By Manuel Perez: In a super bantamweight unification bout, World Boxing Association champion Celestino Caballero (31-2, 22 KOs) completely outclassed IBF title holder Steve Molitor (28-1, 11 KOs), stopping him in the 4th round on Saturday night at the Casino Rama, Rama, in Ontario, Canada. Molitor, 28, was never in the fight, dominated from start to finish and dropped once in the 4th round from a big right uppercut from Caballero.
After getting up, a glazed-eyed Molitor retreated to the ropes and ate four consecutive shots and then sagged after eating another big right uppercut thrown by Caballero. At this point, referee Luis Pabon had seen enough and stepped in and halted the one-sided mismatch at 0:52 of the round.
Just as the referee was stopping the fight, Molitor’s trainer threw in the towel to prevent him from taking any more needless punishment. For Molitor, who had defended his IBF title five times since winning it in 2006, albeit against much lower quality opposition than Caballero, it seemed to show how far behind he was against top fighters like Caballero.
The fight was never remotely close, as Molitor ran from Caballero from the opening bell, clinching often and missing often with his shorter shots. After the fight, Molitor said “I couldn’t off tonight. I was trying to get loose in there. He had a long reach. I just didn’t fight my fight.”
In the 1st round, Molitor, 5’7″, stayed mostly on the outside, bouncing on his feet and trying to jab with the taller 5’11” Caballero. The problem was, however, that Molitor’s shorter reach prevented him from reaching him often and made it necessary for him to lunge in with leaping shots that often came up short.
Caballero’s short clubbing uppercuts were a problem even then, as he used it to bludgeon Molitor at close range while against the ropes. In the center of the ring, Molitor often fought fairly well, but he looked uncomfortable with Caballero’s constant pressure and retreated often to the ropes where he could attempt to exchange with the Panamanian fighter. Without an avenue of retreat, Molitor generally got the worse of it while backed against the ropes, eating huge uppercuts to the head.
In the 2nd round, Molitor continued to get punished on the ropes, at one point eating three successive huge left hooks to the head and body early in the round. This caused Molitor, now desperate, to start clinching often, trying to keep Caballero from hitting him with his clubbing shots.
It only partially working, because as soon as space was created between them, Caballero would continue to pound him with big shots. Near the end of the round, Molitor spun Caballero around and hit him when the Panamanian’s back was turned, leading to referee giving Molitor a warning. The rest of the round was spent with Caballero stalking Molitor around the ring and looking for opportunities to land when Molitor would occasionally stop running.
In the 3rd round, Molitor’s running got much more pronounced, as well as his clinching as it was now obvious that he didn’t have the power, size or skills to contend with the bigger Caballero. The Panamanian literally toyed with Molitor in the round, motioning for him to come forward and engage with him, and continuing to pound the stuffing out of the Canadian every time he would catch up to him.
At the end of the round, Caballero nailed Molitor with a big right uppercut while he was backed up against the ropes, causing Molitor to fall into the ropes briefly, as if hurt from the shot.
In the 4th round, Caballero taunted Molitor, calmly stalking him and ripping him with hooks to the head and clubbing right hands.
A short while into the round, Caballero nailed Molitor with a jab followed by a big right uppercut, dropping Molitor to the canvas. He then attempted to get up, collapsing into the ropes before staggering to his feet to receive an standing eight count from referee Luis Pabon.
While receiving the standing eight count, Molitor continued to stagger around on his feet and it was a minor miracle that the fight was allowed to continue on. However, being that Molitor was fighting in his home country, it appeared that Pabon was giving him the benefit of the doubt.
At any rate, as soon as the action resumed, Caballero hit Molitor with a jab and hard right hand, causing Molitor to back up to the ropes. Caballero then followed after him and hit him with a straight right hand and then a big right uppercut that caused Molitor to sag against the ropes, almost falling down.
Referee Pabon then instantly stopped the fight at 0:52 of the round, just as Molitor’s corner was throwing in the towel. Caballero later said, “I knew I had him almost knocked out [after the first knockdown] when I saw weakness in his legs. He’s not a warrior. He’s a fine, great champion, but only for the public, not for the fight.”