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Molitor changes mind; will remain with Canadian managers

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TSN.ca Staff
6/13/2008 11:44:43 AM
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Boxing champion Steve Molitor says he isn't looking for new management and will stay in Canada after all.

Molitor (27-0) released a statement on Thursday in which he stated that he'd remain with promoter Allan Tremblay and manager James Jardine.

But the fallout from the brief split is that he has parted ways with trainer Chris Johnson.

Johnson, who won a bronze medal for Canada at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, balked at going back after Molitor's change of heart. He's been Molitor's trainer for the last seven fights, including his victory over Michael Hunter in England in 2006 to win the IBF belt and his four title defences.

''I told Chris I was going back to Allan and James and he didn't want anything to do with that,'' Molitor said Friday. ''Me and Chris are cool, but I think he had a relationship problem with Allan and James.''

Last week, the International Boxing Federation super-bantamweight champion said he was being underpaid fighting in Canada and would seek new management in the United States. Reports said he was upset with the $175,000 he was offered for his next fight.

"Everyone makes mistakes and I have a made a monumental one," he said in Thursday's statement. "Bowing to the influence of people around me who had their own interests at heart, and deceived by the promise of mega-dollars that really were not there, I went down a path I should never have contemplated."

He said Tremblay and Jardine "were gracious enough to accept me back in the fold."

Molitor also apologized to TSN, which has televised his last four bouts, and to Casino Rama, where those fights were staged.

He is to fight again at Casino Rama on Aug. 29 against an opponent yet to be announced.

Molitor, a Sarnia, Ont., native, won the title in 2006 from Michael Hunter in England and has defended it four times, most recently with a 12-round unanimous decision over Fernando beltran on April 5. 

Steve Molitor (Photo: Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)

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(Photo: Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)
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Rumble at Rama IX: Lopez vs. Sonsona, Molitor vs. Azuaga headlned an exciting night of boxing on Friday. Click below to see the VOD, or watch the card on TSN and TSN HD on Saturday at 11:30pm et/8:30pm pt.

VOD: Rumble at Rama IX