Edwin Valero Vernon Forest

[firecore]

These are names with unanswered questions that hopefully some people here know more about.

First, before Vernon Forest died he defeated mosley at a time when people were saying mosley was #1 pfp, and at his prime. Could this guy have made it to the top with that excellent jab?

Similar question about Valero. I only got to see his last fight before the tragedy, but if I recall he looked good even though cut, and had a good record. Not sure of his resume, if he defeated any "name" fighters.

[Weltschmerz]

Welcome aboard.

[Sugar Adam Ali]

These are names with unanswered questions that hopefully some people here know more about.

First, before Vernon Forest died he defeated mosley at a time when people were saying mosley was #1 pfp, and at his prime. Could this guy have made it to the top with that excellent jab?

Similar question about Valero. I only got to see his last fight before the tragedy, but if I recall he looked good even though cut, and had a good record. Not sure of his resume, if he defeated any "name" fighters.

Forrest IMO did reach the top,, Him beating shane twice, cemented his spot in the sport as the best welter and a true P4P guy..
He was destined to land big fights with oscar,judah, vargas and tito circa 03-05, but then Mayorga derailed Forrest twice and ruined his potential big fights.. and then injuries plagued him for about 3 or 4 years, and right as he was starting to make some waves at 154 he died tragically.... But safe to say that vernon forrest was much more proven and really just had nothing but bad luck after the shane wins...I do think he clearly lost to ike quartey but got a gift decision...

Edwin valero on the other hand, was very unproven, and accomplished nothing compared to forrest... Valero didnt even do as much as ike ibuebuchi did in the pros...
Valero may have been a great fighter, but we will never know.. Top Rank was building him up towards potential big money fights vs manny and jmm, but valero went crazy just as he was on the verge of actually landing decent fights...
From what i have seen of valero, no doubt he had a fighters mindset much like morales or manny, but he never proved his worth at the top level

[billeau2]

Forrest was a fantastic technician. He beat many and frankly? Along with how life manifested in the Universe, the greatest mystery to me is how Mayorga looked so damn good against Vernon only to become a second rate fighter....I mean Forrest had savy, a jab, skills, He beat Shane, etc. You can't compare Valero....Forrest was feeding on some of the top talent in what was by far and wide, the most talent ladden division(s) in boxing at the time...And yeah he got a gift against Quartey but we all get a gift now and then.

[Sugar Adam Ali]

Forrest was a fantastic technician. He beat many and frankly? Along with how life manifested in the Universe, the greatest mystery to me is how Mayorga looked so damn good against Vernon only to become a second rate fighter....I mean Forrest had savy, a jab, skills, He beat Shane, etc. You can't compare Valero....Forrest was feeding on some of the top talent in what was by far and wide, the most talent ladden division(s) in boxing at the time...And yeah he got a gift against Quartey but we all get a gift now and then.

To be fair to mayorga,, he was a monster at welter, and higher in weight he didnt keep his explosive power...
But mayorga only lost to the very best,, I thought he did enough to beat spinks, but the point deductions screwed him,, oscar and tito are great fighters, so mayorga was alittle outgunned... Mayorga proved to me that he was a good fighter by hanging tough with shane and cotto, and i actually had him up or very close prior to the stoppages, and both cotto and shane would go one to win titles... Loved it when mayorga beat vargas in his farewell fight.

[firecore]

Welcome aboard.

Thanks.

Great replies. I forgot Mayorga beat Forrest so maybe he just had Shane's number. Didn't know he fought Quartey, but I did see Quartey's fight with Oscar. Seemed like that was one of Oscar's last competitive performances.

[billeau2]

To be fair to mayorga,, he was a monster at welter, and higher in weight he didnt keep his explosive power...
But mayorga only lost to the very best,, I thought he did enough to beat spinks, but the point deductions screwed him,, oscar and tito are great fighters, so mayorga was alittle outgunned... Mayorga proved to me that he was a good fighter by hanging tough with shane and cotto, and i actually had him up or very close prior to the stoppages, and both cotto and shane would go one to win titles... Loved it when mayorga beat vargas in his farewell fight.

Mayorga is one of my favorite fighters....Just saying i mean he took Vernon to Daddy daycare.

[atomicsad]

Forrest would expose Valero. Valero was nothing more than a untested puncher.

[Scott9945]

Forrest would expose Valero. Valero was nothing more than a untested puncher.

I'm pretty sure this thread isn't about who would win between the two, as they were in entirely different weight classes.

[soul_survivor]

Valero was far too untested as pretty much everyone has mentioned.

Forrest on the other hand managed to beat one of the best welters on the planet and look good doing it. People tend to forget that he had some good wins before that too, against guys like Phillips. The Mosley win was his peak, physically and career wise, sadly though, he didn't quite go further, Mayorga was too much for him and at light middle he beat some good names but there wasnt anything special left in the tank.

Why? Was it a lack of focus? The injuries? Who knows.

Valero's potential is what I miss the most though, he was a mans fighter and would have stacked up well with Manny, JMM, possibly guys at 140 too.

At least we got to see glimpses of Forrests brilliance.