this is close, quartey deserved to win their fight in '06 but was robbed. quartey's jab was great, one of the best i've ever seen. forrest was a very good fighter who had shane mosley's number as a amateur and a pro but i'll favor quartey in this matchup by dec. if quartey gets that decision vs de la hoya we're probably talking about him being in the hall.
Forrest was superior to Quartey, he had more weapons, better footwork and was an all around better boxer. He was never the same after his surgeries (after the 2nd Mayorga fight), but he was at his respective peak in 2002.
Its a tough 1, Quartey showed he was the technically better boxer with the superior defense and timing when they fought and won for me although it is closer than the robbery most paint it to be. However Forrest relied more on physical and was vastly removed from his physical best, when he seemed Hearnsesque in his prime So I think its a toss up and both men probably do better against different fighters. I think prime versions of both beat Delahoya, Trinidad and Mosley and both will end up rated below those men. Rankings are silly things really I remember when Oscar was facing Pacquaio while Forrest wanted the Delahoya fight he said 'can I fight Marquez', everyone laughed at the time
Really? I think Tito is suited to beat both of them down. To me there is a question mark about Forrest's durability in particular, even in his prime.
It's just so hard for me because i really liked prime Forrest, but it's not like he was putting extra emphasis on lateral movement or anything, and for me if you're wanting to beat a 147/154 Tito you're well advised to use lateral movement, which was his major glaring weakness, he never learned how to cut off the ring. That's why i see Ike as having zero chance, Ike would be too game for his own good imo, his jab is a potent weapon but he's walking into some of the heaviest artillery there's been at 147 pounds. Forrest would probably fare a bit better i'd think, but the fight wouldn't be as exciting, and as aforementioned, he's not exactly going to be running around the ring, he's more of a not so complete technician and i think we would see him stopped. Yourself?
Pretty much agree with all that, you've said it really well. I think Quartey was the more durable of the two, but the more likely to get hit, but I don't see either of Quartey or Forrest being able to take Tito's shots for 12 rounds, and they don't have the styles to avoid them either.
It's a tricky one. You've got Forrest with the better wins and Quartey with the better losses. I could easily see one of those "only in boxing" round robins where had they all fought, Forrest beats Mosley who beats Quartey who beats Forrest and Mayorga. Quartey's physicality plays big in a fight with Vernon, there's no way he gets outjabbed, and Vernon was a hell of a lot more effective coming forward behind that long jab and reach he had. I see Ike making him move backwards and using some surprisingly effective footwork to create punching angles. He made Oscar look silly in the middle of the ring more than a few times; he could have done the same with Forrest. Better all-around? Very close. Forrest had such a classic style when he was on. Quartey had a bad habit of fighting in bursts. But as much as I liked Forrest in the ring (and more importantly, outside) I can't get over the way he got run out of the ring by Mayorga. That just doesn't happen to a fighter like Quartey.
