by David P. Greisman
Sergio Mora had won the first season of boxing reality series/tournament “The Contender.” He’d gone on to beat Vernon Forrest for a world title at 154 pounds before losing it in the rematch.
The Forrest fights were in 2008. Mora recognizes his career has declined since then, and that so much of that has to do with a pay-per-view draw with Shane Mosley in 2010 that was far from aesthetically pleasing.
He also knows he needs to change fans’ minds.
“I’m going for knockouts now,” Mora, who is 26-3-2 with 9, told BoxingScene.com in late October. “I don’t want anybody — I don’t want no suits or no promoters or no fans saying, ‘Oh, this guy’s boring. This guy just boxes.’ You’re not going to have an excuse anymore. I’m going for knockouts. I’ve gotten two knockouts in my last three fights. That’s what I’m training towards. I’m setting my feet more. But with that, I’m also getting hit more. But hey, it’s either that or find another line of business.”
Mora said he wants fans to give him one more chance.
“I put a lot of bad taste in people’s mouths with that Shane Mosley performance. I’ve been pleading my case for the past four years, but people don’t want to hear that shit. They just want to see the goods,” he said. “I’ve been silently doing what I need to do, but once people have a negative reaction to the way you fought, it’s a very unforgiving sport.
“Having Jim Lampley sh*t on me on HBO is very tough. I think if I continue doing what I’m doing, winning silently, I’m bound to get one more chance. Once I get that big chance again, whether it’s a title fight or a title eliminator, I just need to shine and remind these people. Boxing’s a fickle sport, but I can remind them right away with one good win.”
Mora will be back on a Dec. 11 card in California. The ESPN2 part of the show will include Austin Trout and Chris Arreola in separate bouts. Also advertised for the card are fellow Al Haymon signees Oscar Escandon, Antonio Tarver, Rico Ramos, Edwin Rodriguez, Marcus Browne and Ahmed Elbiali.
Pick up a copy of David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsamazon or internationally at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsworldwide. Send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com