Monday, December 20th 2010

Steve Molitor Bio

“The Canadian Kid” 

  • World championship fights: 8-1, 3 KOs…
  • Two-time IBF jr. featherweight world champion, six successful defenses…
  • Former NABA bantamweight champion…
  • Former British Commonwealth bantamweight champion…
  • Former Canadian jr. featherweight champion…

At the age of 30, Steve is a 10-year pro. A two-time IBF junior featherweight world champion, he won the title in November, 2006, and made five successful defenses before losing it in November, 2008. He regained the title in March, 2010, and made another successful defense in September.

Steve has won five fights in row, and is coming off a 12 round decision win against Jason Booth in his last fight on September 11.

After the fight, Dan Rafael wrote on ESPN.com [excerpts]: In March, Molitor outpointed Takalani Ndlovu(in a rematch of a knockout win) to regain his old title and made his first defense against England’s Booth. Molitor was familiar with the Booth family, having outpointed his brother, Nicky Booth, in England in a 2002 Commonwealth title bout. Jason Booth was seeking family revenge, but would have no such luck. Although he was busy and boxed well, once Molitor, who started slowly, got going after about the third round, he was able to take control of a competitive fight. He was a bit more accurate and finished rounds strong to leave an impression on the judges. Still, he was on the other man’s home turf, so the judges can always be full of surprises. But in the end they got it right, even if the draw scorecard was a bit of a surprise. [End Rafael item]

Steve recently signed a promotional contract with Top Rank, Inc.

Top Rank president Todd DuBoef said, “Steve’s always been an exciting fighter and charismatic kid, and we have a lot of potential matchups for him in his weight class. We’re looking forward to working with him.”

He also signed a managerial contract with Cameron Dunkin, who said, “I’m very pleased to be working with Steve. He wants the big fights, and there are some great opportunities for him at 122 and 126 pounds. He’s a very talented fighter, and he’s ready for them. I think he’s going to very successful in the coming years.”

Steve has fought several quality opponents in recent years, most notably Jason Booth (W12), Takalani Ndlovu twice (W12, TKO9), Celestino Caballero (TKOby4), Fernando Beltran Jr. (W12), Ricardo Castillo (W12), Michael Hunter (KO5), and Nicky Booth (W12).

Steve said, “I’ve been boxing for a long time and there’s not too much I can’t do in the ring. I feel a lot more comfortable being a counterpuncher, but if I have to go in there and bang him out, I can do it. I’m ready for whatever comes.”

Key Fights – 2010 – 6TH IBF JF WORLD TITLE DEFENSE – in his last fight on 9-11-10 in Houghton-le-Spring, ENG, he won a 12 round majority decision against Jason Booth (35-5): the bout headlined at Rainton Meadows Arena, and it was a good fight; the early rounds were close – Steve won the 1st round on two scorecards, but Booth pressed forward, outworked Steve, and swept the 2nd and 3rd rounds on all three scorecards; but Steve rallied and dominated most of the fight after that – he consistently outboxed and outworked Booth, and won by scores of 116-112, 116-113, 114-114…

WON VACANT IBF JF WORLD TITLE – on 3-27-10 in Rama, ONT, he won a 12 round unanimous decision in the rematch against Takalani Ndlovu (30-5): the fight headlined at Casino Rama; the early rounds were close, and the momentum shifted back and forth – after six rounds, the fight was scored 58-56 Molitor, 57-57, 57-57; but Steve rallied in the second half of the fight; he kept Ndlovu off-balance with movement, kept a busier pace, and landed the sharper punches – Steve swept the 7th, 8th, and 9throunds on all three scorecards, then won the 11th and 12th on two scorecards, and won by scores of 116-112, 117-111, 115-113…

2009 – on 11-21-09 in Rama he won an 8 round unanimous decision against Jose Saez (17-8-4): the fight was co-featured at Casino Rama; Saez scored a knockdown with a left hook in the 5th round, but Steve dominated the rest of the fight; he consistently outboxed and outworked Saez, and won by scores of 78-73, 79-73, 78-74…

On 9-4-09 in Rama he knocked out Dario Azuaga (76-16-2): the fight headlined at Casino Rama, and Steve dominated; he scored a knockdown with a left hand in the 4th round; he scored two more knockdowns with body punches in the 5th, Azuaga’s corner threw in the towel, and the referee stopped the fight at 1:50…

On 6-26-09 in Rama he won a 12 round split decision against Heriberto Ruiz (41-7-2): the bout headined at Casino Rama, and it was a good, close fight; Ruiz had several rallies, but Steve generally outboxed and outworked him and rallied in the middle and late rounds; Steve was cut near his hairline by a clash of heads in the 7th round; scored 116-112, 116-112 Molitor, 116-112 Ruiz…

2008 – LOST IBF JF WORLD TITLE, WBA SB TITLE CHALLENGE  – on 11-21-08 in Rama he was TKO’d against 5’11” tall WBA super bantamweight world champion Celestino Caballero (30-2): the fight headlined at Casino Rama, and Caballero dominated – he outworked Steve and rocked him several times; Caballero scored a knockdown with a right uppercut in the 4th round – Steve got up, but Caballero rocked him with a series of punches and the referee stopped the fight at 0:52…

5TH IBF JF WORLD TITLE DEFENSE – on 8-29-08 in Rama he TKO’d previously undefeated lefthanderCeferino Labarda (18-0): the fight headlined at Casino Rama; Labarda won the 1st round on two scorecards and the 2nd round on one, but Steve dominated the rest of the fight and shut him out on the scorecards after that; he consistently outboxed Labarda, landed hard body punches, and steadily wore him down; Labarda was cut over his left eye by a clash of heads in the 7th; Steve staggered Labarda with a left hand, then scored a knockdown with a right hook in the 9th round; he staggered Labarda with a left hand, then rocked him with a series of punches that had him reeling around the ring in the 10th, and the referee stopped the fight at 2:34; after nine rounds, Steve led by scores of 89-81 on all three scorecards; after the fight, Steve said, “It was definitely one of my best performances. I try to break down my opponent with my boxing skill. I didn’t go out to try and stop him. I just went in and put my punches together. I was landing a lot of good body shots from early on and throughout the fight. I knew once I hurt him to the body in the ninth he was going out.”…

4TH IBF JF WORLD TITLE DEFENSE – on 4-5-08 in Rama he won a 12 round unanimous decision against lefthander Fernando Beltran Jr. (30-2-1): the fight headlined at Casino Rama; Beltran pressed forward, but Steve kept him off-balance with movement, consistently outboxed and outworked him, and dominated the fight; Steve was cut over his left eye in the 9th round, and Beltran was penalized one point for low blows in the round; Steve finished the fight strongly and won by scores of 120-107, 120-107, 119-108; it was Steve’s fourth title defense in nine months; after the fight, Steve said, “That’s what I go for – perfection. That’s what we expect – the best. And that’s what we try to deliver every time. We’ve decided it’s time for me to take a break away from the sport for at least a month, no running, no training, nothing – go on vacation and get the hunger back. It has been hard for me to get up every day with that energy and that drive. There were times when I just didn’t have that animal mentality that I usually have.”…

3RD IBF JF WORLD TITLE DEFENSE – on 1-19-08 in Rama he won a 12 round unanimous decision against former Mexican super bantamweight champion Ricardo Castillo (33-4): the fight headlined at Casino Rama; Castillo, the younger brother of former two-time WBC lightweight world champion Jose Luis Castillo, pressed forward and gave a good effort, and rocked Steve with two hard right hands in the 4th round; Steve was also cut over his left eye in the round – the referee ruled it was from a punch, but video replays showed that there had been a clash of heads; Steve dominated the rest of the fight – he kept Castillo off-balance with movement, consistently outboxed him, and landed the sharper punches; Steve was cut in a second place over his left eye in the late rounds, and Castillo was penalized one point for low blows in the 10th; scored 118-109 on all three scorecards; after the fight, Steve said, “It’s the first time I’ve ever been cut. It’s an adversity I had to deal with early in the fight. I decided to stay calm. The worst thing you can do is start panicking and getting away from your game plan.”…

2007 – 2ND IBF JF WORLD TITLE DEFENSE – on 10-27-07 in Rama he won a 12 round unanimous decision against 33 year-old lefthanded Fahsan Thawatchai (aka Fahsan 3K Batterey; 58-8-1): the fight headlined at Casino Rama; Thawatchai rocked Steve with a left hand that sent him stumbling back into the ropes in the 7th round – it should have been scored as a knockdown, but was not – but Steve dominated the rest of the fight; scored 120-108, 119-109, 119-109…

1ST IBF JF WORLD TITLE DEFENSE – on 7-14-07 in Rama he TKO’d former South African featherweight champion Takalani Ndlovu (27-3): the fight headlined at Casino Rama – the Canadian Press reported, “It was the first title fight in Ontario featuring an Ontario-based boxer in more than 20 years, and it was relayed by TSN [note: The Sports Network] across Canada and to Canadian Forces troops overseas including in Afghanistan.”; Ndlovu gave a good effort, but Steve dominated the fight – he kept Ndlovu off-balance with movement and consistently outworked him; Steve scored three knockdowns in the 9th round – the first with a left hand, the second and third with right hooks – and the referee stopped the fight at 1:42; after eight rounds, Steve led by scores of 80-72, 79-73, 78-74; after the fight, Steve said, “I had a great game plan, and it was a game plan we practiced everyday in the gym. I thought I won the fight from start to finish. He was slower than I thought, and it was just a matter of time until I started catching him with some big shots. I’ve been in a lot of peoples’ back yards, so to fight here was a big change and one I loved. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to do it again in the near future. I’m willing and ready to fight anybody. I’m a force to be reckoned with.”…

2006 – WON VACANT IBF JF WORLD TITLE – on 11-10-06 in Hartlepool, ENG, he knocked out previously undefeated lefthanded former European super bantamweight champion – and local favorite –Michael Hunter (26-0-1): the fight headlined at Borough Hall; Hunter pressed forward, but Steve boxed and moved effectively and the first three rounds were close – Hunter swept the 1st round on all three scorecards, Steve swept the 2nd, then Hunter won the 3rd round on two scorecards; but Steve rallied in the 4th – he rocked Hunter with series of punches, then scored a knockdown with a left hand later in the round; he scored another knockdown with another left hand that left Hunter dazed in the 5th round, and he was counted out at 1:32; after the fight, Steve said, “It means the world to me. I’ve waited for this moment for 17 years.”…

2005 – on 10-21-05 in Toronto, ONT, he TKO’d former Argentinian jr. featherweight champion Jorge Paredes (19-10-3): the fight healined at Kool Haus, and Steve dominated; he staggered Paredes in the 3rd round, and the referee stopped the fight at 2:05…

On 8-19-05 in Whippany, NJ, he TKO’d lefthanded former 1996 Nepalese Olympian Devinder Thapa(20-3-1): Thapa was very awkward and aggressive, but Steve consistently outboxed him; Steve buckled his knees with a left uppercut-right hook combination in the 4th round, and scored a knockdown with two right uppercuts in the 6th; he rocked Thapa with a series of punches in the 8th round, and the referee stopped the fight after the round…

On 2-18-05 in Toronto he won an 8 round unanimous decision against former South American jr. bantamweight champion Henry Arjona (15-5-1): the fight headlined at The Docks Nightclub, and Steve weighed a career-high – at the time – 127 pounds; the 1st round was slow-paced, but Arjona scored a knockdown – the first of Steve’s career – with a left hook in the 2nd; Steve rallied in the 3rd round and scored a knockdown with two left hands, and dominated the rest of the fight; scored 80-72, 79-73, 78-72; after the fight, Steve said, “I wasn’t hurt, but I was surprised. It was a shot that came out of nowhere. It’s no big deal, but it’s not something I wanted to happen in this fight. But it’s best I got it out of the way now. I wasn’t hurt and you seen I got up right away. He was a dirty fighter and he wanted to hold a lot. He was an awkward guy, swinging wild shots, and sometimes it’s hard to fight a guy like that. I’m used to fighting more talented guys, like the guys I spar with have more class than that. But I got eight good rounds in and I hurt him at the end with a lot of good clean shots. But he wasn’t really there for me to hit clean. He was all over the place.”…

2004 – on 6-25-04 in Sarnia, ONT, he won a 10 round unanimous decision against former South American jr. bantamweight Pedro Torres (37-19-9): the fight headlined at the Sports and Entertainment Center, and Steve dominated; he scored a knockdown in the 7th round and won by scores of 100-88, 100-88, 99-98…

WON NABA B TITLE – on 4-21-04 in Toronto he won a 12 round unanimous decision against former NABF bantamweight champion and two-time world title challenger Hugo Dianzo (29-10-1): the fight headlined at the annual Shaw Festival Evening of Boxing, a black-tie fundraiser for Canada’s theater festival, and Steve dominated; he consistently outboxed and outworked Dianzo, staggered him with a left hand in the 10th round, and cut him over his left eye; scored 120-110, 118-110, 114-109 [note: the last score seems improbable, but is the only one published in a fight report]…

On 1-16-04 in Bradford, ENG, he won an 8 round decision against John Mackay (6-3): scored 80-72 by the scoring referee…

2003 – on 10-17-03 in London, ONT, he TKO’d former Dominican Republic flyweight champion Fausto Rosario (11-8): at 1:50 of the 10th round…

On 4-25-03 in Albuquerque, NM, he won a 10 round unanimous decision against 35 year-old Julio Coronel (21-18-1): Steve scored a knockdown in the 4th round, and won by scores of 100-89, 99-89, 98-90…

On 3-7-03 in Niagara Falls, ONT, he TKO’d Vicente Burgo (16-15-4): Steve consistently outworked Burgo and landed the sharper punches, and Burgo did not continue after the 4th round…

2002 – WON BRITISH COMMONWEALTH B TITLE – on 9-21-02 in Essex, ENG, he won a 12 round decision against defending champion and local favorite Nicky Booth (15-3-1): the fight was co-featured at the International Centre, and Steve dominated; Booth pressed forward, but Steve scored a knockdown with a left hand in the 1st round and consistently outboxed and outworked him; Booth was cut under his left eye in the 5th, and Steve staggered him with a left uppercut in the 7th round; Booth rallied in the 10th – his best round of the fight – but his nose was bloodied in the round, as well; scored 116-112 by the scoring referee; Boxing News reported from ringside, “Larry O’Connell’s score of 116-112 flattered the champion….”…

On 6-21-02 in Mississauga, ONT, he won a 10 round unanimous decision against former flyweight world title challenger Jose De Jesus Lopez (18-4): scored 100-90, 100-90, 100-91…

On 4-10-02 in Toronto he knocked out former Dominican Republic flyweight champion Teofilo Manzueta(13-4-1): at 2:15 of the 3rd round…

WON CANADIAN JF TITLE – on 2-15-02 in Edmonton, ALB, he TKO’d 33 year-old former 1988 Canadian Olympian and hometown favorite Scotty Olson (34-3-2): Steve quickly overpowered Olson; he staggered Olson with a right hook in the 1st round, then scored a knockdown with another right hook in the 2nd; Steve scored another knockdown with two left hands late in the 3rd round; Steve scores two more knockdowns in the 5th round – the first with a left uppercut, the second with a left hand; Olson got up both times but was unsteady, and the referee stopped the fight…

He debuted at the age of 20 on 5-18-00…

AMATEUR, PERSONAL BACKGROUND: Steve said, “I was born in Sarnia, Ontario. I have one brother,Jeremy Molitor. He’s two and half years older than me. My parents were together until I was 16, then they split up. My mom lives in Miami. My dad lives in Sarnia. He works at one of the chemical plants there.

“I started boxing when I was nine years old. My brother had been doing it for a year, so I just kind of followed in his footsteps. Jeremy was a good fighter. He was a Pan Am Games silver medalist, Commonwealth Games gold medalist.

“I had about 130 amateur fights. I had around 100 wins, in that neighborhood. I didn’t keep an exact count. I was National champ 10 times here. I won some in the junior and the intermediate, and in the senior.

“I’m naturally lefthanded. I competed in the Pan American Games, but lost to the Cuban, who was a world champion. Then I competed in the World Championships in 1999 in Houston, but I lost to the eventual silver medalist. He was a WBO 115-pound champ, Omar Narvaez.

“Boxing’s my whole life. When I’m not boxing, I just relax with my family. It’s a pretty simple lifestyle that I lead.”…

Steve is married and has two children…

AMATEUR HIGHLIGHTS:

2000 CANADIAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS, Campbell River, B.C., Canada, 125 pounds – SILVER MEDALIST: in the finals he lost an 8-5 decision against Jason Laframboise

1999 PAN AMERICAN GAMES, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, 112 pounds: in the quarterfinals on 8-1-99 he lost a 5-4 decision against Manuel Mantilla of Cuba…

1999 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, Houston, Texas, 112 pounds: in his first fight on 8-22-99 he lost a an 11-1 decision against Omar Narvaez of Argentina…

1999 CANADIAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS, Sudbury, Ont., Canada, 112 pounds – GOLD MEDALIST: in the finals on 1-24-99 he won a 4-1 decision against Jason Heyward

STRENGTHS: A lefthander with good skills and movement…a natural counterpuncher, has a good defense…a good body puncher…is experienced against good opposition…had a strong amateur background…

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: 34 fights…265 total rounds…88 world championship rounds…

AVERAGE LENGTH OF BOUTS: 7.7 roiunds…

KNOCKOUT PERCENTAGE: 36 %…

DISTANCE FIGHTS: 12 rounds – 9 (9-0)…10 rounds – 5 (5-0)…

LATEST NEWS

ico