Vernon Forrest vs. Shane Mosley 1 Review
A Look at Vernon's Finest Hour
Going into this fight, it was thought that Shane Mosley would walk through Vernon 'the Viper' Forrest. Mosley at the time was thought to be the top pound for pound fighter in the world, but Vernon had other ideas.
The pair had history going into this fight. While they were friends, Forrest defeated Mosley in the Olympic trials to stop him going to the 1992 Olympic Games. This was an upset as even then Mosley was ranked number one in the world, so going into their professional bout, analysts wondered whether Forrest just had Mosley's number.
How Mosley vs. Forrest Played Out
The first round definitely belonged to Mosley. He was doing good work on the inside and hurt Forrest after a big right hand. Mosley's intentions were already known - he wanted to knock Vernon out.
In the second, the roles reversed. At the start of the round, Mosley was cut for the first time in his career after an accidental clash of heads. This was on the hairline, so it was never going to trouble the vision of Mosley, but it did shake Mosley up and take his eye off the prize.
Mosley got caught with some excellent punches courtesy of Forrest including a massive right uppercut which sent him to the canvas for the first time in his career. His legs looked rubbery after that, and Forrest went in for the kill, managing to get a second knockdown while Mosley was flailing all over the place. Mosley managed to last until the bell though, and in between rounds, his corner tried to calm him down.
He managed to just about make it through the third round, but he was still getting tagged with power punches and he was still extremely wobbly.
The fourth was another very bad round for 'Sugar' Shane. He ate some more huge uppercuts and right straights and looked in all kinds of trouble. He employed the wrong strategy as well as he was just winding up with massive haymakers, and by doing this he allowed Vernon to pick him apart.
Mosley managed to steady himself in the fifth, but the round was still bossed by Forrest, who was fighting an excellent fight. The sixth went much the same way, apart from near the end Mosley was rocked again by the punch that Forrest couldn't miss with - the right uppercut.
In the seventh, Mosley did good work to the body, but was still being controlled by Forrest. At the end of the session though, Forrest unleashed a hellacious right hand on the chin of Mosley, which was thankfully right on the bell as otherwise Mosley might have been in big trouble.
The eighth was probably even. Mosley once again did good body work, but Forrest used his reach well and hit Mosley with some excellent jabs and straight rights.
The ninth, tenth and eleventh rounds all went more or less the same way. Mosley was getting desperate and piling forward, trying to put the pressure on Forrest. The workrate of Forrest had dropped, but because Mosley's efforts were so ragged, the skill of Forrest carried him through and won him these rounds.
After the fight, Forrest revealed that the reason his workrate dropped was because he injured his right hand. This is understandable, as up until this point, he had landed masses of rights on Mosley.
Mosley had a good twelfth round, but this was nowhere near enough to win him the fight. Mosley knew he had lost by quite a margin.
The Judges Render Their Decision on Mosley vs. Forrest 1
The judges gave the bout to Forrest by margins of 115-110, 117-108 and 118-108. Vernon had fought a truly excellent fight, and won a match he was expected to lose handily.
Later that year, Forrest defeated Mosley once again, which prompted the Ring Magazine to make him their 'Fighter of the Year'. Forrest was an outstanding fighter on his day, and to defeat someone as good as Shane Mosley three times (including once in the amateurs) is a remarkable achievement.
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