-Photo Credit: Jose Hernandez/BRC-

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with The Contender Season One Champion and upcoming World Title challenger, ‘The Latin Snake’ Sergio Mora. This Saturday, June 7th, Mora will face Vernon ‘The Viper’ Forrest  for the WBC Jr. Middleweight title in the biggest challenge of his career to date.

The undefeated Mora, who brings in a record of twenty victories with one draw into this weekend's battle with Forrest, hopes to become the first world champion from “The Contender” series. Peter Manfredo Jr. and Alfonso Gomez fell short in their quest for boxing supremacy. Mora took a lot of criticism for opting out of a fight with Jermain Taylor and in this interview he explains in great detail why he did not take the Taylor fight.

Sergio Mora vs. Vernon Forrest can be seen live this Saturday on Showtime and on the Fight Network in Canada. I would like to thank Sergio Mora for taking the time to speak with BRC and to Vanessa Ballesteros for making this interview possible.

BRC: First off, thank you for taking time from your busy schedule to do this interview.  

MORA: How’s it going, Ed?   

BRC: I’m doing very well and looking forward to the fight. It’s great the fans in Canada will be able to get to see it. 

MORA: That’s great to hear. I fought in Canada before, as an amateur in Regina, Saskatchewan. It’s a very nice city and I remember being nineteen and legal age. That is one of the many good memories I have.  

BRC: How is training camp going in preparation for Saturday’s fight? 

MORA: I’ve been training for about ten weeks and I feel good, man. I have been injury free and in previous camps I haven’t been as fortunate, but this time everything is great and I feel very motivated.

BRC: Your thoughts on Vernon Forrest and your big opportunity? 

MORA: Well, Vernon Forrest has always been one of those guys avoided as a fighter because of his ability and skill. He is also a confident fighter, very aggressive and even more so now. You always have to watch out and be focused because he controls the pace and is an intimidating figure. I’m ready, this is a big fight for me, not just a paycheck. I’ve never been this ready in my life and this is not just an opportunity to fight for a title, because if that was the case, I would have taken the Jermain Taylor fight.

BRC: What really went down with the fallout of the Taylor fight? 

MORA: As a team we felt that that if we go to Memphis that we were not going to get a fair shake and that fight was originally planned for Los Angeles and Las Vegas and then they switched it to Miami and San Antonio and eventually New York. We felt that we were mislead and weren’t going to get a fair shake like I said then Cory Spinks has a hell of a fight with Taylor and I thought he won that fight. You never really heard much about Cory after that loss and it was like there you go, close fight and that’s that. The same thing would have happened to me if I lost and I would have been pushed aside. To me it’s about longevity and I have been fighting for a long time and most people know me from “The Contender” and feel that my opportunity came from the show and they may be right. I’ve worked hard and I am ready to be a champion. This fight there is no politics involved like in Memphis and it will be skill vs. skill with the better man winning.

BRC: How are you mentally going into this fight? Forrest is getting older and has had shoulder problems in the past. 

MORA: I am thinking of the Vernon Forrest that fought Shane Mosley when they were at their peak. I’m thinking of the worst possible opponent I could have and that’s the guy I trained for and that I’ll be fighting on Saturday. No matter how good Vernon Forrest is that day or that night, I’m ready for what he has to offer. This fight will be about character and obviously experience, and tools are on his side and I have my own attributes such as speed and movement. Whomever can deal will the battle of attrition will win.

BRC: Back to Jermain Taylor for a minute, I have noticed that fighters who lose a fight or two when they have no weight issues decide to jump up in weight. Do you think it’s more of a mental thing for Taylor than a physical one? 

MORA: It’s 100% mental as to why he is making this move. At the start of my pro career I would have never in a million years thought that I would be fighting as a Jr. Middleweight but after my two disappointing fights against Elvin Ayala then my last fight in January against Rito Ruvalcaba where I had a torn tendon in my thumb I was really depressed even though one fight was a draw and the other was a stoppage win. I needed this fight coming up without thinking twice. I’m going to work hard; I’m healthy and strong and the mind is a powerful thing, as cliché as that may sound, but it’s true. I think when you lose when you're on HBO and you get all this praise and you get beat like Taylor did and get knocked out... fuck man, I could not imagine the mental pressures and anguish that goes with that. I’ve never been knocked out but it takes a lot of character to come back from something like that.

BRC: With a win on Saturday have you given any thought about what you are going to do after that? 

MORA: I’m a big wonderer, a big story teller even when I was a kid, and I’ve always aspired to do big things and what I’m going to do with the fight, well, I’m just concentrating on Vernon and I’m thinking about that pretty green belt around my waist and talking to the Showtime guys about my future and telling them that I’m ready for anyone that makes sense. Oscar De La Hoya is the man at Jr. Middleweight. Fighting him in Los Angeles and having it being his last fight, I would love it, if not then a move back to Middleweight and possibly shoot for Kelly Pavlik.

BRC: Do you remain in contact with anyone from The Contender show? 

MORA: I talk to them but I’ve never really been friends with anyone. We were all competing against each other but I do talk to Alfonso Gomez, Miguel Espino, Tarick Salmaci and Jesse Brinkley on occasion; so, yea, I do keep in touch with them. Usually an email or a phone call now and then.

BRC: On the show who would you say was your biggest rival in and out of the ring? The TV audience only saw so much but you were there living it 24/7. 

MORA: The biggest rival was Najai Turpin, my first fight to tell you the truth because he was the only fighter on that show who thought and wanted to beat me; whereas the other guys were beat before or didn’t take me seriously and lost. Najai had 100% grit, determination and a real will to win and that was my toughest fight. As for out of the ring adversary I would say it was Ishe Smith as he was the most accomplished and most respected. Everyone knew he was the guy to beat.  

BRC: Speaking of Ishe, I find many people have misconceptions about him and who he is. As for me, I’ve known him a long time and he is without a doubt one of the nicest people you will ever meet. Following his loss to Joel Julio recently we sat down after the fight and talked for awhile and he had nothing bad to say about Julio and I told him that almost everyone I talked with following the decision thought he won. I know it’s probably little consolation but it meant something to him.

MORA: I thought he won. 

BRC: Did you really? 

MORA: I had Ishe winning by two rounds. It was close but you can’t really argue the decision. Ishe looked great in losing and the only problem was the fact he can’t afford to lose those close decisions and with that being said I thought he looked great in losing and he fought a good fight. It was also the best Julio fight I have seen.

BRC: At what age did you first pick up the gloves? 

MORA: I first picked up the gloves and started boxing when I was thirteen. I was messing around at barbecues and messing around with my friends and then started as an amateur just before I turned sixteen so I started pretty late and I went pro after forty some odd fights. I had the experience in many national tournaments and often beat many of the best in a three year amateur career. I am taking my time as a professional as well because I don’t want to rush things and I want to develop properly but right now I’m twenty seven, I feel great and I’m ready to become a champ.

BRC: Some word association for you so I’m going to give you a few names and you tell me what you think. First one, Joel Julio? 

MORA: The best I’ve ever seen him fight was against Ishe Smith. He’s someone you need to watch out for and he’s actually more than just a puncher as you saw him box against Ishe. He’s a hell of a boxer and he impresses the hell out of me and has a real future.

BRC: James Kirkland? 

MORA: I’ve had Kirkland and Alfredo Angulo in camp before when I was getting ready for Kassim Ouma. We were killing each other sparring and I think Kirkland’s only weakness is that he is too tough, other than that he’s the total package.

BRC: Joachim Alcine? 

MORA: I’ve only seen him fight once against Travis Simms and he’s one of those guys that has a problem a lot of fighters have and that is not being well known, but he seems like a hell of a fighter. He will have to beat someone to make himself known but I do like what I saw and he is very confident.

BRC: What do you enjoy doing in your spare time? 

MORA: A big hobby of mine in the past was art and literature but I haven’t been reading as much as I like to so now it’s movies. I’m watching at least two movies a day and I can watch the same ones over and over. Movies and poker is my thing right now.

BRC: Any comments for your fans reading this interview? 

MORA: I haven’t disappeared and I just need one big win to be back on top. I know some fans are fickle but the real fans and the real people who care about my career know I’m barely getting my career started and I just want to say thank you to all of you.

BRC: Sergio, thanks so much for your time. 

MORA: God Bless Ed, alright my man thank you.

For more information please visit http://www.tournamentofcontenders.com/

Questions/Comments email Ed Ludwig at westcoastboxing@yahoo.ca

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