Vernon Forrest: Rebuilding on his
 own terms

By Jake Donovan
Fightbeat President

Never underestimate the heart of a champion. It’s a simple phrase which is one of the most often used throughout the boxing industry. As often as it is used, its message is still misunderstood.

Case in point: the return of Vernon Forrest.

The knock on Forrest (36-2, 27KO) during his welterweight run was that not only was he high-risk, low-to-moderate reward, but that he was supposedly “not fit for prime time.” That is to say, he was too much boxer, and not enough of a face-first brawler.

Those who believed that must have been kicking themselves in the butt after Vernon returned to the ring this past July following a two-year absence. No, his second-round knockout of Sergio Rios isn’t exactly grounds for a return to the pound-for-pound rankings. What it did represent was the return of a former champion determined to reclaim his past glory – on his terms.

“As far as promoters go, I’m independent now,” says Forrest. “I have a good working relationship with a few, but I’m enjoying my independence right now and intend to keep things that way for a while.”

He gets to enjoy a one-fight relationship with Goossen-Tutor Promotions this week, as he headlines the latest boxing installment of The Best Damn Sports Show, Period (versus Elco Garcia (18-3, 8KO), Friday 8PM ET, FoxSports). The fight is Vernon’s second in his comeback, having returned this past July after a two-year layoff. In addition to twice losing to Ricardo Mayorga in 2003, Forrest also lost his world welterweight title, pound-for-pound consideration, and his old promoter. Main Events released him shortly after his losses after having dragged their feet for years in securing Vernon meaningful fights.

Though Forrest would rather remain undefeated and still on top of the world, he believes the chain events to be a blessing in disguise.

“It was frustrating fighting for (Main Events),” admits Forrest. “It’s one thing when you have a fighter with no confidence. It’s not that difficult to find ways to motivate your fighter, and I certainly never needed too much motivation to get going. But when you have no confidence in your fighter, then the fighter senses it and feeds off of it. Main Events never believed in me, and that made it frustrating for me for so long. It’s much easier for me now, working with a team that I can trust one-hundred percent.”

Key to his team would be his manager, Al Haymon, who enjoys a cozy relationship with all of the right people. First and foremost, with HBO, whom Forrest still remains as a house fighter. In fact, Forrest nearly passed on this weekend’s fight, for fear that it would affect his relationship with HBO. He already has a date lined up on December 3, beneath the HBO PPV under card headlined by the rematch between Jermain Taylor and Bernard Hopkins.

He also had a date lined up on the October 1 PPV card featuring the rubber match between Antonio Tarver and Roy Jones Jr. Tarver felt more secure taking that fight than taking a FoxSports fight three weeks later, since HBO was obviously involved with the PPV. But a recurring shoulder injury forced him to decline the card. He informed his handlers that if nothing else was available, he’d be ready to go. Haymon assured him that such was not necessary, that he’d have something else lined up. Days later, he stayed true to his word, much as he has the moment Vernon hooked up with him.

“Obviously, someone in Al Haymon’s position will surely have his share of retractors,” says Forrest. “Believe me, there isn’t a person in this industry who has never had a bad spoken word against them. But Al’s always done right by me, and he’s keeping me busy. I told him that my shoulder was alright enough to fight on October 1. He said, “Don’t sweat it, we’ll get you on FoxSports three weeks later.” I was worried that HBO wouldn’t be happy with that, but Al assured me that all of that was discussed in advance.

“I’m glad to be fighting on FoxSports. Don’t get me wrong, the spot on Bernard’s two PPV cards (in July, and upcoming in December) are nice, but they’re only one and done. FoxSports runs their spots like twenty times a month. That means I’ll be seen that night and often afterward.”

Exposure is exactly what the doctor ordered for a fighter who has hardly been seen in this millennium. Dating back to the first of two fights with Raul Frank, Forrest has appeared in the ring a grand total of eight times in the past five years. Granted, two years were lost to injuries, promotional and managerial changes. But 2005 represents a rebirth for Forrest, as he gets to return to the level of activity which made him a happy camper while climbing up the rankings.

“Sure, it’s difficult to adjust to not fighting in mega-fights,” admits Forrest. “But this is what my career needs. There’s a big difference between taking fights like this because you want to and because you have to. If I had to take these fights, then I’d be resistant and nowhere near as effective. But this is the path I WANT to take – I want to fight every two or three months until my timing is 100% back.

“The caliber of competition may not be there, or at least where it was 2-3 years ago. But the training and preparation is higher than it’s ever been. My goal is to recapture my status as THE world champion of my division. In order to do that, I need to rebuild the RIGHT way, not just go for broke and hope that one fight does the trick. I’m sure that’s what some people want me to do, but I’m doing things my way. So far, the fans are cool with it, they’re patient. That’s how I intend to remain.”

He doesn’t intend to remain on the “comeback” level for long; just long enough to get his groove back. Once Forrest is back in full form, he will then set his sights on reclaiming world championship and pound-for-pound status. The question is, where and with whom?

“Right now, I’m liking the way I feel at ’54, and haven’t ruled out a move up to 160. 154 is wide open right now, and 160 is fitting to have a major facelift as soon as Bernard steps away from the ring for good. But regardless of where I wind up, I’ll be there with the same team I have now. Like I said before, I’m liking my independence. You may not have as much protection, but I’ve come to realize that I don’t need to be married to a major promoter to line up marquis fights. Every time a major fight is discussed from ’47 to ‘60, my name is always mentioned. Promoters know this, and as long as I remain in their good graces, we can do business.

“The only difference is, I’m handling my own business - both in and out of the ring.”

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