He no longer had his ever-present red and gold oversized International Boxing Federation title belt sitting in front of him.
That belt, the culmination of nearly two decades in the sport, which Molitor had won two years ago by defeating Michael Hunter in England and had defended five times since, was instead sitting in front of Celestino Caballero, who had been interviewed at that same table five minutes earlier.
Molitor, now 28-1 (11 knockouts), suffered his first pro career defeat Friday night when he lost via technical knockout in the fourth round of his junior featherweight title unification bout with the Panama City-based champion.
Caballero, the World Boxing Association 122 pound title holder, now 31-2 (22 knockouts), was just too much for the Sarnia-born boxer: Too tall and long. Too strong. Too fast, and too ferocious.
When asked when he knew he had Molitor’s number, Caballero replied through a translator; “When they (rung) the first bell.” He also asked for “forgiveness from all the Canadians for being the winner tonight.”
Caballero had taunted Molitor leading up to the bout, labeling him a “pretty boy”. His face now bruised, marked, and swollen, Molitor was no longer pretty after his grueling affair.
“I just couldn’t get off (my punches) as well as I wanted to,” said Molitor, visibly disheartened and unusually soft-spoken. “Congratulations to Celestino Caballero, he fought a great fight.
“I was ready for the fight. We trained hard. I have no excuses.”
Molitor expressed no regrets about taking on the high stakes challenge of a formidable fellow champion in a division deep with talent.
“I could have stayed and defended my title (against) voluntary (opponents),” he said. “But I wanted to see who was the best, you know? Tonight, Celestino Caballero was the best.”
After entering the ring to raucous cheers in a sold out house of over 5000 fans, “The Canadian Kid” went to work in the first round, using his trademark footwork to avoid the power punches of Caballero and looking for counterpunching openings for his southpaw straight left hand.
But Caballero, who had his own small but rowdy contingent of Latin fans that had serenaded his entrance with bongo drums and woodblocks, pressured Molitor from the get-go with thudding body shots and ripping hooks and crosses, often forcing the Mississauga-based boxer into the ropes.
Molitor, standing 5-foot-7 to Caballero’s unusually tall 5-foot-11, was having difficulty both reaching his lanky opponent, and avoiding the Panamanian’s long and lashing punches.
In the third round, Molitor was starting to have some success landing his lead left punch when he stood and challenged Caballero, but it came at a cost. Molitor got caught crouching down on the ropes at the end of the round, and Caballero nailed him with a right uppercut that stunned the IBF champ as the bell rang.
Again pinning him on the ropes in the early going of the fourth round, Caballero slammed Molitor with another right uppercut, sending the boxer tumbling forward and scoring a knockdown. Molitor got back up, dazed, and Caballero charged, landing a pair of sharp left/right combos that collapsed Molitor against the ropes.
Both referee Luis Pabon and Molitor’s trainer Stephane Larouche had seen enough, simultaneously waving off the bout and throwing in the towel at 52 seconds of the round.
“Obviously, he couldn’t do what he wanted to do tonight,” said Larouche, who was working Molitor’s corner for he second time after working with the boxer the last eight weeks in his Montreal gym. “He got caught by that uppercut at the end of the third round, and wasn’t able to recuperate.”
“I saw when he fell in front of me, he got up, and he was not there anymore,” explained Larouche when asked about stopping the fight. “He’s young, he’s 28 years old, it’s not his best night, why take abuse?”
Although the towel was thrown in on his biggest match, Molitor was clear that he wouldn’t be throwing it in on his career. “You haven’t heard the last of Steve Molitor,” he said. “We’re gonna take my mistakes tonight and go into the gym and come back twice as strong.”
Molitor’s promoter, Allan Tremblay of Orion Sports said dates at Rama for future bouts were still booked, and that a comeback plan would be devised after his boxer was given a chance to rest.
The bout, which was the first time a unification bout had featured a Canadian champ or been fought on Canadian soil, was broadcast live by Showtime all over the world, and picked up by TSN in Canada.
