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By Steve Kim - 'AND NEEWWWWW!!!'....
Those were the two words that had Sergio Mora transfixed before his challenge of WBC jr. middleweight titlist Vernon Forrest. He had put up various reminders of it leading up to his bout last weekend at the Mohegan Sun Arena, and in his dressing quarters Mora had even put up a sign with the two words every challenger yearns to hear at the end of a fight.
So after taking control of the second half of his bout with Forrest, Mora had put himself in position to win his first major world title. Fighting with more energy and verve than the 38-year old Forrest, and slowing him down with a series of well-placed body blows, it looked like he had done more than enough to win.
As the final bell would sound and a weary Forrest trudged back to his corner, Mora would taunt the fighter that was so disrespectful and dismissive of him in the lead up to this fight. "AND NEW!!! AND NEW!!!" he would scream in Forrest's direction, who really didn't have much to say in response.
As the scores were read (114-114,116-112,115-113), Mora would hear those elusive words...
'AND NEEEWWW!!!!....'
Several days after his upset victory, it still hadn't hit 'the Latin Snake'.
"My brother keeps asking me that. It hasn't soaked in, it hasn't hit me yet," Mora would say this Tuesday afternoon inside the offices of his gym in Montebello, California. "About the only thing that's different now, strangers are calling me 'champ' and congratulating me and telling me I fought a great, smart fight. It hasn't soaked in yet."
Three years ago, Mora would win the initial season of 'The Contender'. Back then it was aired on NBC and came with a million dollar grand prize. This victory came on Showtime for considerably less money - but more respect within the boxing industry.
So what's bigger?
"That's a difficult question," admits Mora, "but I would have to say 'The Contender' title, honestly. Because that was like my Olympics. You ask a current champion that also won the gold medal, they always say the gold medal. So I think it's similar. It was the first time you ever received accolades and that attention, and in the scope of things, it was just better." [details]
Those were the two words that had Sergio Mora transfixed before his challenge of WBC jr. middleweight titlist Vernon Forrest. He had put up various reminders of it leading up to his bout last weekend at the Mohegan Sun Arena, and in his dressing quarters Mora had even put up a sign with the two words every challenger yearns to hear at the end of a fight.
So after taking control of the second half of his bout with Forrest, Mora had put himself in position to win his first major world title. Fighting with more energy and verve than the 38-year old Forrest, and slowing him down with a series of well-placed body blows, it looked like he had done more than enough to win.
As the final bell would sound and a weary Forrest trudged back to his corner, Mora would taunt the fighter that was so disrespectful and dismissive of him in the lead up to this fight. "AND NEW!!! AND NEW!!!" he would scream in Forrest's direction, who really didn't have much to say in response.
As the scores were read (114-114,116-112,115-113), Mora would hear those elusive words...
'AND NEEEWWW!!!!....'
Several days after his upset victory, it still hadn't hit 'the Latin Snake'.
"My brother keeps asking me that. It hasn't soaked in, it hasn't hit me yet," Mora would say this Tuesday afternoon inside the offices of his gym in Montebello, California. "About the only thing that's different now, strangers are calling me 'champ' and congratulating me and telling me I fought a great, smart fight. It hasn't soaked in yet."
Three years ago, Mora would win the initial season of 'The Contender'. Back then it was aired on NBC and came with a million dollar grand prize. This victory came on Showtime for considerably less money - but more respect within the boxing industry.
So what's bigger?
"That's a difficult question," admits Mora, "but I would have to say 'The Contender' title, honestly. Because that was like my Olympics. You ask a current champion that also won the gold medal, they always say the gold medal. So I think it's similar. It was the first time you ever received accolades and that attention, and in the scope of things, it was just better." [details]
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