whats your pick on the upcoming Caballero vs. Molitor unification bout POLL

[NAPO]

this is good.

most of the fighters in the 122 division are working hard on making the weight.

so this is just a step of being the undisputed superbatamweight champ.

[STEELHEAD]

i know this articles long. but well worth reading.
i can't possible say it better than houston:


"Those who feel the lighter weight divisions provide boxing's finest entertainment have something to look forward to Friday, when Canada's unbeaten Steve Molitor meets Panama's formidable Celestino Caballero in a 122-pound title unification match (Showtime, 11 ET/PT).. Molitor, 28, is on home ground at Casino Rama, about eight miles north of the small city of Orillia in Ontario. The site is a big advantage for Molitor: this will be his sixth consecutive fight at Casino Rama, all packed by crowds of 6,000 providing enthusiastic support. Caballero, though, is one of those cool, calm and collected fighters who are able to maintain their composure no matter the circumstances. He soundly defeated the previously unbeaten slugger Daniel Ponce De Leon in Los Angeles, won his title with a crushing knockout win against Somsak Sithchatchawal in Thailand and made a successful defense against Lorenzo Parra in Venezuela. Crowd hostility doesn't seem to bother him in the slightest. Talking to reporters on a telephone conference call last week he said: "I go out and do my job whenever I have to. I don't feel the pressure of fighting abroad. I'd rather fight overseas than at home, because the pressure is less for me." There is a good reason for Caballero's confidence. The 32-year-old has lost only twice in 32 fights, he's unbeaten in the last four years and, at 5-foot-11, he is phenomenally tall for a 122-pounder. "I was in Panama for Caballero's last fight and he seems even taller when you're standing next to him, and he's got an incredible wingspan -- his arms are so long they almost seem to touch to the ground," Molitor's promoter, Allan Tremblay, told ESPN.com.

It is no wonder, then, that conventionally sized boxers in the junior featherweight class find Caballero such a problem. Caballero seems able to hit his opponents from a safe distance while, for the most part, they have great difficulty reaching him with meaningful blows. Caballero doesn't just stand back and jab, though. He likes to put pressure on his opponent with long, whipping-type punches that he throws in a relaxed, almost languid, manner. Despite the undoubted talent and the physical challenges Caballero brings to a fight, the Canadian camp is confident. "Steve's ready for this fight and I believe he's going to surprise a lot of people," Tremblay said.

Graham Houston and Darius Ortiz weigh in with predictions for Friday's
Celestino Caballero-Steve Molitor fight on Molitor has won 28 bouts in a row, including three in the UK, where he won his title. A southpaw, he is known mainly for his speed and slick boxing, but Molitor has also shown flashes of punching power; he won his last fight inside the distance. Caballero is perhaps perceived as more of the battle-hardened veteran in this contest, but Molitor is a seasoned fighter who had extensive international experience as an amateur. Molitor boxed in the Pan American Games and in the 1999 world championships (when he lost to Argentina's Omar Narvaez, also an undefeated world champion). In addition, Molitor sparred with a peak-form Erik Morales in Mexico to prepare El Terrible for his title fight with left-hander Paulie Ayala. Molitor has been around the fight game for a very long time. His older, heavier brother Jeremy was a Commonwealth Games amateur gold medal winner and the two often sparred together. (Molitor has a strong emotional bond with his brother and often wears a T-shirt into the ring that bears a message of support for Jeremy, who is currently incarcerated). There is a steely intensity about Molitor when he fights, a mental and physical toughness that shouldn't be underestimated. One of his strong points is that he almost always comes back with a rally when things get difficult in a fight, as if he refuses to allow the other man to gain anything more than a temporary advantage. Caballero seems almost disdainful of Molitor, though. "He moves a lot and fights too little," Caballero told reporters. "I have to be ready to run after him all night and hit him hard whenever I catch him." Tremblay feels that Caballero is in for a shock. "Steve's much the better boxer so Caballero's not going to outpoint him, so he's got to stop him -- and Steve takes a heck of a shot," Tremblay said. "It's a heck of a matchup, and the more doubt about it the better because the sweeter the win." True, Caballero is a daunting prospect for anyone, but Molitor feels his whole career has been building toward this moment -- his biggest fight and his first on American TV, apart from a substitute appearance on Spanish-language Telefutura. "When I'm pressured, when my back's to the wall, the better fighter comes out of me," Molitor told ESPN.com. "Caballero doesn't like competition. He really takes advantage of guys when they're there to lose, so to speak. When somebody's really in there and wants to fight, he doesn't like that, and he doesn't really do too much. He's a little sloppy in his technique. He's not crisp. It's definitely going to be a disadvantage for him to fight a guy like me, a crisp, sharp puncher." Caballero looked devastating when he demolished Sithchatchawal in Thailand, and he has stopped his past three challengers, but Molitor doesn't intend to be an easy target. If he gets caught, he feels that he will be able to fight through the crisis. "I've only been down once when I got caught off-balance by Henry Arjona [in 2005] but I knocked him down in the next round and won every round," Molitor said. "My game was more reckless then; I'm more precise than in those days. Every fighter gets a little buzzed when they get hit with a clean shot, but that's part of boxing.
Throughout his career, Steve Molitor has shown flashes of KO power.


"I've been doing this for 20 years. I've been in with a lot of bigger guys in sparring, on the amateur scene I was in with the best Cuban fighters, the best Americans. That's [getting hit by a big punch] really not a concern. I'm just going to go in there and fight my fight." Of course, Molitor has never met anyone as tall as Caballero, although he stopped a couple of rangy types in Takalani Ndlovu and Michael Hunter, but he seems unfazed by giving away four inches in height. "I don't really think the height is going to be that much of a problem," Molitor said. "We've had tall sparring partners, and on the flip side I'm probably one of the taller fighters he's ever fought. He's 32 years old and he has to make 122 pounds, and we know he's had trouble making weight. He's never met anyone like me. I'll be ducking and dodging. I think I have a lot of advantages going into this fight. It's going to be a great fight." A great fight indeed seems to be guaranteed, and there is a classic feel to the contest -- an accomplished and dangerous Hispanic fighter with daunting physical attributes against a fast and skilled North American who has never lost, each man at the top of his form. There seems little doubt as to what Molitor's strategy will be. He will have to get in and get out, always moving, seeking to catch Caballero with well-timed shots while avoiding the scything, slashing type of punches that will be coming his way. Caballero seems to feel that Molitor cannot hurt him, that he can walk through the Canadian fighter, slow him down and overwhelm him. If, though, Molitor can keep boxing a smart fight, picking his moments to attack, countering when he makes Caballero miss, there must be a very good chance that the Canadian stylist can win on points. Just being in the ring with someone as big as Caballero can be draining mentally as well as physically, but Molitor seems to be geared up for the performance of his life. Maybe that is what it will take, but the feeling here is that Molitor is going to find the right mix of boxing, moving and fighting to achieve a hard-won victory. Graham Houston is the American editor of Boxing Monthly and writes for FightWriter.c"


caballero wins by an overwhelming decision!

[STEELHEAD]

if your thinking about betting real money on this fight i would suggest instead of putting all your money on one of these guys to win you maybe should parly a little of it and put it on this bout being a draw. the odds may be over 1:20

[-Boxzilla-]

great article. . . except for the line you added at the end.

anyone wanting a little more background info on molitor or caballero should give this a read.

[Silencers]

I think Caballero needs to knock Molitor out to win and I think he'll do just that, Caballero by knockout.

[-Boxzilla-]

SC from bad left hook wrote a good little bit on both boxers as well . . . for those of you interested heres the link.

http://www.badlefthook.com/2008/11/20/666688/caballero-molitor-unifying#comments