FORREST GETS POUNDED MAYORGA SCORES SHOCKING THIRD-ROUND KNOCKOUT.Byline: Michael Rosenthal Assistant Sports Editor Noun 1. sports editor - the newspaper editor responsible for sports news newspaper editor - the editor of a newspaper TEMECULA - Ricardo Mayorga Ricardo Mayorga (born October 3, 1973 in Managua, Nicaragua), He is the former WBA/WBC Welterweight champion and the former WBC Junior Middleweight champion. He holds a fair record of 28-6 with 23 knockouts and 1 draw. took more than a dozen vicious punches to his face from one of the most-powerful fighters in the world and didn't flinch. The brash, supremely confident Nicaraguan merely nodded his head and asked for more. It was clear then that Vernon Forrest Vernon Forrest, nicknamed "The Viper", is a professional boxer. He was born in Augusta, Georgia on January 12, 1971. He is mostly known for his two fights with Shane Mosley. Early Years & Amateur Career Vernon began his amateur career at the age of 9. was in serious trouble. Mayorga, a 6-1 underdog, then did the unthinkable: He knocked out the previously unbeaten Forrest with one punch at 2:06 of the third round Saturday at Pechanga Resort & Casino to unify two welterweight titles and instantly establish himself as a major player in the sport. Forrest (35-1, with 26 knockouts) was coming off two sensational victories over Shane Mosley "Sugar" Shane Mosley (born September 7, 1971) is a boxer from Pomona, California. He has won world titles in three weight divisions and is the only boxer to date to have beaten Oscar de la Hoya twice. and seemed almost invincible. ``I don't have a beautiful style,'' said Mayorga (23-3-1, 21 KOs). ``But I have strength and I have power. When I hit him with my right, I knew he was going down. In my country, women give birth to men.'' Mayorga came into the fight with the reputation of a wild-punching brawler with immense power but limited boxing skills. His best chance against the slicker, quicker Forrest was to lure him into a give-and-take fight, and that's exactly what he did. Forrest went down late in the first round from an overhand o·ver·hand also o·ver·hand·ed adj. 1. Executed with the hand brought forward and down from above the level of the shoulder: an overhand pitch; an overhand stroke. 2. right, but it seemed to be more of a slip than a true knockdown. Still, in the second round, Forrest thought he had to earn Mayorga's respect and was willing to exchange punches. For Forrest, that was the beginning of the end. The former champ landed hard punches from all angles in several wild, thrilling exchanges - and took some himself - but he couldn't hurt Mayorga. And, to no one's surprise, Mayorga kept coming. The end came quickly and suddenly. Mayorga had gotten Forrest's attention with a left to his neck and then landed the finishing blow, a right to the temple that sent Forrest reeling against the ropes. He was barely able to hold himself up by grabbing the middle rope but was badly hurt. Referee Marty Denkin, looking into Forrest's eyes, didn't even finish the count when he had decided that Forrest was too dazed daze tr.v. dazed, daz·ing, daz·es 1. To stun, as with a heavy blow or shock; stupefy. 2. To dazzle, as with strong light. n. A stunned or bewildered condition. to continue and stopped the fight to the astonishment of a crowd of 2,250 in a charged casino ballroom. Forrest admitted he was hurt but repeatedly insisted he could've continued. He said he was focused on Mayorga and the immediate challenge he faced, not Denkin, which he implied might've led the referee to believe he was incoherent. ``He caught me with a great shot, but I got up,'' Forrest said. ``I didn't think it should've been stopped. I should've had the opportunity to fight back. We were fighting to unify the title. I should've been allowed to go out fighting. I'm not a referee, though. I'm a fighter.'' Forrest gave Mayorga a tremendous opportunity when he agreed to the fight immediately after the Mosley victories instead of making as much money as possible against inferior opposition, as many big-name fighters do. Presumably pre·sum·a·ble adj. That can be presumed or taken for granted; reasonable as a supposition: presumable causes of the disaster. , Mayorga will return the favor. ``Oh, there'll be a rematch,'' he said. ``We'll do it again.'' In a preliminary bout, Joel Casamayor Joel "El Cepillo" Casamayor Johnson (born July 12, 1971 in Guantanamo) is a Cuban boxer, who turned pro after defecting to the United States on the eve of the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. outworked previously unbeaten Nate Campbell Nate Campbell (born March 7, 1972 in Jacksonville, FL) is a boxer in the Lightweight division. Professional career Known as "The Galaxxy Warrior", Campbell turned professional in 2000 and won his first 23 bouts, setting up a bout with cagey veteran Joel Casamayor in 2003. to win a unanimous decision A Unanimous Decision is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and others sports involving striking in which all 3 judges agree on which fighter won the match. in a 10-round junior lightweight junior lightweight n. In both senses also called super featherweight. 1. A weight division in professional boxing having an upper limit of 130 pounds (58.5 kilograms), between featherweight and lightweight. 2. bout. Campbell (23-1, 21 KOs) came out as aggressive as ever, winning two of the first four rounds on two cards and three on the third. However, one of the sport's hottest prospects faded in the final rounds and a steady - and fearless - Casamayor (29-1, 18 KOs) took over. The former 130-pound title holder, who is trained by Joe Goossen in Van Nuys, won the final five rounds on one card and four on two cards to take a 98-92, 97-93, 96-94 decision that was booed by those at ringside ring·side n. 1. The area or seats immediately outside an arena or ring, as at a prizefight. 2. A place providing a close view of a spectacle. who thought it was a closer fight. The fight stats seem to support the fans. Casamayor landed 167 of 581 punches, Campbell 141 of 481. ``I think I won,'' Campbell said. ``The toughest part of the fight was beating the judges.'' However, Campbell threw fewer than 50 punches per round, not enough to beat a fighter of Casamayor's ability. Also, Malcolm Tann (4-0, two KOs) of Seaboard, N.C., stopped Milan Roldzak (4-5, four KOs) of Northridge with the first punch he landed, 23 seconds into a scheduled four-round heavyweight bout. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Vernon Forrest, left, took a risk by fighting Ricardo Mayorga, and it didn't pay off. Mayorga scored a third-round knockout in their welterweight unification bout. Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News |
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