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Doug Fischer-When Sergio Mora upset the heavily favored Vernon Forrest by majority decision in early June the unbeaten middleweight prospect-turned 154-pound title holder thought he had answered all of the questions his many critics had about his skill, class and heart.
However, going into his contractually mandated Sept. 13th rematch with Forrest, Mora is getting the feeling that he still has something to prove – to the odds-makers (who view the return bout as an even-money contest), to the fans and media (who believe he just got lucky in Connecticut, the night of June 7th), and to his 37-year-old opponent, who claims to have had an “off night”.
“I’m still not getting the respect I think I deserve,” Mora said during a national media conference call this past Tuesday, “especially after winning the first bout.
“I’m not sure why. People believe that I’ve had it easy for some reason, maybe because I was part of The Contender [the first season of the unscripted TV show], I don’t know, but I know there’s still a lot of skepticism towards me.
“I can’t get caught slipping going into this rematch, I have to win again, I have to look even better this time, and little by little change people’s minds.”
Perhaps a more decisive victory in a more entertaining scrap than the mainly tactical first fight – in the HBO Pay-Per-View televised co-feature to the Joel Casamayor-Juan Manuel Marquez lightweight showdown – will sway the non-believers.
“Maybe,” said Mora, who was as much as a 7-to-1 underdog going into the first bout with Forrest, “but there’s always going to be critics. I don’t care. I got the confirmation of my abilities when I beat Vernon the first time, and my opinion means a whole lot more than my critics.”
Most boxing writers I’ve talked to are picking Forrest to regain his title, either because they believe the veteran took Mora lightly going into the first fight (as they did) or because they’re buying the former champ’s excuse that he was over-trained.
Mora doesn’t believe that Forrest underestimated him and he’s as skeptical of the over-training theory as his critics are of his abilities.
“I don’t buy that he underestimated me,” he said. “We sparred before. He says he got the better of me, but I did well; it was even sparring, so he knew what to expect from me.
“Maybe he was over-trained, but if that was the case then why did he come in over-weight for the first fight? If you’ve over-trained shouldn’t you be UNDER-weight or at least AT weight?”
It doesn’t matter how Forrest, or others, rationalize his loss, Mora added, he expects the former two-division champ to come in harder and stronger for the rematch, which suits the young man, since he believes that he can start faster this time around.
Mora says an unexpectedly abbreviated co-feature [Paul Williams’ one-round blowout of Carlos Quintana] and one of Forrest’s co-trainers [Al Mitchell] insisting that he re-wrap his hands before the bout resulted in his being tight during the early rounds.
“I started slow because I had no warm-up time,” he said, “but I was still confident. I tasted his power early and I knew I could take it. By the fifth round I knew I could set the tempo.”
And that’s exactly what Mora did, stepping up the pace of the fight over the second half of the bout. Forrest, for whatever reason, wasn’t able to keep up. Forrest says this time will be different, which is fine with Mora.
“I didn’t give it all I had, either,” Mora said. “There are some tricks up my sleeve that I didn’t use in the first fight.”
The 27-year-old title holder says he learned a few new tricks while boxing, grappling and matching wits with Forrest for 12 rounds.
“I learned a lot,” Mora said, “a lot of the little dirty tactics and some good tactics, too.”
Mora believes the learning experience of the first fight along with the added confidence of being called “champ” and the quick turn around of the return bout (three months) will combine to help him put on the best performance of his career, and maybe even sway some of those lingering skeptics out there.
“This is one of the shortest breaks between fights in my pro career – except for when I was on The Contender, and if you noticed, I was very sharp during the show – so I’ve had no time to get out of shape or lose my focus and it’s going to show in my performance.”
Mora was asked if being mentioned as a possible opponent for Oscar De La Hoya’s final fight this December (should he beat Forrest) was on his mind.
“I’d be lying if I said it didn’t affect my concentration,” he said. “If De La Hoya looks in your direction you pay attention, but I can’t let it divert my focus on this fight.
“It could be a business ploy on his part. They could be using my name as a negotiating tool with Pacquiao’s people.”
You can question how good of a prize fighter Mora really is (for now), but you can’t deny that the young man is smart. Excerpt from Southern California by Doug Fischer
However, going into his contractually mandated Sept. 13th rematch with Forrest, Mora is getting the feeling that he still has something to prove – to the odds-makers (who view the return bout as an even-money contest), to the fans and media (who believe he just got lucky in Connecticut, the night of June 7th), and to his 37-year-old opponent, who claims to have had an “off night”.
“I’m still not getting the respect I think I deserve,” Mora said during a national media conference call this past Tuesday, “especially after winning the first bout.
“I’m not sure why. People believe that I’ve had it easy for some reason, maybe because I was part of The Contender [the first season of the unscripted TV show], I don’t know, but I know there’s still a lot of skepticism towards me.
“I can’t get caught slipping going into this rematch, I have to win again, I have to look even better this time, and little by little change people’s minds.”
Perhaps a more decisive victory in a more entertaining scrap than the mainly tactical first fight – in the HBO Pay-Per-View televised co-feature to the Joel Casamayor-Juan Manuel Marquez lightweight showdown – will sway the non-believers.
“Maybe,” said Mora, who was as much as a 7-to-1 underdog going into the first bout with Forrest, “but there’s always going to be critics. I don’t care. I got the confirmation of my abilities when I beat Vernon the first time, and my opinion means a whole lot more than my critics.”
Most boxing writers I’ve talked to are picking Forrest to regain his title, either because they believe the veteran took Mora lightly going into the first fight (as they did) or because they’re buying the former champ’s excuse that he was over-trained.
Mora doesn’t believe that Forrest underestimated him and he’s as skeptical of the over-training theory as his critics are of his abilities.
“I don’t buy that he underestimated me,” he said. “We sparred before. He says he got the better of me, but I did well; it was even sparring, so he knew what to expect from me.
“Maybe he was over-trained, but if that was the case then why did he come in over-weight for the first fight? If you’ve over-trained shouldn’t you be UNDER-weight or at least AT weight?”
It doesn’t matter how Forrest, or others, rationalize his loss, Mora added, he expects the former two-division champ to come in harder and stronger for the rematch, which suits the young man, since he believes that he can start faster this time around.
Mora says an unexpectedly abbreviated co-feature [Paul Williams’ one-round blowout of Carlos Quintana] and one of Forrest’s co-trainers [Al Mitchell] insisting that he re-wrap his hands before the bout resulted in his being tight during the early rounds.
“I started slow because I had no warm-up time,” he said, “but I was still confident. I tasted his power early and I knew I could take it. By the fifth round I knew I could set the tempo.”
And that’s exactly what Mora did, stepping up the pace of the fight over the second half of the bout. Forrest, for whatever reason, wasn’t able to keep up. Forrest says this time will be different, which is fine with Mora.
“I didn’t give it all I had, either,” Mora said. “There are some tricks up my sleeve that I didn’t use in the first fight.”
The 27-year-old title holder says he learned a few new tricks while boxing, grappling and matching wits with Forrest for 12 rounds.
“I learned a lot,” Mora said, “a lot of the little dirty tactics and some good tactics, too.”
Mora believes the learning experience of the first fight along with the added confidence of being called “champ” and the quick turn around of the return bout (three months) will combine to help him put on the best performance of his career, and maybe even sway some of those lingering skeptics out there.
“This is one of the shortest breaks between fights in my pro career – except for when I was on The Contender, and if you noticed, I was very sharp during the show – so I’ve had no time to get out of shape or lose my focus and it’s going to show in my performance.”
Mora was asked if being mentioned as a possible opponent for Oscar De La Hoya’s final fight this December (should he beat Forrest) was on his mind.
“I’d be lying if I said it didn’t affect my concentration,” he said. “If De La Hoya looks in your direction you pay attention, but I can’t let it divert my focus on this fight.
“It could be a business ploy on his part. They could be using my name as a negotiating tool with Pacquiao’s people.”
You can question how good of a prize fighter Mora really is (for now), but you can’t deny that the young man is smart. Excerpt from Southern California by Doug Fischer
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