Thread: What's next for Forrest?

I was among the majority who thought Forrest-Baldomir was uinspired matchmaking on the part of HBO, but it turned out to be a very good fight. Forrest looked the best he has in a half a decade. Granted, Baldomir is a slow plodder, but Forrest looked quick and let his hands go, particularly his jabs and hooks, in a way he hasn't since the shoulder injury. He really looked like he could be a factor again.

So, what's next for him? If he stays at 154, there seems to be limited possibilities. Here's the four most likely scenarios as I see it (and in no particular order):

1) A third match with Mayorga. Forrest specifically mentioned that he would like a chance to eradicate those lone pair of losses on his resume. While it doesn't particularly excite me, it is one of the few matches that Forrest can take at 154 that will garner any interest. This fight would, of course, require a Mayorga victory over Vargas.

2) A unification bout with Spinks. Unification fights are never a bad idea in my book, and Spinks always has trouble getting folks to fight him due to his style. His snoozer with Taylor will likely makes things even more difficult for him from a matchmaking perspective. That said, what else is there for Forrest at 154? It wouldn't be a Fight of the Year candidate, but it could be intriguing from my perspective.

3) Move up to middleweight. With Taylor and Pavlik both likely to move to 168 in the near future, he would have the chance to be one the bigger draws in the division, and could possibly land a fight with Winky, who doesn't seem to have terribly great prospects at the moment in terms of a big fight. You have to wonder about his chin at that weight, but with his quickness and hand speed he could be a major factor.

4) Join the brigade moving back down to 147 (assuming, of course, that he can still make the weight). Obviously, he'd have problems getting a bout with one of the top draws, but with the divisions' stunning depth, he could still find quality fights that if he won would put him right in the mix. One of the young guys like Williams, Cintron or Clottey might want to add a big name to their resume, and Forrest could certainly give them that. A match with Judah also seems like a fight that could be made.

Seems to me that a fight with Spinks is his best option for now. If he wins that, then move up to 160 and try to win a belt, maybe get a fight with Winky.

Thoughts?

Originally Posted by LeftHookToTheBody

I was among the majority who thought Forrest-Baldomir was uinspired matchmaking on the part of HBO, but it turned out to be a very good fight. Forrest looked the best he has in a half a decade. Granted, Baldomir is a slow plodder, but Forrest looked quick and let his hands go, particularly his jabs and hooks, in a way he hasn't since the shoulder injury. He really looked like he could be a factor again.

So, what's next for him? If he stays at 154, there seems to be limited possibilities. Here's the four most likely scenarios as I see it (and in no particular order):

1) A third match with Mayorga. Forrest specifically mentioned that he would like a chance to eradicate those lone pair of losses on his resume. While it doesn't particularly excite me, it is one of the few matches that Forrest can take at 154 that will garner any interest. This fight would, of course, require a Mayorga victory over Vargas.

2) A unification bout with Spinks. Unification fights are never a bad idea in my book, and Spinks always has trouble getting folks to fight him due to his style. His snoozer with Taylor will likely makes things even more difficult for him from a matchmaking perspective. That said, what else is there for Forrest at 154? It wouldn't be a Fight of the Year candidate, but it could be intriguing from my perspective.

3) Move up to middleweight. With Taylor and Pavlik both likely to move to 168 in the near future, he would have the chance to be one the bigger draws in the division, and could possibly land a fight with Winky, who doesn't seem to have terribly great prospects at the moment in terms of a big fight. You have to wonder about his chin at that weight, but with his quickness and hand speed he could be a major factor.

4) Join the brigade moving back down to 147 (assuming, of course, that he can still make the weight). Obviously, he'd have problems getting a bout with one of the top draws, but with the divisions' stunning depth, he could still find quality fights that if he won would put him right in the mix. One of the young guys like Williams, Cintron or Clottey might want to add a big name to their resume, and Forrest could certainly give them that. A match with Judah also seems like a fight that could be made.

Seems to me that a fight with Spinks is his best option for now. If he wins that, then move up to 160 and try to win a belt, maybe get a fight with Winky.

Thoughts?

staying at 154 would be the best bet right now. FIghting Mayorga would do nothing for his career. Everyone knows Mayorga is now damaged goods. No way he can beat Forrest now. The fight was good. Baldomir has a great chin.

Originally Posted by Mad_Dog

staying at 154 would be the best bet right now. FIghting Mayorga would do nothing for his career. Everyone knows Mayorga is now damaged goods. No way he can beat Forrest now. The fight was good. Baldomir has a great chin.

I agree about Mayorga, I just threw that one in there because Forrest specifically mentioned he'd like a chance for redemption. What fights are you thinking he should take at 154? Spinks? I'd say Ouma, but he appears to be sticking at 160 for now.

if he can make 147 then i say he should move back down. thats where the fights and the money is. i wouldn't mind seeing him fight spinks or ouma at 154 but i much rather see him fight guys like cotto clottey and margarito. the only fight i want to see him in at 160 is a fight against winky.

All these matches you guys mention sound great, but let's be real here.

He's probably going to take an easy mandatory

if a big name give vernon and offer i'm sure he'll take it.

I would like to see him fight Joachim Alcine next to start unifying the division, then move on to Spinks. Some other fights for him:Jamie Moore, Joel Julio, Eromosele Albert, Dzinzurik, I think he could clean out that division, only problem is he's 36, he needs to stay active.

Originally Posted by killersheep

All these matches you guys mention sound great, but let's be real here.

He's probably going to take an easy mandatory

You think so? Vernon strikes me as a guy who is desperate to put himself back in the realm of the elite. Obviously, he's not going to do that fighting some bum whose promoter pays off the WBC to the make him #$1 challenger. I think Vernon feels the injuries may have cost him a place in history, and he wants to prove himself an all-time great. It is probably too late for him to pull that off, but I think he'll take the biggest fight he can possibly get.

Originally Posted by No Contest

I would like to see him fight Joachim Alcine next to start unifying the division, then move on to Spinks. Some other fights for him:Jamie Moore, Joel Julio, Eromosele Albert, Dzinzurik, I think he could clean out that division, only problem is he's 36, he needs to stay active.

Could be a possiblity. Only problem is that the only guy you listed who is going to garner him much respect in the court of public opinion would probably be Spinks (even that's iffy, as Spinks' certainly isn't a fan favorite). Like I said in my previous post, I think he wants to establish a place in history that he feels the injuries may have cheated him out of. He's going to need a couple of big names to do that. I say unify with Spinks, then try to get a fight at 160 with Winky, who is probably going to have a tough time finding big fights from here on out. The move to 147 would be a bit riskier, as he'd probably have to face the likes of Clottey or Williams to get a shot at one of the top draws, but it would offer the biggest payoff if he could get a couple of wins.

Unifying the division speaks volumes for me....its not his fault theres not alot of big names at 154. Oscar and Floyd wont fight him. I really think Oscar should step up and fight him. That would be a great fight.

He's only lost to one guy, Mayorga. I think he wants to avenge those two losses and I wouldn't mind seeing that. Besides that I'd like to see him fight Spinks. That would seem to be the only top notch fight at 154

I kinda doubt he'd be able to go back down to 147 and not be weight drained but that's just a guess, don't know for sure.

I don't think of Vernon as an exciting fighter, but matched right there could be some decent fights. Unification might not be a bad idea, although I think the whole idea, except maybe in the heavyweights, is a bit overrated. I don't think its a bad thing by any means, I just don't get as worked up about it as some people do. Maybe I just don't wanna see Forrest-Spinks, talk about an akward matchup.

The more I think about it, the possible matchups at 154 really aren't that great. I find it hard to believe that fights like Forrest-Spinks, Forrest-Simms, Spinks-Simms would be that great. There not good style matchups, there just all counter punchers. 154 could really use Quartey and Ouma to come back cause with those two guys you can make interesting matchups against the other guys. Ouma-Forrest would be more interesting to me than Forrest-Spinks, same for say, Quartey-Spinks or even Quartey-Forrest 2. Just cause theres a style contrast there with Quartey and Ouma forcing the fight against guys like Forrest, Spinks, Simms, etc.

Forgot about Karmazin, what is he doing, kinda faded away a bit. And Alcine's pretty good.

Paul Williams you would think would move up at some point.

I actually wouldn't be shocked if Margarito moved up. I wouldn't mind seeing Margarito-Forrest.

Forrest-Ouma would be an interseting fight. No way could he get down and be competitive against the top welterweights.