Much of the boxing hype this week has been about Andy Ruiz Jr.'s attempt to become the first boxer of Mexican descent to win a heavyweight world title when he takes on Joseph Parker on Saturday for one of the belts vacated by Tyson Fury.

Ruiz, of Imperial Valley, California, squares off with Parker on Parker's home turf in Auckland, New Zealand, on Saturday (HBO, 9:35 p.m. ET/PT, same-day tape delay).

Anthony Joshua-Eric Molina Where: Manchester Arena in Manchester, England

When: Saturday

TV: Showtime, 5:30 p.m. ET

But on the other side of the globe, heavyweight Eric Molina will attempt to do the same thing when he challenges huge favorite Anthony Joshua for his world title on Saturday (Showtime, 5:30 p.m. ET) at Manchester Arena in England, Joshua's home country.

Molina (25-3, 19 KOs), 34, of Raymondville, Texas, had a chance to make history in June 2015, when he got a shot at titleholder Deontay Wilder and rattled him a couple of times before getting knocked out in the ninth round in front of Wilder's hometown crowd in Birmingham, Alabama.

Now he has an equally formidable task against Joshua (17-0, 17 KOs), 27, the 2012 Olympic super heavyweight gold medalist with dynamite in his fists.

Molina has been stopped in three losses but still aspires to become the first Mexican fighter to win a heavyweight belt.

"This is my second world title shot, my third major fight in 18 months, and I'll be the first Mexican-American heavyweight champ in history if I win," Molina said. "I'm coming into this fight like this is it for me. This is my last shot. I'm ready to fight with everything I have. I love these big, big fights. They don't scare me. There is no fear in me."

Molina scored a career-best win over longtime (but faded) contender Tomasz Adamek in Adamek's home country of Poland in April, knocking him out in the 10th round.

Eric Molina will look to become the first boxer of Mexican descent to win a heavyweight title when he faces Anthony Joshua on Saturday. Marvin Gentry/USA TODAY Sports

Molina said it was a huge win for him and that it certainly helped him land the shot against Joshua, who has a deal for an April 29 megafight in place against former world champion Wladimir Klitschko if he wins.

"It was the pinnacle of my career," Molina said of the Adamek fight. "To knock him out there, it was the biggest win of my career and set me up now for the biggest fight of my career against Joshua. I have such nice memories of that fight. It took a full team effort to beat Adamek, and it will take another full team effort to beat Joshua."

Molina said he has had plenty of time to train for this fight compared to the one against Wilder and that he is ready to make Mexican history.

"I feel great about this fight. These are the kinds of fights I want to be in," he said. "Before I fought Wilder I had 35 days to train. For this I've had about five weeks. We feel this gives us plenty of time to fix what we have to fix in training.

"The magnitude of this fight is everything. I put everything in. But I know I have to stay focused and relaxed."

Wilder (37-0, 36 KOs), who is recovering from biceps and hand surgery and is expected to return to the ring in early 2017, will be a guest analyst on Showtime's coverage of Joshua-Molina. He knows Molina and hopes to eventually take on Joshua in what would be a massive fight.

"I know firsthand just how tough Eric Molina is," Wilder said. "He's coming to win because it's a chance for him to win a world title, and he'll definitely push Joshua. Whoever wins will have to see me eventually because it's my goal to collect all the belts and become the undisputed heavyweight champion."