Wilder Spars with Molina Before Facing Zhilei

The sparring partner for former WBC heavyweight champion American Deontay Wilder (43-3-1, 42 KOs) before his match against Chinese fighter Zhang Zhilei (26-2-1, 21 KOs) has been revealed as American boxer Eric Molina (28-9, 20 KOs).

On his Instagram page, Deontay posted photos from the training process, featuring Molina.

"I need this pain! It's a magical feeling, how pain makes you shift focus! No more Mr. Nice Guy," Wilder captioned the photo series.

Deontay fought against Molina back in 2015, winning by knockout in the 9th round.

Zhilei and Wilder will meet on June 1st in Saudi Arabia at a tournament between promotional companies Matchroom and Queensberry. Deontay will be the team captain for Matchroom Boxing – his victory could earn twice as many points as a win by any other team member.