Police: Ex-boxing champion Forrest killed in Ga.

By CHARLES ODUM, AP Sports Writer

ATLANTA (AP)—Vernon Forrest, a former three-time champion who gained stardom when he became the first boxer to defeat “Sugar” Shane Mosley, was shot and killed during an apparent robbery in Atlanta, police said Sunday.

Atlanta Police Sgt. Lisa Keyes said in an e-mail Sunday that Forrest, 38, was shot “multiple times in the back” Saturday night. Keyes said there are no suspects.

“Vernon was one of the few decent people in boxing,” promoter Gary Shaw said Sunday.

“I mean really decent. He cared about mentally challenged adults. He cared about kids. I just can’t believe it.”

Mark Guilbeau, an investigator with the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s office, said an autopsy is planned for Sunday.

Forrest, a native of Augusta, Ga., who lived in Atlanta, was a member of the 1992 Olympic team. He also was a former IBF welterweight and two-time WBC junior middleweight champion.

“He was one of the most gracious and charitable fighters in boxing and he will be missed by the entire boxing community and all of his friends at HBO,” HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg told The Associated Press.

Greenburg helped put on eight of Forrest’s fights.

“Maybe Vernon’s lasting legacy will be for Americans everywhere to rise up and end this kind of senseless violence,” Greenburg said.

Those who knew the fighter praised his role in launching the Destiny’s Child group homes in Atlanta, which work to provide homes for the mentally disabled.

“It was truly his calling,” Forrest’s publicist, Kelly Swanson, said of his work with children. “When he wasn’t boxing, this was his full-time job.

“When they would see him, they would just light up, and some of them couldn’t even talk. Vernon was very much involved. He’d have some of the kids over to his house on Sundays. They were part of his family.”

Swanson said Forrest was not married and has one son, Vernon Jr.

Inside the ring, Forrest was known for taking two wins over Mosley in 2002. On Sept. 13, 2008, Forrest reclaimed his WBC 154-pound title by beating Sergio Mora in a rematch of a fight won by Mora.

The win over Mora was Forrest’s last fight. He suffered a rib injury while training for an April fight against Jason LeHoullier. That fight was canceled, and Forrest had to vacate his title.

Ken Hershman, vice president in charge of boxing at Showtime, which aired Forrest’s first fight with Mora, said Forrest was a popular fighter who was dedicated to his charity work.

“He wasn’t looking for anything, he just did it because it was the right thing to do,” Hershman said.

“Vernon was a young, vibrant guy coming to the end of his career. He still had a lot of life ahead of him.”

There were tentative plans for a title fight against Sergio Martinez, perhaps in October, Shaw said. Plans for an August fight against Martinez were pushed back by Forrest’s rib injury.

“Instead of being an Olympian, a two-time world champion, a guy who beat Shane Mosley twice, the guy who did some good for boxing—maybe his legacy will be for something else,” Shaw said. “Maybe boxing will finally get around the violence outside of the ring. Maybe Vernon’s name and legacy will be for that.”

Forrest, who had a 41-3 career record with 29 knockouts, is the third prominent boxer to die this month.

Former two-time champion Arturo Gatti, who retired in 2007, was found dead July 11 at a Brazilian resort. Gatti’s wife, Amanda Rodrigues, is being held as the prime suspect.

Another former champion, Alexis Arguello, was found dead on July 1 at his home in Managua, Nicaragua. He was elected mayor of Nicaragua’s capital last year.

“If the saying is bad things come in threes, hopefully we’re done with that for a long time to come,” Hershman said. “I hope that’s the case. I mean, ironically three great people, three great human beings too. Not a good few months.”

Forrest’s trainer, Buddy McGirt, also worked with Gatti. McGirt said Forrest planned to start training Aug. 1 for his next fight.

“I just feel so bad, he has a son you know,” McGirt said. “Someone is going to be raised without a father because somebody wanted to rob someone.”

AP Sports Writer Dave Skretta contributed to this report.

Vernon Forrest Shot Dead

Some terrible breaking news that former three time world champion Vernon Forrest has been killed.

WSB News (WSB Radio)

Former boxing champion and U.S. Olympian Vernon Forrest was shot and killed in an attempted car jacking in Northwest Atlanta, a police spokesperson said. Lt. Keith Meadows with the Atlanta police department told WSB Radio, Forrest was putting air in the tires of his Jaguar around 11 p.m. Saturday at a gas station on White Hall St. at McDaniel Blvd. Investigators said at least two men jumped out of a red Chevrolet Monte Carlo and tried to steal Forrest's car.

The boxer had a gun and started running after the suspects. "The victim and suspect became involved in a brief foot chase," Lt. Meadows said. "At some point, gunfire was exchanged between the two of them. The victim was shot at least once in the head."

Investigators said they are talking to several witness. "At this point we have a general description of at least two black males driving a red Monte Carlo." Lt. Meadows said. Police don't think the suspects knew Forrest was a professional boxer.

His girlfriend's young son was in the car at the time of the shooting. Family members are flying in from Texas to pick up the child, Lt. Meadows said.

Forrest, who lived in Atlanta, was a member of the 1992 U.S. Olympic team in Barcelona, Spain. He was a three-time champion with two WBC welterweight wins against Sugar Shane Mosley in 2002. Forrest, nicknamed the viper, beat Sergio Mora for the WBC junior middleweight title in September. The Augusta, Ga. native was stripped of his WBC belt in May because of a rib injury. He was supposed to fight Sergio Martinez on August 1st.

WINDY CITY FIGHT NIGHT 4

8Count Promotions
UIC Pavilion, Chicago , IL
Friday, July 24, 2009

The leather was flying once again for Dominic Pesoli’s 8Count Promotions event Windy City Fight Night 4, playing to a packed house tonight in the Chicago hotbed of boxing talent.






First up was heavyweight TYREE ORTIZ ( Merrillville , IN ), who used his strength and impressive size to pound ERIC CRITTENDON ( Clinton , MO ) into submission. Ortiz needed only half a round to land a killer straight right hand and a series of left hooks that put Crittendon down for good, improving Ortiz’s record to 3-0.

Lightweights GADIEL ANDALUZ ( Chicago ) and OSCAR DE LA CRUZ ( Chicago ) staged a real barnburner in a fast-paced, well-executed fight. Andaluz started strong by taking the first two rounds with his perfect jab and accurate overhand right, which wobbled de la Cruz early in the fight. De la Cruz fought back, though, to rally and take the last three rounds (on the Bolo Punch scorecard) with his left hooks to the body and overall outhustling of Andaluz, who inexplicably stopped jabbing for the last two rounds. Knowing the official scorecards would be close, the crowd waited with baited breath after the final bell was given, but boos filled the air as the scores of 48-47 (Andaluz, twice) and 48-47 (De la Cruz) were read off. In a controversial split decision, Andaluz improves his pro record to 4-1), while de la Cruz moves down to 5-7.





Making his professional debut was NATE MOHR (Crystal Lake, IL) against TOMMY MOORE (Pinebluff, AR) in the third bout of the night, Mohr needed only two rounds to put Moore down three times, prompting the referee to stop the contest at 2:23 of the second round. Mohr brings some mixed martial-arts to the table, and his athleticism is as noticeable as his odd haircut (reminding me of a young Vinny Pazienza), but his boxing ability needs some time to blossom a bit. With opposition like Moore , though, he’ll be just fine for his next few fights, at least. Nate Mohr wins his debut, making his pro record 1-0.






In a super-middleweight bout, MIKE KURZEJA (Chicago) pounded on NICHOLAS WHITTING (Bermidji, MN) for three rounds, but in doing so, proved that he still needs quite a bit of work. Kurzeja is rather strong, but telegraphs all of his shots that, so far, it would take a fighter of the caliber of Whitting (now 1-11) to stand in front of them. Kerzeja bends at the waist well, and has power in both hands, landing big, looping overhand rights and lefts to the face of Whitting, who was stopped at 1:44 of the third round (TKO), improving Kurzeja’s pro record to 2-0.






Next up, DIAMOND JAMES BAIER (Chicago) took on NOE PEREZ (also from Chicago ) in a junior lightweight contest, pitting two high-energy fighters with very little professional experience in a truly stirring war. It should be noted that despite his lack of pro fights, Baier stepped up to be former WBC Lightweight Champion David Diaz’s chief sparring partner for Diaz’s 2008 battle with current pound-for-pound king, Manny Pacquiao. Both fighters were on top of the action at various points in the bout, with Baier’s fast, flashy style matching up beautifully with the accurate, plodding power of Perez. Perez was dropped in the second round, from a short straight left hand from Baier, but Perez stayed right with his opponent to take the third and fourth rounds with his intensity, giving one of the judges every reason to award him a 38-37 victory, but the other two judges saw the knockdown as the deciding factor to award Baier the victory, and in this game, majority rules. 38-37 (Baier, twice) and 38-37 (Perez) were the official scores to this bout, improving Baier’s pro record to 1-0-1.





Heavyweight debuts are always a bit of a charge for me. . . .and this one was no exception. DAVID “Diesel” LATORIA seemingly brought everyone from his hometown of Chicago to come cheer him on, as Diesel signs and t-shirts were running rampant throughout the UIC Pavilion on this night. Latoria, a late-blooming (27) powerhouse with an extensive football history needed only 1:50 of the first round to knock CHRIS BOYKINS (Holiday, FL) unconscious with a right-left-fight combo against the ropes, sending Boykins nearly onto the media table outside the ring, rendering him asleep for at least three minutes after the fight was waved off. Fortunately, Boykins got up on his own power, and headed back to the dressing room to gather his thoughts, and wonder why he ever took this fight in the first place. Latoria, truly a fan favorite, as well as a fighter worth paying attention to, starts his pro career the right way; 1-0 with 1 KO.




The headline fight of the evening waged “Fast” FRES OQUENDO ( Chicago by way of Puerto Rico) against former WBA Heavyweight Titlist, BRUCE SELDON ( Camden , NJ ) in a NABA heavyweight title fight. Seldon, probably best known for basically handing Mike Tyson his title after a 40 second “fight” in 1996 has always been a physically gifted specimen. Even during his ring walk, he amazed the fans, myself included, by standing ten feet from the ring steps, then without notice LEAPING up to the top step like a gazelle of some kind. Let me just say, it was damn impressive. I only wish Seldon fought with the same intensity. Oquendo, a utility heavyweight who has been impressive in nearly every fight he’s ever been in, had a field day with the post-40 year old Seldon, using his straight jab and overhand right hand to keep Seldon away from him, setting him up for his power shots, which quickly swelled up Seldon’s face and eyes. Seldon occasionally loaded up a telegraphed (albeit quick) left hook or overhand left hand, but they rarely ever found their mark. After seven rounds of taking a beating from Oquendo, Seldon took a knee to straighten himself out, only to be sent to the canvas again in the ninth, this time complaining of a hurt right arm, prompting the referee to stop the fight at 2:35 of the ninth, official stoppage being a TKO.

After the fight, during the in-ring interviews, Seldon said of Oquendo, “I won the title of the world in my first title shot. . . .you lost your first and second chances, but after tonight, THREE TIMES A CHARM!” Seldon hugged the taller Oquendo in the middle of the ring, basically saying he’d never be in Chicago again as a fighter, but as a trainer. Hopefully for the former champion, this was an announcement of retirement. Oquendo took the microphone and said to Seldon, “I appreciate the opportunity to fight the former world champion, and I thank my fans for their unending support.”

***Special thanks goes out to Mr. Dominic Pesoli and Mr. Bernie Bahrmasel of 8Count Promotions for issuing Bolo Punch the necessary credentials to cover this event.

***Written report and ringside photography by Emil Kegebein’s is exclusively the property of Bolo Punch Boxing, and is available for sale at smugmug.com.