Boxing Perspective: Vernon Forrest

“The Viper” Is Running Out Of Patience!

“To have patience is the ability to wait for things that you wish to happen, happen! You sit, you toil and you tarry. You don’t complain, you don’t cry and you don’t grumble. Soon that patience runs its course and frustration sets in. Logical becomes illogical, rational becomes irrational and sometimes in the blink of an eye, the sane becomes insane.”

Allow me to introduce you to the man who these words were quoted from, a man once patient; Vernon Forrest.

Recently Forrest has gone from the quiet guy you whisper about to the loud guy you avoid. He has been on a verbal tear as of late, threatening to destroy everyone from Oscar De La Hoya to Floyd Mayweather Jr., and of course the man who has been a never ending thorn in his side, Ricardo Mayorga.

But is anyone listening? What has caused these recent outbursts from a once seemingly quiet fighter? Maybe it’s time ticking on the clock?

Boxing, with the rare few exceptions of men like Bernard Hopkins and George Foreman, is a young man’s game. Few are competitive at a high level past their mid 30’s. Forrest recently turned 37 and has had a few major surgeries on his left arm. The combination of the two has forced Mr. Forrest to become a tyrant, a verbal bully if you will.

Forrest was once seemingly on the way to the top. In 2002, he had consecutive victories over then WBC Welterweight Champion and pound for pound elite, “Sugar” Shane Mosley. Victories that led him to being named Ring Magazines 2002 Fighter of the Year.

That brief flirtation as one of boxing’s elite was brought to a crashing halt in January of 2003 due to a surprising third round knockout loss to then WBA Welterweight Champion Ricardo Mayorga. In the rematch, Forrest again lost to Mayorga by majority decision.

After three surgeries and a two year layoff, the “Viper” returned to the ring in 2006 winning a controversial decision to former welterweight title holder Ike “Bazooka” Quartey, followed by a blowout victory against the game former undisputed welterweight champion Carlos Baldomir for the vacant WBC Light Middleweight title.

In his first defense of that title, Vernon scored an impressive knockout win over Michele Piccirillo, a fighter who had never been stopped in his 50 plus prior bouts.

Here we are, at the cross roads. While looking great physically, how long can Vernon throw those impressive bombs from a rebuilt shoulder? How much longer can he be patient and just wait for those big fights to come? Patience is a young man’s game reserved for the likes of young fighters like Andre Berto or perhaps Andre Ward. Those seats are full and Vernon “The Viper” Forrest knows this.

He also knows that time is ticking, and it waits for no man. Sometimes patience is a virtue. In this case, beware the fury of a patient man. He might hurt you.