Wednesday, July 29, 2009
© Copyright 2013
Newton Citizen
ATLANTA - A funeral is scheduled Monday for former boxing champion Vernon Forrest, who was killed in an attempted robbery over the weekend.
Forrest's manager Charles Watson said the service will take place at 1 p.m. at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, just east of Atlanta. The funeral will be open to the public. Notables including boxers Oscar De La Hoya and Shane Mosley and R&B singer Frankie Beverly are expected to attend, Watson said. Forrest, 38, was putting air in his car tires at a service station when a man asked for money, Watson said. When he pulled his wallet out, the man snatched it and started running, and Forrest took off after him, Watson said. Police say Forrest exchanged gunfire with at least two robbery suspects before being shot multiple times in the back. He was found dead Saturday night. Forrest, a native of Augusta who lived in Atlanta, gained notoriety when he became the first boxer to defeat Mosley. Six months later the smooth-punching Forrest defended the belt against Mosley, winning by unanimous decision, before losing to Ricardo Mayorga in January 2003. It was Forrest's first loss, and he'd lose again to Mayorga in a close bout many believe he won. He was a former IBF welterweight and two-time WBC junior middleweight champion with a 41-3 career record with 29 knockouts. Forrest, who was not married and had one son, also was on the 1992 Olympic team.More like this story
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