How good was Vernon Forrest and what stopped him from being great?

[FrankJack]

From what I know of Forrest, he was a pretty good amateur and had a lot of skills as a professional. His two victories over Moseley when he was considered 1 or 2 p4p was also impressive. But, for all of his ability, it seems that his career should have gone so much farther than it did before his life was cut short.

[Sugar Adam Ali]

He was a really really good fighter,, not quite at ATG level with hearns, leonard, pernell,, But a great fighter of his era.. Really good jab and fundamentals.. Would be a tough out for anyone, any era...

Things that held him back:

1. Didnt have the hype of oscar, roy, vargas, shane, tito, etc was more like a winky or andre ward that just kept winning

2. Did reach the pinnacle of the sport by beating mosely twice, and was set to have big fights possibly with oscar, vargas, judah, etc but mayorga derailed the train in his first fight after the mosely wins... Then losing the rematch and he kinda had to start all over

3. Injuries- from 04-07 really battled injuries that made him miss some good fights

4.Untimely Death- He was a champion at 154 when he died, He just couldnt stay active, and secure big fights and the mora loss n win kinda set him back, but no doubt had he lived we would have seen forrest vs young canelo, angulo, serg, pwill, margarito, cotto,, and he probably missed on some more top level wins when you consider the time lost to injuries and death

Very good fighter and one of the top 10 welters of the past generation

[FrankJack]

Nice response and very in depth, Sugar Adam Ali. Do you think history will remember him as you described? Or will this only be recognized by the few who really follow the history in depth?

[soul_survivor]

Nice response and very in depth, Sugar Adam Ali. Do you think history will remember him as you described? Or will this only be recognized by the few who really follow the history in depth?

Only people who really follow the sport and were following it at the time will remember him, but even we will remember him more for "what if..." than what he accomplished.

His only exceptional win was a prime Mosley but the Mayorga fights set him back, the injuries kept him out of the game for so long and then BANG, he was dead. Unfulfilled potential in every sense of the word :/

[jas]

A warrior. Avenged his loss vs mora when people were counting him out.

Al haymon and Sam Watson's first fighter and the fighter who they acredit their own careers to.

[Public_Enemy]

Forrest was a very underrated fighter. People forget that he was avoided and it was difficult for him to get big fights at WW. He was so tall and rangy at that weight. Forrest made his living off the jab and overhand right. He also had a good uppercut and underrated body attack.

I'm surprised Shane even fought him after beating DLH. It was a bad style matchup for Shane (Forrest beat him in the Olympic trials when they were amateurs). I've never seen Mosley that hurt. Forrest almost had him out in the 2nd round and he landed some savage body punches late in that fight. He was underrated in that area.

Forrest's encounters with Mayorga derailed all his momentum from the Mosley fights(first fight of his HBO deal). I would've never fathomed him losing those fights. Mayorga's unorthodox style was too much. He was able to draw Forrest into a brawl and the rest is history.

His career is filled of what ifs. He had many injuries that led to long periods of inactivity. Plus he wasn't able to get many big fights.

[Scott9945]

Except for the Mosley wins (and their 2nd fight stunk), Forrest's resume is crap. But I have to concede that he would have been a difficult matchup for some welters of much higher repute.

[Sugar Adam Ali]

Nice response and very in depth, Sugar Adam Ali. Do you think history will remember him as you described? Or will this only be recognized by the few who really follow the history in depth?

I think he will be a fighter that gets forgotten in time, only remembered by hardcore fans much like how casual and mainstream always bring up Duran Leonard hagler and Benitez kinda gets overlooked.. Same thing as people will talk about Vargas Oscar, Tito, Shane and Forrest doesn't get mentioned a lot. same thing with mike mccallum, he kinda gets forgotten as well

[El Jesus]

Forrest had a lot of fighters duck him until his injuries began to take its toll around 2001. When Mayorga beat him I remember steward saying he couldn't even life hisngymbag. He avenged the mora loss and sadly couldn't stay healthy enough to fight frequently. I could see him fighting guys like Alvarez cotto and ggg if he could have lasted a bit longer.

He's also one of the guys active I saw that could gave Floyd a run for his money for sure

[Kiddoe]

I still remember him demolishing Mosley in his prime... Matter of fact I need to list that under the "which big fight were you totally wrong on" topic. I believe Vernon had ATG talent, if only his prime health could have been sustained for a longer duration. He had the size, speed, reach, viscious power, awareness...