Molitor looks to get beyond his own struggles
Are fighters obliged to care about the hardships their opponents may or may not have endured?
Canadian boxer Steve Molitor has heard about Jason Booth. He’s heard about his hard-knock lifestyle, and the fact that he’s made something out of his life after years of substance abuse. He’s heard that he’s out to avenge his brother Nicky, whom Molitor defeated for the Commonwealth title back in 2002.
And surely he’s heard that Britain is captivated by Booth’s comeback. Yet how does he feel about it?
“It’s an interesting story. But it don’t mean s—t to me,” Molitor confessed. “If you want to get real, look at my life. People don't know what's really happened in my life. They just know what they've read in the paper about my brother and all that. So it don't matter to me what Jason Booth's been through. And none of it means f--- all once the bell rings."
Without doubt, Molitor has experienced his fair share of hard knocks. His brother Jeremy, a former national boxing star, was sentenced to life in prison in 2004 for murdering his girlfriend.
Training for his upcoming fight, Molitor confessed that lately boxing was affecting him strangely. Instead of talking about how excited he is to get into the ring, or how he wants to win a title, Molitor gets down to brass tax. He saws off the empty gestures that so often qualify as boxing talk.
"The sport has taken a lot out of me," Molitor said. "I'm 30 years old. I've been boxing for 20 years, but not 20 years like everyone else. I've been working my a*s off for 20 years. I don't train like regular boxers. I train way harder than anybody. So it's been a hard 20 years. I'm not beaten down, but mentally and physically it gets draining." He continued: “It's been 20 years of hard work and dedication – mentally and physically – and I've sacrificed my entire life," he said. "My life is ruined forever. My hands will never be the same, my mentality will never be the same, my thought process will never be the same. My family suffered because of the lifestyle I had to live. I've done some things outside of the ring that I'm not proud of. My life's over to me. It's not fair, but it's what I chose."
Without disclosing details, Molitor said that he knows his time as a prizefighter is drawing to a close, and it’s initiated heavy meditation on his part.
Molitor’s story is an emotional one. It was his brother Jeremy who got him into the sport. He had over a hundred fights as an amateur, with only eleven defeats. Hopes were high in the pros. And results were achieved. For eight years, from 2000 to 2008, Molitor remained undefeated, knocking down the opposition set in front of him. That gave way to title shots, which Molitor successfully won, including the IBF super bantamweight title.
Finally Molitor met Celestino Caballero, the dangerous phantom of his division. Caballero is known as the most avoided guy in the super bantamweight division. Not even titlists want to challenge him. Before Molitor could start countering Caballero’s attack, he was hurt in the third round. In the fourth a vicious uppercut put him down. Seconds later another one-two combination hit him flush, too flush, and the referee called a halt to the fight. Just like that his perfect record was gone.
Since then Molitor’s been able to rally back into relevance and win the IBF belt again with a decision over Takalani Ndlovu in March. But he’s been too reluctant in the ring, still not protected from the punishment he received when he wasn’t in the ring.
His trainer Chris Johnson vowed that that will change in his next match, saying: “Booth is going to get the beating of his life. I expect to see fireworks.”
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