Brunt: Molitor brothers share in victory

On Saturday night, two brothers will share a dream fulfilled, both boxers, both once on the same road, one now a champion of the world.

Steve Molitor's International Boxing Federation super bantamweight belt comes with its own carrying case, just like the Stanley Cup. It is heavy and jewel-encrusted and bears two plaques engraved with the details of his knockout victory over Michael Hunter in Hartlepool, England, on Nov. 10.

Whether they'll let him carry it into the visitors area of the J-Unit at Millhaven Penitentiary, he'll have to find out. There, with or without the trophy, he'll spend his regular visit with his older brother, Jeremy, watching the taped broadcast (TSN 9 p.m. EST) of his championship-winning bout.

In 2002, Jeremy Molitor, a former Commonwealth Games gold medalist for Canada who was always considered the more promising of the fighting brothers, committed a savage, terrible crime, stabbing to death his 21-year-old former girlfriend. He is serving a life sentence for second-degree murder and will be inside for at least nine more years.

Steve understands the gravity of what his brother did, but also understands that family they remain. He remembers all of the times they talked about what it would be like if one or both were crowned a world champion.

"It means the world to me [to share it with him]" he said. "Unfortunately, because of a bad decision he made, he didn't get to do it with me."

The younger Molitor is 26 and undefeated as a professional at 23-0, though his path to the title was a bit more circuitous than those numbers might suggest. It's never easy for fighters in Canada, especially outside Quebec, the sport's lone hotbed in this country, and especially in the lower weight classes, where even finding decent sparring can be tough.

Molitor for a time lived in a room above a gym, has changed trainers and has been forced into long periods of inactivity - even the title fight came after a little more than a year on the shelf.

But he's benefited greatly from having the constant support, financial and otherwise, of manager James Jardine (who previously bankrolled Billy Irwin) and promoter Allan Tremblay. Both long ago understood that the boxing business is a great way to lose your shirt and get your heart broken in the process. But they believed in Molitor (to the tune of the $250,000 Molitor estimates Jardine has invested in him so far) and he has stuck by them.

"James takes care of me like he's my father," Molitor said.

With former Olympic bronze medalist Chris Johnson now onboard as trainer (Molitor credits him for his newfound power - he has only nine knockouts among his 23 wins, but has stopped his opponent in each of his past three bouts), the team guided Molitor to the No. 1 ranking in the IBF and a mandatory title shot. When Israel Vasquez, generally regarded as the world's best 122-pounder, gave up the belt, Molitor was first matched against South African Gabula Vabaza. In September, Molitor flew there, only to have Vabaza fail his prefight medical and see the bout cancelled.

Hunter, a local hero from Hartlepool, was the next available contender. It made financial sense to fight him in his hometown - it was the biggest payday of Molitor's career - but, of course, that also meant entering into a hostile environment. Historically, that's something Canadian fighters have been forced to get used to, with limited opportunities to ply their trade at home .

"They gave me a warm welcome there, though not the warmest welcome," Molitor said. "It was set up for [Hunter]to win. That's what it said in the newspapers. They said that Molitor must not have read the script to the end."

Molitor says that, in fact, the first time he saw Hunter on tape, he knew it would be a relatively easy night. After kicking off a bit of ring rust in the first couple of rounds, he took control, finally silencing the home fans by stopping the local hero at 1:32 of the fifth round.

The win makes Molitor part of a short list, Canadians who have held recognized world titles, and an even shorter one, Canadians who have gone abroad while based at home and won a championship on someone else's turf.

Now, he's hoping to make at least one title defence at home, perhaps in February, before moving on to a big-money fight in the United States or overseas. Molitor says, though, that whatever happens, whatever the offers and temptations, he won't be uprooted.

"My family is here," he said. "My life is here. I'm not going to change that."