Vernon Forrest

Vernon Forrest
Data
Birth Name	Vernon Forrest
Fight name	The Viper
Weight class	Welterweight super welterweight
nationality	US-american
birthday	January 12, 1971
place of birth	Augusta , Georgia
Date of death	July 25, 2009
Place of death	Atlanta
style	Left delivery
size	1.83 m
Range	1.85 m
Combat Statistics
Struggles	45
Victories	41
Knockout victories	29
Defeats	3
No value	1
Profile in the BoxRec database

Vernon Forrest (born January 12, 1971 in Augusta , Georgia , † July 25, 2009 in Atlanta ), also known as The Viper , was an American professional boxer . He was champion of the associations IBF and WBC in the welterweight and WBC world champion in super welterweight and was known for his two fights against Shane Mosley . Vernon Forrest was shot multiple times in the back while robbing a gas station on July 25. He died on the spot.

Early years and amateur careers

Vernon Forrest started boxing when he was 9 years old. As an amateur, he set an impressive record of 225 wins to 16 losses. He was US Junior Welterweight Champion in 1991 and won a silver medal at the World Amateur Boxing Championships that same year. Forrest was the first in his family to graduate from high school . He also began his business administration studies at Northern Michigan University . Forrest dropped out of college but continued to train in the US national team under the leadership of coach Al Mitchell.

Vernon Forrest was a member of the US Olympic team in 1992 , which competed in Barcelona . After defeating Shane Mosley , he was the gold favorite in the tournament. However, the day before he was so weakened by food poisoning that he was defeated by Peter Richardson in the first round . Forrest returned to Augusta . He then later moved to Las Vegas where he began his professional career.

Professional career in welterweight

On November 25, 1992 Forrest had his professional debut against Charles Hawkins which he defeated by technical knockout in the first round. By the end of 1996 he defeated 18 opponents including 15 prematurely and won the insignificant IBC title . He continued his streak of success and was able to win the WBC Continental Americas and the NABF titles until 2000 .

On August 26, 2000, he boxed for the world championship according to the IBF version against Raul Frank. In the third round the fight was stopped after an unintentional headbutt and counted as a no contest .

Nine months later there was a rematch against Frank in Madison Square Garden in New York City . Forrest was superior to Frank and defeated him with a unanimous victory on points after twelve rounds and thus became welterweight world champion for the first time.

Forrest vs. Mosley I & II

After he had dropped his IBF title, he fought against Shane Mosley for his WBC title. Many observers saw Mosley as the best boxer in his weight class and was a big favorite. On January 26th, 2002 he managed to take his title from Shane Mosley with a unanimous victory on points and thus become world champion for the second time. Six months later, on July 20, 2002, Forrest was able to repeat his performance in a rematch and defeated Mosley again by a unanimous victory on points. His two wins against Mosley earned Forrest the 2002 Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year title .

On July 12, 2003, he fought in a union fight against Ricardo Mayorga for his WBA title . Forrest suffered a defeat for the first time in his career and lost by technical knockout in the third round. Forrest also lost to Mayorga in the rematch, this time through a controversial majority decision. Two judges scored the bout 112-116 and 114-115 in favor of Mayorgas. One judge saw a tie (114-114). Sports journalists and field observers believed Forrest won the fight on points.

Injuries and comeback in super welterweight

After his world championship fights Forrest had to take a two-year break due to various injuries. His left arm had to be operated three times. One on his left elbow joint to repair his cartilage and nerve damage , and two operations on his shoulder. In his first fight in the super welterweight division after losing to Ricardo Mayorga and recovering from injuries, he defeated Sergio Rios after two rounds by technical knockout. Then he won a fight against Elco Garcia by technical knockout in round ten. He defeated Ike Quartey on August 5, 2006 on points, although one point was deducted for a low blow. The point judgment was unanimous and was 95-94, 95-94, and 96-93.

On July 28, 2007, Forrest fought for the WBC super welterweight title against Carlos Baldomir . In this fight he was able to score hits with his right flapping hand and won superiorly by unanimous decision on points, although he was again deducted a point by a low blow in the ninth round. The score was 118-109, 118-109 and 116-111. Five months later, he defended his title against Michele Piccirillo and defeated him in the eleventh round by TKO.

His next opponent was Sergio Mora against whom he lost his title on June 7, 2008 by a narrow majority decision. The struggle was preceded by rabble. Among other things, Forrest said that Mora was being carried out on a stretcher . Only three months later he was able to win back the title with a unanimous win on points (117-110, 119-108, 118-109) in a rematch against Sergio Mora and became super welterweight world champion for the second time.

death

On the morning of July 25, 2009, Forrest drove his 11-year-old godchild to a gas station in Mechanicsville, Atlanta . When the kid went to the gas station, Forrest was about to inflate a tire in his car. Then a man threatened him with a gun, stole from him and fled. Forrest, who was himself armed, pursued the man and shots were fired. A moment later Forrest turned and ran back to the gas station. The man had shot him seven to eight times in the back. The perpetrator and a second person fled in a red car. Forrest died shortly afterwards as a result of the gunfire. He was 38 years old.

Web links

• Vernon Forrest in the BoxRec database
• boxen-artur.de - encyclopedia

Individual evidence

1. ^ ESPN - Mora in search of respect against Forrest - Boxing
2. ↑ 'Contender' Mora shocks Forrest for WBC superwelter belt ( Memento from June 11, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
3. ↑ 411mania.com: Sports - Mora Upsets Forrest - Williams Gains Revenge ( Memento of the original from June 9, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
4. ↑ Pavlik RETAIN middleweight titles, Mora beats Forrest | Sports | Reuters
5. ↑ ap.google.com, Forrest batters Mora, recaptures 154-pound crown ( Memento from September 19, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
6. ↑ Erika Facey-Palmer, J. Leslie: Boxing Pro Vernon Forrest Murdered in Atlanta . WXIA TV . July 26, 2009. Accessed on July 26, 2009.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
7. ↑ Steve Hummer: Police: Killer shot boxer Vernon Forrest in back . The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . July 26, 2009. Retrieved July 26, 2009.
8. ↑ Mitch Abramson: Ex-boxing champion Vernon Forrest shot and killed in robbery attempt . Daily News . July 26, 2009. Retrieved July 28, 2009.

predecessor	Office	successor
Félix Trinidad	Welterweight Boxing Champion ( IBF ) May 12, 2001 to December 12, 2001	vacant Michele Piccirillo
Shane Mosley	Welterweight Boxing Champion ( WBC ) January 26, 2002 to January 25, 2003	Ricardo Mayorga
Floyd Mayweather Jr.	World super welterweight boxing champion ( WBC ) July 28, 2007 to June 7, 2008	Sergio Mora
Sergio Mora	Super welterweight boxing champion ( WBC ) September 13, 2008 to May 21, 2009	vacant Sergio Gabriel Martínez