Best Quote of the Night: "Boy, you sign those big contracts, and the last thing on your mind is that you gotta fight for the money" ... "Big" George Foreman
Vernon Forrest earned the WBC hardware by beating -not once, but twice- then champion Shane Mosley back in January and July of 2002, respectively. Ricardo Mayorga arrived in the championship scene when he starched and ironed all six of Andrew Lewis' heads to claim the WBA belt back in March of last year.
The so called experts gave the Nicaraguan rebel very little chance against the more refined stylist with a "chin" in Vernon Forrest. Hmmm... have you noticed how often the "experts" are proven wrong? Is boxing a humbling sport or what? It took "El Matador" three rounds to totally conquer and dominate Vernon Forrest, improving his stats to 25-3-1, 23 via the short route, while "The Viper" lost his perfect record, dropping to 35-1, 26 KOs.
Yesterday we stole a few minutes of the new undisputed champion's time while he was preparing to return to his homeland. He graciously shared his thoughts with us, and this is what we talked about...
MAYORGA: Well, I have always said that I am not afraid of anyone, I don't have respect for any opponent,I know who I can knock out and in how many rounds. I said that it would take me 7 to get rid of Forrest because I wanted to have some spare room, just in case. One thing was clear, I knew that I would take him out, that's why I called him a puppet and a clown; I know the type of skills and power that I have.
MAYORGA: I said that his hair was hard, because when he laid his head on my chest he scratched me with his hair, the braids he had. That's what I told my trainer when I returned to the corner.
MAYORGA: Yes, sure, but I knew he was afraid of me before we even entered the ring. That's why when we were going to get in the ring I opened the ropes for him and told him: "go ahead, champion, it won't be long before I beat you."
MAYORGA: Oh yeah, sure it was a knockdown. I put him down with a left cross. It was a clean shot and a clean knockdown.
MAYORGA: I think that Forrest's corner was not very professional, they lacked professionalism when they made that statement... supposedly trainers with experience and they lacked professionalism. How are they going to tell him to establish respect with me when they had to know that I was the stronger of the two, and the harder puncher?
MAYORGA: As you said it, that's just how it was. A lot of people practice boxing but it's not everybody that has the qualities, the artisan-like ability to do their job properly. I am a real fighter, very courageous and brave, I have no respect for any man. To be honest with you, Forrest lacked valor, he lacked gall. He was afraid of me before we even started to trade shots; days before the fight, back in the hotel, I could see he was scared of me, and I think that when a fighter is afraid, he is totally lost and at a great disadvantage.
MAYORGA: That's right, I said that. I was trying to tell him that he was going to fight a MAN, because he had never fought a man who could beat him up before he fought me.
MAYORGA: No, it wouldn't have been different, it would have been my fight to win no matter what. I've always said that I am the captain of my boat, I am the one steering it. When a jockey rides a horse, the horse goes as fast as the jockey wants him to go. I was going to control the fight, I was going to make him box or brawl with me...
MAYORGA: That's right, because we studied the guy, we knew that he bent down a lot and if I threw straight rights he was going to be able to counter me, so if I threw the punches the way that I did, even if he did bend down I was going to catch him to the head or to the body, I wasn't going to miss.
MAYORGA: The truth is that he hit me very hard, but not hard enough to daze me or make me lose control, least of all knock me down or out. That's why I called him a puppet and a clown, because I knew that he didn't have the qualities necessary to beat me, by decision or least of all by way of a knockout.
MAYORGA: Well, you could see in his eyes that he was dazed, stunned, loss, he was out on his feet. Anybody that says the referee only counted to two, ask them to watch the video of the fight because the ref counted through 8, he didn't count 9 because he was waving his finger in front of Forrest's face, trying to get him to follow the finger with his eyes. He didn't raise his hands, never put up his gloves, so....
A lot of people are saying that the fight was stopped too soon, that Vernon Forrest lost to the referee. Forrest didn't lose to the referee, Vernon Forrest lost because he got hit by a man called Ricardo Mayorga, nicknamed "El Matador," who happens to be a good champion, you understand? If he was better than me, he would have found a way to hit me and beat me.
MAYORGA: Absolutely, yes, yes... If the ref had said "box" Forrest would have went down in less than seven seconds, because if I had hit him a couple more times, it would have been the end of him...
MAYORGA: Well, that's my promoter's business to take care of, Mr. Don King, but if in fact there is such a clause, you are giving me a bit of news that is making me very happy. You know what they say, after you enjoy eating a meal, and you are offered that meal again, you will surely eat it again. So, if my promoter says, "look champ, you have to fight him again," well, I am going to have a good laugh, because I am going to enjoy eating that meal one more time.
MAYORGA: The truth is that it didn't matter to me. What matters to me is that everybody is clear as to who the champion is. It matters to me that I am clear with my promoter's company, Don King Productions, clear with my family and my fans who believe in me. But I'll tell you this, if they (HBO) felt that I didn't deserve to be on that poster, then I have demonstrated to them that I am very worthy of being there. Well, okay, I believe that having won this fight earned me that right.
Elisa, I would like to ask you to give me an opportunity to send a message to Vernon Forrest. Vernon, I want you to take a couple of months off, I want you to train real hard and when you feel that you are in optimum condition, I want you to ask for the rematch, I am going to be the number one.
MAYORGA: I am a fighter and I fight with whomever, as long as they pay me, I will fight anybody. I'm a welterweight, 147 lbs. and if they tell me let's fight Tyson, I would say, well, come on, let's fight Tyson...
MAYORGA: Yes I would. I sincerely want to thank all the American fans, the Latino fans, I want to tell you all that I love you very much. Thanks for having had confidence in me; for giving me your time, when you listened to me on the radio or when you watched me on TV. Here I am demonstrating that I am a people's champion, a champion of all the people who have believed in me, those who stood by me when told "he won't win" and they shot back, "no, he won't LOSE." I feel that with this win I have validated all who put their trust in me.
HBO Boxing lived up to expectation -once again- when it brought us a hellacious double header this past Saturday, January 25, from the Pechanga Resort in Temacula, California. The main event was a unification bout in the welterweight division between stylist and Shane Mosley's executioner, Vernon "The Viper" Forrest and Ricardo "El Matador" Mayorga, for the chance to claim undisputed rights to the 147 lbs. division.
BRC: Champ, congratulations! You put on one heck of a show, a stellar performance. How do you feel? What was it like being in the ring with Vernon Forrest?
BRC: I would like to clarify something that has been reported. When you returned to your corner after the first round, with the mouthpiece still in place, you said something to your trainer which has been reported as: 1) 'That Negro hits hard,' or 2) 'That Negro's hair is hard." Can you please tell me what did you say?
BRC: I've looked at quite a few pictures of your fight, in particular shots of the third round knockdown. It looks in the pictures as though Forrest's eyes, his whole expression, was that of panic. Is that what you saw?
BRC: The knockdown in the first round, was it a clean knockdown? Some say it wasn't, give me your take on it.
BRC: Okay, in between the first and second rounds, Forrest's trainer (Ronnie Shields) told him to dig to your body, to establish his respect. Good advice or bad advice?
BRC: Ricardo, is it possible that they didn't do their homework? They didn't study your motivation, your boxing, your determination and your hunger. It seems like they never thought that you had the ability to knock out their man. Do you agree with me on that?
BRC: You made an interesting comment about women in your country giving birth to MEN... What message were you trying to convey when you said that?
BRC: Do you think that if Vernon Forrest had boxed you, had stayed outside of your power zone and your reach, the outcome of the fight might have been different?
BRC: The rights that you threw at Forrest in the third round... It looked as though you were hitting him with an ax the way you were delivering the punches...
BRC: Forrest hit you with a few rocks of his own in the first round. Did you feel the shots? Were you hurt by any of them?
BRC: Vernon Forrest has made statements complaining that the referee only counted to two before stopping the fight. From what I could see that was not the case, because actually he was trying to spit out his mouthpiece while the referee was counting, which is not a good indication that a guy wants to continue. Tell me what you saw in the ring...
BRC: I think that if the fight had not been stopped when it was, you would have hurt Forrest. Agree?
BRC: In a post fight interview Vernon said that there is a rematch clause in your contract. True?
BRC: Ricardo, allow me to make a comment about something that really bothered me. HBO's poster for this fight showed Vernon Forrest wearing viper skin gloves, solo, no picture of you was displayed on the poster. I saw that as being disrespectful to you, because you brought a belt to the table too, and Vernon wasn't going to fight himself. Did you care anything about that?
BRC: Besides the possibility of a rubber match with Forrest, you may be interested in taking on the winner of Corey Spinks - Michele Piccirillo for the IBF belt. Your thoughts?
BRC: Would you like to send a message to the fans?
On that note we concluded our interview with "El Matador" Mayorga. We want to thank Félix "Tuto" Zabala, Jr., Director of Boxing Operations for Don King Productions, for making this interview possible. As for you, champion, we extend our heartfelt congratulations in a very impressive win, and we hope to see you back in Miami very soon.
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