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From "Contender" to
Champion: Sergio Mora
“Sergio Mora has no business in
the ring with Vernon Forrest.” “He might have been a
‘Contender’ but this is for real.” “Mora will never
get the belt away from Forrest.” These are the type
of things that were being said from the time that
the Forrest/Mora fight was signed. One was
hard-pressed to find a journalist or boxing
authority that felt that this was even a fight worth
watching. Well, those journalists and experts might
not need a good meal for a while. That’s because
they are still full from having to eat their words.
Mora DID win that fight, and is
now the new WBC Super Welterweight/Junior
Middleweight Champion. I got a chance to speak with
Sergio a few days after his accomplishment, and
there were several things that I wanted to know.
First, I had understood him to say that he didn’t
want to defend this title, and wondered what he
meant by that.
“I didn’t mean it like that,” he
explained. “It’s not that I’m not appreciative of
being the Champion or winning the belt and not
wanting to defend it, I just said it’s a boring
division. I did insinuate I didn’t want to stay
there if there’s no action. I don’t mean
specifically money, but buzz – people wanting to see
fights. The Middleweight division is obviously the
most exciting division in boxing. I can make that
weight, so maybe I can stir up some trouble there.”
I had read reports that Mora was
not particularly pleased with his performance.
“After watching the fight back on video I give
myself a lot more credit for fighting a very
intelligent fight,” he told me. “I’m used to
fighting either aggressive, or very slick and fast
and exciting, and having the crowd into it. But I
have to start learning not to worry about the
entertaining fights so much and start learning about
the intelligent fights.
“I was a little bit disappointed
hearing boos early in the fight, knowing that the
fans were getting restless and upset, but by the end
of the fight they kind of woke up, and they liked my
performance. They realized what I was doing and the
upset that was happening.
“So when I watched it back I
give myself more credit. I was a little hard on
myself that night, but watching it on video I fought
Vernon Forrest the way I was supposed to fight him,
I followed the game plan to a tee, and I fought an
intelligent fight.”
So does that really mean he
changed his mind regarding how he fought? “My
trainers always expect the best out of me. They see
what I can do and I know what I can do. I’ll be
honest with you, that fight was pretty easy for me.
I made it harder than it was, and I just thought I
could do more. So I’m not disappointed, I’ll take
that back, but I could do a lot more.”
Mora told me that it was in the
middle of the third round when he got warmed up and
felt he would not only win the fight, but he could
take rounds whenever he wanted. “But I didn’t want
to take chances,” he explained. “Even though I knew
I could win any round, I didn’t want to take
chances. I didn’t want to get too bold and
over-confident and get caught with something silly.”
But back to those first two
rounds that he said he had to use to warm up; why
was he not ready at bell time? First, the fight
before his was also scheduled for 12 rounds.
Unfortunately for Mora and Forrest, it only lasted
one, as Paul Williams defeated Carlos Quintana.
Obviously, Sergio and Vernon lost about a half hour
right there.
Then, with a little backstage
game-playing, the Forrest camp made Sergio unwrap
his hands, since they weren’t there to watch him
wrap them. So much for the warm-up in the dressing
room. Make no mistake, these are not excuses. He won
the fight, remember?
Forrest had the reputation of
being a gentleman, yet before this fight he was
quite vocal in his disdain for Mora, Executive
Producer of “The Contender” Jeff Wald, and the show
itself. I was surprised to hear that, and wondered
if Sergio was as well.
“Yeah, I was very surprised,
because as a confident, long-time champion you would
not be threatened, especially by a guy that not only
the media and critics, but the public feels is
overrated and not a threat. My knockout ratio says
it as well, so for him to bad-mouth me the way he
did in such a cruel manner, it sort of made him seem
insecure, and in a way made people want to see me
win, and that’s great for me.”
So Mora has achieved one of his
goals, but I knew there had to be more in mind. “Now
my next dream is to be in a mega-fight, a pay per
view mega-fight. And I’m getting there – I’m right
there.”
After his win, Sergio called out
Oscar De La Hoya. He would love to make that fight
happen. “That fight would be very popular, with both
of us being from the same area out here on the West
Coast. He fights with his grit that people don’t
expect, and a lot of people see me as a push-over.
I’m not the most intimidated-looking guy physically,
but I fight with a lot of grit myself. So there are
some similarities there and I think we could do
something really positive and big.
“I’m a bigger fighter, I’m
stronger and bigger and faster then he, and younger,
and now people see what I can do, so I think that’s
a fight that is not only being talked about, but can
actually happen. I’ll be excited to do it. I’m going
to keep my fingers crossed.”
His final words were simple.
“I’ve never been a fluke, and I’m glad I finally
proved it. There’s a lot more in store that I can’t
wait to show people, and I’m glad that people
finally, finally, realize that I’m the real deal.”
I want to thank Sergio, as
always, for taking some time for me, and
CONGRATULATIONS!
Be safe and God Bless,
Viva La Raza,
Barb.
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