Was rewatching some Vernon Forrest fights lately - and I only realised now He was already 29 when He got his first title shot and over 30 by the time He got his shot at Mosley. Could someone more familiar with his career explain, why it took him so long to raise through the ranks? I think it's quite unusual. He was an Olympian after all, World championships medalist, had that win over Mosley who was a star... He could've had his first title shot at 140 in the 90s probably, maybe have a rematch with Tszyu for their amateur fight there - or fight with Oscar, Ike and Tito at 147... maybe even Pernell. As it was, with long career under the rader, He didn't have many big fights - and his body began to fail him soon after He rose to stardom.
High risk, low reward. Don King also had his hand in some of the 147 belts in the 90s and Forrest wasn’t with him.
Cheers. I figured, him not signing with any big promoter might've lead to him being sidelined, as rest of the guys fought "around him". Unfortunate.
Forrest was ranked in the top-10 as early as 1997 and he was Al Haymon's first fighter. He just had to look on from the sidelines because he didn't have the name nor an appealing enough style to entice the best to get in there with him early enough. He lost most of his best years waiting around and then, as is noted above, he suffered from injuries that hampered the rest of his career. It's too bad because I think he would have been competitive with anyone at the top from about 1997-2003.
Dangerous but also vulnerable when matched with the right style. His height, reach, power, and boxing skills was similar to Hearns, great jab and right hand. But like Hearns he can be pushed around when faced with a fighter that who wasn’t afraid of him. Still, a very hard fighter for anyone to deal with.
Wasn’t he with the Duva’’s too? They used to throw him on ESPN a lot. Boring style when fighting overmatched opponents though.
I never really appreciated him until he returned from his hiatus in 05. He was the real deal. To me, his losses made him more likable as a fighter (being human is marketable sometimes). He moved well, had great offense, knew when to be aggressive, and had some really cool subtle tricks. There are a lot of "what ifs" in his career because he missed a few good fights. Mayorga and injuries definitely threw a wrench in some tantalizing match-ups.
