On a night when Sarnia Ontario was virtually buried in snow, one of its hometown heroes was caught up in an equally frightening storm --- one that provided a sobering dose of cold, hard reality, the likes of which the unforgiving fight game can dish out in unparalleled fashion.
Steve "The Canadian Kid" Molitor's valiant quest to unify the Jr. Featherweight championship came to a devastating halt after he suffered a fourth round knockout at the hands of Panamanian WBA champ Celestino Caballero at CasinoRama on Friday night.
Molitor held the IBF version of the title, and had he prevailed it would have been the first time a title was unified on Canadian soil. But the power punching Panamanian quickly made it apparent that he wasn't about to follow the storybook plot that many had prematurely penned for Molitor. Instead, he quickly set the tone of the evening, getting inside the head of the previously undefeated Sarnia native by doing something that no other fighter has been able to do in 27 previous fights --- he hit Molitor often, and he hit him hard.
It was clear from the early going that Caballero intented to rewrite the script, and what was projected to be a feel good story quickly turned into a slasher flick, with the amicable Molitor typecast as the
uncooperative, but ultimately doomed victim.
Molitor, who has made a career out of avoiding punches with deft footwork and pin point reflexes, seemed unable to elude the precise, stinging punches that Caballero tossed his way. Organ-rattling body shots reverberated throughout the sold-out stadium from the first round on, and Molitor's own assaults were easily absorbed by the seemingly stronger fighter.
After two rounds the fight was still reasonably close, but it was apparent that the slick Canuck was facing a calibre of fighter he wasn't accustomed to.
The beginning of the end came in the late stages of the third round when Molitor was tagged with a head-snapping uppercut as he lay on the ropes. Luckily the bell rang, and a dazed Molitor was able to shuffle to his corner on wobbly legs to try and recover.
The brief 60 seconds of rest between rounds wasn't long enough, however, and when round four began Caballero came out strong again. Smelling blood he did what all great champions do --- he finished his opponent off --- landing a barrage of lethal punches as a dazed Molitor crumbled to the canvas. He beat the count, but when the fight ensued a raging Caballero quickly trapped him against the ropes landing two sizzling head shots that prompted referee Luis Pabon to halt the bout at the .52 second mark.
While Molitor's handlers, and a ringside doctor, attended to him, a wild celebration ensued with Caballero's supporters, including boxing legend and fellow Panamanian Roberto Duran (pictured below), storming the ring in mob fashion.
"It just wasn't my night, I couldn't get off as well as I wanted to,"
the gracious loser said at the post-fight press conference, his eyes puffy and red after absorbing a blinding blizzard of leather.
Molitor admitted that the turning point in the fight was the hard uppercut his opponent landed in the dying seconds of the third round.
"I got caught...I sat on the ropes and got hit with an uppercut...I fell asleep at the wheel," he admitted, humbly bowing his head. "I took some of his punches earlier and I took them for granted thinking they weren't that hard and then he caught me a couple of times."
"I made a lot of mistakes here tonight. It wasn't my best night."
The new unified champion spoke through a translator, but didn't mince his words.
"I'm the winner because God gave me the power and the will to win. I trained very hard and it paid off tonight.
"I told you that I would break that baby face and I did."
But he didn't break the will of the pesky Canadian pug, who vowed to return better than ever, and with a new baby on the way, stressed that there was more to life than prize fighting.
"You haven't see the last of Steve Molitor. I'm going to take my mistakes from tonight and bring them back to the gym and come back twice as strong.
"To be honest, (family) means everything to me...win, lose, or draw...all i'm waiting for is to be a father."
michaelt@citytv.com
