I'm not here to say I'm Nostrodamus, but I'm going to tell you why
I thought it was an easy pick... besides the obvious, Vernon slower, older, Mora faster younger.
I saw Mora fight Manfredo and it was a pretty technical fight. More than most admitted. Manfredo had a great future. Young, fast, great head movement... it's just that he went UP in weight to 168. ... WHAT THE F#CK IS HE CRAZY! He's an idiot. Most the the guys from The Contender were idiots. They never fought at the weight that set them up to win at it's most optimum. Gomez just isn't good. He's a six rounder guy, entertaining for a short time, but in the long run he has no power and he'll run out of gas after six. Most of the guys that come from the contender were spoiled and, some were very talented, but the contender taught them how to do everything backwards.
So Mora was labeled a Contender guy, a Pretender. He's the only one who really took the sacrafice and went DOWN and weight AND had the skills to back it up, unlike Gomez. (And Gomez fought a future Hall of Famer in Cotto) (btw I only really follow the first season guys, but most guys on the contender volumes turn out duds)
And Vernon isn't good at all. He never was in his prime.... he lost to a Ricardo Mayora! haha And Ricardo was just another dud who got famous from Vernon. If Shane Mosely fought the way he does now, more aggressive and smart, he would have beaten Forrest, but back then Shane was very tentative and hesitant with Vernon. Vernon had a GREAT one-two. And in the past that's all he needed. But these days that one-two is just a little bit slower. And Mora had the head movement to upset that one-two that EVERYBODY knows Vernon throws.
That and it didn't hurt that Buddy McGirt trained Forrest.

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