By Paul Strauss, photo by Tom Casino / Showtime – The so called rumble in Rama, Ontario, Canada turned into a mugging of Steve Molitor. Molitor appeared very tight and tentative. He was unsure of himself, asking his corner man after the first round how he did? He corner man diplomatically said, “It was decent.” It was more like a decent to the lower depths of the 122lb rankings, not to mention loss of his title.
Caballero now holds both the WBA and IBF belts, and wept with joy over his victory, Molitor suffered his first defeat, proving Cabellero’s record, which includes two defeats, is still more impressive than Molitor’s, because it’s against better competition.
It’s obvious that the fighter who beats Caballero is going to need a knockout punch, because without it, he will be a sitting duck for Caballero’s long reach and punishing punches.
Molitor is described as a technician, a slick boxer and counter puncher. That description was placed in doubt beginning with the first round. Not much happened, except that Caballero was pursuing Molitor. Caballero did manage to land a two punch combination to Molitor’s head, and later in the round, a good right to the body. Molitor managed to clinch. He attempted no counter punches.
In the second round, it was obvious Molitor wasn’t going to loosen up. He was tighter than Warren Buffet’s two lips after Berkshire lost 77% of its value. Molitor did attempt one fast combo, but he might as well have been shadow boxing, because nothing came close to landing. It was interesting to note that Caballero was attempting to do his best impression of an old man, because his trunks were higher than Archie Moore’s. Molitor did let off a quick few punches a second time in this round, but again to no avail. He was tighter than the lid on the pickle jar.
In the third, Molitor failed to make Caballero pay; although, he did manage to land two punches. His method of unsuccessful operation was to leap in…….sometimes with a lead left uppercut. Caballero was having a good time, so much so, he decided to step up the pace, and incorporate a little dance step into his routine. He also appeared to be talking to Molitor, admonishing him to fight. He nailed Molitor with a left to the body, and left elbow to the head, and then followed with a right. The ropes appeared to keep Molitor upright. The round ended at that point.
Caballero dealt another hand of body punches, long straight and looping punches, plus some uppercuts to cover all the bases. He hurt Molitor with a long left to the body, and just as Molitor started to bend down and in to protect himself from another body shot, Caballero threw a nice uppercut, and Molitor ducked right into it. Down he went.
Molitor managed to beat the count, but Caballero was not about to let him recuperate, and unleashed another furious assault. Several of Caballero’s shots landed, and he was on his way down for a third time when Molitor’s corner men climbed up on the ring apron to signal to the referee to call a halt to the slaughter. The referee complied and concluded the action at 52 seconds of the 4th round
The hometown Canadian crowd sat in stunned silence. Their hero, who came into the ring wearing a T-Shirt that said, “Death, Before Dishonor” had let them down.
After watching this one-sided whipping, it’s easy to think Caballero is the Paul Williams of the 122lb class. Maybe he is just that, but tonight he got away with a lot of wild swings, and a “throw caution to the wind” type of fighting that he will not get away with against Vasquez and Marquez. If he tries it against either one of those two or Jhonny Gonzalez, he might see a repeat of his fight with Jose Rojas, when he got KO’d in the third.