STEVE MOLITOR vs HERIBERTO RUIZ

Steve Molitor’s knockout loss against Celestino Caballero last November took most of the boxing world by surprise. The tall Panamanian was a dangerous opponent, but I don’t think very many people expected Molitor to be swept away in four rounds in front of his adoring fans in Ontario and a Showtime TV viewing audience in the States.

What was expected to be a fight that would establish Molitor as one of the brightest stars of the lighter weight classes instead turned out to be a shocking setback. Molitor was never even in the fight and it was even a bit embarrassing to watch.

Molitor has had a good, long rest, and on Friday he returns to Casino Rama, north of Toronto, to meet Mexico’s Heriberto Ruiz in an IBF junior featherweight title eliminator.

This is a career-at-stake fight for the 29-year-old Molitor. If he loses, it will be extremely hard for him to reestablish himself at the world level.

Before the Caballero disaster, one would have confidently picked Molitor to outbox Ruiz. Now it doesn’t look quite as clear cut.

Ruiz is a durable, capable veteran who has won six of his last seven fights. He was outpointed by Eric Morel in Puerto Rico last August, but since then he has scored two significant wins, easily outpointing the Filipino banger Rey Bautista in an upset in Las Vegas and then defeating Panama’s Mauricio Martinez at Casino Rama in what was effectively an elimination match for the right to meet Molitor.

Although Molitor is the obvious favourite, Ruiz is no pushover. The 31-year-old from Los Mochis has been boxing at the world-class level for something like a decade. Ruiz is a solid technician who puts punches together effectively, and he is likely to be putting pressure on Molitor from the start.

Molitor has shown the ability to box skilfully, piling up points from his southpaw stance, but he has never been a seriously hard hitter. He will most likely have to box his way through 12 rounds to win, and the resolute Ruiz is probably going to be right with him in every round, looking to punch when Molitor punches, or seeking to counter when the Canadian leads. Ruiz is a thinking fighter, and he is good at punishing mistakes by his opponent. Molitor will have to be at his sharpest to win.

It does seem that Molitor was at his best when he was trained by ex-boxer Chris Johnson, but there was a rift. Johnson tried to get involved with the business side of Molitor’s career and was dismissed by the fighter’s promoters. Then Montreal’s Stephane Larouche was brought on board, but Molitor, a new father, did not wish to go to Montreal to train for the Ruiz fight.

Molitor will have a new, local-area trainer named Billy Martin in his corner for Friday’s fight. Martin is not well known but he seems to have the right idea. “Fast hands and fast movement, that’s what we’re getting back to,” Martin told a press conference earlier this month.

Nevertheless, I do wonder if Molitor will be quite the same after the Caballero defeat. It was a confidence-denting type of defeat because the fight was so utterly one-sided.

Ruiz will be quick to take advantage of any uncertainty on Molitor’s part, and if the local favourite doesn’t stamp his authority on the contest at an early stage he faces a long, hard night.

Although Ruiz has struggled against southpaws (losses to left-handers Samuel Lopez, Irene Pacheco and Alejandro Valdez), he clearly beat the southpaw Martinez in his last fight. Molitor's southpaw style might not, then, be a major factor.

I do think, though, that Molitor has the talent and speed to get through this fight successfully — he isn’t meeting a freakishly tall, relentless attacker the way he was when he lost to Caballero — but this is a great chance for the long-serving Ruiz and I am expecting a well-contested bout that will provide lively entertainment for the crowd in the casino and viewers watching on TSN in Canada