Vernon Forrest

By Scott Gilfoid: Three months after losing his World Boxing Council light middleweight crown to Sergio Mora (21-1-1, 5 KOs), a former star from The Contender reality television series, Forrest recaptured it on Saturday night with a lopsided 12-round unanimous decision at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The final judges’ scores were 117-110, 119-108 and 118-109. Using power shots and a high work rate, the 37 year-old Forrest dominated Mora, cutting him and swelling up his face with heavy shots. Mora, who looked and fought with a lot of confidence in the first fight in June, looked flustered, seemingly not knowing what to do to stay competitive with Forrest, and looking badly tired by the 4th round.

It’s not clear what changed from the last fight with Mora, other than perhaps Forrest being in better shape, fighting more relaxed and throwing and landing many more power shots than he did in the first fight. The power shots clearly bothered Mora, who worked hard, moving a lot of the time, to try and prevent being hit as much as possible.

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By David Lar: With only one day to go before the big WBC light middleweight rematch between champion Sergio Mora (21-01, 5 KOs) and Vernon Forrest (40-3, 29 KOs) the fan interest just isn’t there for this fight for some reason. Perhaps it’s due to the dull first fight between the two of them three months ago in June, a fight filled with running, clinching and lack of action which resulted in a 12-round majority decision win for Mora. Then again, it could be Mora’s advanced age of 37 that could be a problem because it’s hard to get excited about a fighter so far up there in age like he is.

However, Mora, only 27, is even less appealing to watch fight if you ask me. He moves constantly, uses a lot of fakes, and punches with little power even when loading up on his shots. It hasn’t helped the fight that there’s been little in the way of press statements for either fighter. You aren’t likely to hear much about either fighter no matter what internet boxing forum you might peruse, unless it’s something short, like, “how come there’s no interest in Mora-Forrest.” The answer, at least to me, seems pretty clear. Neither of these fighters fought exceptionally well last time out, and the fans, having long memories, don’t look forward to seeing them possibly make a repeat performance of the first fight.

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By Jim Dower: Having seen the first between these two fighters, I can’t go along with the logic that former World Boxing Council light middleweight champion Vernon Forrest )40-3, 29 KOs) was just having an off night when he lost a 12-round majority decision to then challenger undefeated Sergio Mora (21-0-1, 5 KOs) in June. It appeared to me that the 37 year-old Forrest just got old overnight and met up with someone with a crafty style, better work rate and the ability to move around the ring to force Forrest to use his old legs.

I’ve heard numerous excuses as to why Forrest lost the fight, from he was over-trained to he was under-trained for the bout. However, I can’t see how the outcome will be any different no matter how hard Forrest trains for the fight. Mora is simply too fast, too active and is an excellent inside fighter, which is where he was able to score often against Forrest and win rounds. I frankly don’t even see this as an age issue, for I think Mora would have beaten Forrest no matter how old he was at the time. Mora’s style of fighting – constant movement, using a lot of fakes, jabbing constantly, and throwing short double and triple hooks on the inside – is a nightmarish style for Forrest, one that I don’t see him solving ever.

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By Jim Dower: Sometimes a fighter can grow old overnight. That was never more apparent in Saturday night’s bout between WBC light middleweight champion Vernon Forrest (40-3, 29 KOs) and former star from The Contender reality television boxing show Sergio Mora (21-0-1, 5 KOs), who pulled off an amazing upset of the 37 year-old Forrest beating him by a 12-round unanimous decision at the Mohegan Sun Casino, in Uncasville, Connecticut.

Forrest looked every bit of his ancient 37 years, as he quickly tired out after the third round and was easily beaten by the youthful, more active Mora. The final judges’ scores were 116-112, 115-113 and 114-114. I saw the fight being closer to 116-114, if not a little more than that in Mora’s favor. Forrest looked essentially like garbage, the worst I’d seen him fight since his dual losses to Ricardo Mayorga in 2003.

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By Sean McDaniel: With one day remaining until fight time, WBC light middleweight champion Vernon Forrest (40-2, 29 KOs) doesn’t appear lacking in confidence in regards to his bout with former star from The Contender Sergio Mora (20-0-1, 5 KOs), both of whom meet in a 12-round title bout at the Mohegan Sun Casino, in Uncasville, Connecticut. 10 years in age separates the two fighters and a huge gulf in boxing experience as well. At 37, a time when most fighters are showing signs of slowing down, Forrest still appears to be at the top of his game looking and fighting years younger than his age.

For all his age, he’s been a little hard on his younger opponent, saying repeatedly in the past week that Mora has no chance at winning, that “there won’t be an upset on Saturday.” Unlike many of Forrest’s other bouts, he’s been unusually boisterous saying uncomplimentary things about the lack of power or Mora and his fighting style, which is more finesse oriented in comparison to Forrest’s. In a way, though, despite winning the war of words almost by default, Forrest has come across slightly like he’s afraid of Mora somehow.

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