Former world champion Roberto Duran, who like Caballero hails from Panama, was on hand to show his support to Caballero Friday night.
RAMA, Ontario, Canada– In a one-sided fight from the beginning, Celestino Caballero outclassed previously unbeaten Steve “The Canadian Kid” Molitor, registering a TKO just 52 seconds into fourth round to become the 122-pound International Boxing Federation (IBF) and World Boxing Association (WBA) world champion Friday on SHOWTIME’s ShoBox: The New Generation.
Caballero of Colon, Panama, improved his record to 31-2 while Molitor drops to 28-1.
The 12-round world-title unification fight was the first ever to take place in Canada and the first on ShoBox. Orion Sports Management presented the historical scrap from Casino Rama in Rama, Ontario, Canada.
Molitor, from nearby Toronto, Canada, seemed lost from the very beginning. Caballero on the other hand wasted no time moving in on his opponent and throwing combination after combination. Forced into the ropes, Molitor was never able to find his rhythm.
Stephane Larouche, Molitor’s trainer, cried out in frustration between the third and fourth rounds, imploring Molitor to get it together: “This is not Steve Molitor tonight,” he screamed. “This is not you.”
In the fourth round, Caballero sent Molitor down with a right uppercut to the left side of the face. Molitor was able to beat the count but soon found himself up against the ropes. Caballero charged forward once more, landing four consecutive shots before the glassy-eyed hometown hero fell.
Referee Luis Pabon halted the action at 52 seconds into the fourth round and declared Caballero the unified champion by TKO.
“Molitor was outmuscled and outclassed” said Steve Farhood, ShoBox analyst. “This was the first real fight of Molitor’s career and he failed miserably.”
Molitor knew he had let his hometown fans down. “I couldn’t get off tonight. He was the better man. I felt tight going in and I just want to apologize to my fans.”
Caballero knew he was in control the entire fight. “I saw the knockout coming,” he said. “I saw his legs so I worked hard to keep going and get it.” What’s next for him? Caballero voiced his opinion saying, “The most important thing now is to keep unifying. I call every champion to come and face me.”
Nick Charles called the action from ringside with boxing historian Farhood serving as expert analyst. The executive producer of ShoBox is Gordon Hall with Richard Gaughan producing and Rick Phillips directing.
“ShoBox: The New Generation” will return on Dec. 5, 2008, when the hard-hitting South American welterweight champion Luis Carlos Abregu will face his toughest test yet against the much more experienced and established David Estrada.
Friday’s bout will re-air as follows:
DAY CHANNEL
Wednesday, Nov. 26, at 11:00 p.m. ET/PT
SHOWTIME 2
For more information on ShoBox: The New Generation and SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecasts, including complete fighter bios, records, related stories and more, please go to new SHOWTIME website at http://sports.sho.com/
About ShoBox: The New Generation
Since its inception in July 2001, the critically-acclaimed SHOWTIME boxing series, ShoBox: The New Generation has featured young talent matched tough. The ShoBox philosophy is to televise exciting, crowd-pleasing and competitive matches while providing a proving ground for willing prospects determined to fight for a world title. The growing list of fighters who have appeared on ShoBox and advanced to garner world titles includes: Leonard Dorin, Scott Harrison, Juan Diaz, Jeff Lacy, Ricky Hatton, Joan Guzman, Juan Urango, David Diaz, Robert Guerrero, Kelly Pavlik, Paul Malignaggi, Kendall Holt and Timothy Bradley.
Showtime Networks, Inc.
Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL® and FLIX®, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME 2™, SHOWTIME® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME®, SHOWTIME BEYOND®, SHOWTIME NEXT®, SHOWTIME WOMEN®, SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL® XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL® HD, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL® ON DEMAND. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV®.
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