Mayorga
added the WBC crown to his WBA title when he knocked out and dethroned Forrest
on Jan. 25.Forrest became the talk of the town when he defeated the "all-mighty" Shane Mosley for a second time on July 20, 2002. He rose from a virtually unknown to one of the greatest fighters in boxing.
Awards and incentives like 'Fighter of the Year," and a lucrative fight contract with HBO were handed to Forrest. He went from rags to riches. Suddenly, every boxer's dream was realized by Forrest.
The question that looms now is this: Is Forrest genuine or did he simply have Mosley’s number?
When Junior Jones defeated Marco Barrera twice, did he receive a multi-million dollar contract? What about Frankie Randall, who handed the great Julio Chavez his first defeat? And although Chavez avenged the loss in a rematch, his revenge was only on paper. Anyone who saw the fight, clearly saw Randall winning. Again, no accolades, no million-dollar contract.
Right now, Forrest falls into this Jones-Randall category. And unless he can convincingly defeat Mayorga and prove to the world the first encounter was a fluke, he can consider all his awards, accolades and multi-million dollar HBO contract a big gift.
If Forrest loses to Mayorga a second time, he very well may go down in history as the fighter that fooled boxing’s hierarchy.
Forrest has elected to take the quiet side leading to this fight. He has missed and refused to attend any media promotional events. Being mum can mean he is solely concentrating on winning this fight and dedicating himself to training, or it can mean he is reserved and questions whether he can defeat Mayorga. One thing for certain, Forrest understands the significance of winning this fight.
Opposite of Forrest you have a confident Mayorga, attending all media and public functions. Mayorga is not only guaranteeing a win, he is saying he will knock Forrest out. Calling Forrest everything but a man, Mayorga shows little respect for the ex-champion.
Should Mayorga back up his words and defeat Forrest for a second time on Saturday, he may find himself in the limelight challenging the top gun, Oscar DeLaHoya. After all, DeLaHoya did say Mayorga would be an easy fight for him.
Two other world titles will be featured on the card as WBO junior-welterweight champion DeMarcus Corley defends against former IBF world champion Zab Judah. WBA super-welterweight champion Vivian Harris will defend against Souleymane M’Baye.