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One-on-One With Sebastien Gauthier

By Jeff Emond Jeffrey

 Sebastien Gauthier is a young and dynamic boxer from Saint-Jerome, Québec. Motivation, hard work and determination is a big part of this rising stars life.  On November 5th 2011, Gauthier impressed boxing fans and experts with an inspired performance against former two time IBF Super Bantamweight champion Steve Molitor.  In this marvellous contest between the two pugilists, Gauthier lost the fight by split decision.  In fact, it was a very close fight that could have gone either way.  Nevertheless, the fearless warrior promise that he would be a champion in a near future.

On this day, Gauthier agreed to talk to us about is amateur days, his pro-career and his exciting fight against “The Canadian Kid” Steve Molitor.

The Boxing Examiner:  Good evening Sebastien, how are you?

Sebastien Gauthier:  Very good, thank you.

TBE:  What can you tell us about your amateur backround?

SG:  I had a very fast start.  In my second fight, I beat Canadian amateur champion Edwin Romero.  Soon after, I won the silver at the Golden Gloves and became a Canadian junior amateur champion within 6 bouts.  I hold significant victories over Quebec’s amateur champion Olivier Boucher of Saint-Hyacinthe.  At this time he had 40 amateur bouts and I defeated him in my fourth fight.  I lost my first fight against a southpaw, Sebastien Carrier but bounced back and defeated Dominic Ferain in my eleventh fight.  In my second year in the amateur ranks I got a win over Tyson Cave, a very tough fighter. For six years, I remained an undefeated Canadian amateur champion in my weight class.

In the international level, I earned fifth place in the 2001, world amateur championship in Ireland.  I won a silver medal in the Francophonie games and a bronze medal at the Commonwealth games.  Those days were amazing, being a part of the Canadian national team was such a big accomplishement for me.

TBE:  How did your interest in boxing start?

SG:  By playing Mike Tyson’s Punchout on the Nintendo and watching the Rocky film series.  You know, I couldn’t play hockey because I was not tall and big enough.  I’m a small guy and in almost every sports I didn’t fit in because of that fact.  So my motivation was to prove I could be a great athlete regardless of my size, so I became a fighter.  I’m very proud of my achievements in boxing and the best is yet to come.

TBE:  You lost to Eduardo Garcia and Mario Macias prior to the Molitor bout. Any comments?

SG:  Before the Garcia fight in 2007, two of my vertebras were dispaced in my neck so I had trouble sleeping the night before the fight.  Furthermore, Garcia was a late replacement for Jovanny Soto, but my team and I decided to take the fight anyway.  During the fight, my left arm hurt a lot so I could not use my left hook at full power.  I wasn’t well supervise in my career back then but as an undefeated fighter I thought I was invincible and could win without the use of my left arm.  I could not say no to the team, after all it was for the IBF International Bantamweight title on a big card at Casino Rama in Ontario.

As for Macias, well, maybe I was a little bit overconfident.  He was very arrogant and my goal was to punish him for that.  We had a war in the first round.  He caught me with a good right hand and I told myself “This guy can hit!” but at end of the round I hurt him with my right hand and also won the first round on the judges scorecards.  In the second round, I tried to finish him quick but he got me with a counter left and I went down to the canvas.  I easily beat the count but the referee would not let me continue and looking back on the fight he had made the right call as I was still shaken.

TBE:  You hold victories over strong fighters like Feliciano Ledesma in 2008, Julio Roque Ler in 2010 and Jovanny Soto this year.  How important are thoses wins for you?

SG:  I’m very happy about them.  Soto was a huge puncher, 26 of his 31 victories were by knockouts.  He fought Fernando Montiel, who is one of the toughfest fighter in the world.  With a good training camp and by being fast and aggressive in the ring I knocked him out in the second round.

As for Roque Ler, well I saw Roque Ler give a good performance against Jorge Arce.  I hurt him early in the fight and he didn’t want to mix it up with me after that.

One of the most important wins for me was versus Jason Hayward, a tought guy from St. Johns, Newfoundland.  Right before me, he fought Pier Olivier Coté to the limit.  Hayward lost but he was able to withstand the attacks of a devastating puncher without going down.  I scored a knockdown against Hayward, so it’s a good victory for me.

TBE:  In the Molitor fight coming into the ring it seemed you were focus like never before in your young career.

SG:  I really was.  I trained so hard for this fight and was just waiting to get it on with Molitor, a former two time champion.  I knew this was going to be my big break with a good showing on my part.  I showed Steve that I wasn’t afraid and his punches couldn’t hurt me and I believe this was too heavy mentally for him.

TBE:  As soon as the bell rang, you stormed out of your corner and went right after Molitor with a raw aggressive strategy.  Which fighters inspired you to fashion your style ?

SG:  Great fighters like Aaron Pryor and Mike Tyson inspired me a lot for my style of fighting.  Pryor’s determination and will made my education in boxing. I have thoses qualities and I used them.  I had fun in there, I went after him and stayed near him all night long, fighting aggressive and at close range was an effective strategy for me.  Plus, Molitor was not active enough to turn the tide in his favour.  But I’ve made mistakes that need work in the gym.  I was not afraid of Steve’s punching power because of that I got hit with some unnecessary shots.

TBE:  You had success with the right hand during the fight, even backing Molitor to the ropes on many occasions.  Where you surprise by the effectiveness of your strategy?

SG:  No I wasn’t as I put on gloves against Tyler Asselstine and Michael Gadbois, two very strong southpaws in my preparation for this fight so I was ready.  The right hand worked out fine for me.  I was expecting Molitor to move more around the ring using his legs like we are used to seeing in his career.  But he stood in front of me and clinched my left arm very well during the fight preventing me from using many left hooks.

TBE:  Two of the judges had Molitor winning and one went your way.  What are your thoughts on the split decision?

SG:  I don’t feel I lost at all, he never had the better of me and I dictated the rhythm of the fight.  I think the judges were impressed by the fact that he has been a two time champion and didn’t want to look like they were favoring a local fighter in his backyard.  Molitor probably touched me with some good shots but most of the time he was missing or caught me with slapping punches without any power behind them.  I showed him that I had no respect for his punching power.  Molitor is a very skilled fighter, I respect him but he could never hurt me.

TBE:  Do you feel you’ve been robbed of a victory?

SG:  I’ve just finished watching the fight.  Molitor was strong and exploded late in the fight and it’s understandable that some of the rounds went his way.  Even so, I still think I won the fight.  I’m not entirely disappointed because most boxing experts around the ring had me winning.  More importantly, the crowd thought I was the winner also.

TBE:  Do you want a rematch with Steve Molitor?

SG:  Well, there are things I need to talk with my team about in regards to what’s coming next.  I will never be afraid of Molitor and we will meet again in the ring in the near future, it has to happen.

TBE:  What’s next for you?

SG:  I have to get a big win over a good opponent and soon after that, a world championship match.  People loved my performance and I’m a very exciting fighter to watch.  Like I said the best is yet to come.

TBE:  Thank you very much for your time Sebastien.

SG:  It was a pleasure!

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