?These are people that society turned their back on. Everybody needs help and everybody needs love??
?If you sit there and watch a person take about an hour to tie his shoestrings, then you realize that whatever problems you got ain?t that significant.??Vernon Forrest
Known as the ?Viper? because of his uncommon hand speed, Vernon Forrest?s time on this planet was far too short, but his accomplishments will resonate for years to come as he used his time in a way that defines a hero. But let me digress.
Recently, I gave a motivational speech to a group of brain injured patients at a facility in Northern New Hampshire. The basis for the presentation was a famous Commencement Address that Arnold Schwarzenegger gave at the University of Southern California on May 15, 2009. In it, he laid down his six rules of success?Trust yourself, break some rules, don?t be afraid to fail, ignore the naysayers, work like hell, and give something back.
During the presentation, one attendee in a wheelchair took about six or seven minutes to say something. Patiently, we all gathered around him and finally he got it out; he said, ?To hell with the naysayers.? The room erupted in cheer and a chill tingled down my spine.
I was immediately reminded of a quote from Vernon Forrest in which he said, ?If you sit there and watch a person take about an hour to tie his shoestrings, then you realize that whatever problems you got ain?t that significant.?
Forrest
The Sniper, a native of Georgia, enjoyed a celebrated amateur career (that included a win over Shane Mosley). Upon becoming a professional in 1992, he eventually became a four-time, two-weight world champion (41-3). He was the first to beat a prime and top-ranked Mosley (38-0 coming in) in 2002 and he did it again six months later. Forrest had gained a spot on the United States Olympic boxing team for the 1992 Summer Games in Barcelona, Spain, by defeating Mosley at the trials, prompting the January 2002 title fight at the Theater at Madison Square Garden to be hyped as ?Sweet Revenge.?
In 2002 Forrest was the Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year.
Just as he had Sugar Shane?s number, a peak Ricardo Mayorga had the Sniper?s beating him twice in 2003. Reinforcing the notion that boxing logic is an oxymoron, Forrest won two 12-round fights against Mosley, but was KOd in 3 by Mayorga proving that styles definitely make fights.
Forrest rebounded to win the vacant WBC World super welterweight title by dominating Carlos Manuel Baldimir in 2007 but lost it in a shocking upset to Sergio Mora in June 2008. He regained it with a dominant beatdown of Mora three months later in what would be his final fight. The Sniper was forced to vacate the title because of a rib injury.
If Vernon?s time as a boxer was noteworthy?and arguably even Hall of Fame worthy?he was equally known for his humanitarian work in the non-profit and still thriving organization Destiny?s Child Inc. The organization, founded by Forrest in 1997 (he was inspired after a particularly profound experience with a disabled adult at a hospital), provides assistance to the mentally challenged, providing housing and 24-hour supervision by trained professionals. Reportedly, when he wasn?t boxing, this was his full-time job. When they would see him, the patients would light up, and some of them couldn?t even talk. Vernon was very much involved and would have some of the kids over to his house on Sundays. They were part of his family.
While a fierce competitor, Vernon was extremely well liked by his peers and coaches and was a born leader. ?All the athletes looked up to him,? USOEC head coach Al Mitchell added. ?[He had a] great personality.? He also became the first in his family to graduate high school, and then went on to graduate from Northern Michigan University with a degree in Business Administration. Here, he learned, among other things, the value of giving back.
?I really believe he?s not going to be known for his boxing skills?I think he?ll be known for the way he gave outside his sport. He was just an unbelievable person.? Said Mitchell who added, ?He almost went broke?He borrowed money to make it work. He never looked for a profit out of it. It was just something he did. Vernon?s willingness to give back went beyond his former schools. He gave money to different gyms and boxing-related programs.
Thus, in 2009, a vibrant and committed Forrest was a considering a ring comeback from his injury as he happily toiled as the head of a thriving nonprofit. He had everything to live for and plenty more to contribute.
But it was not to be.
The End
On July 25, 2009, Vernon stopped at a gas station in the Atlanta neighborhood of Mechanicsville with his 11-year-old godson. As the boy went inside the gas station, while Forrest used the air pump, a man snuck up on him and robbed him at gunpoint before fleeing. Forrest, who was armed, chased him and shots were exchanged. He then stopped the chase and began talking to a second man who proceeded to shoot Forrest several times in the back. The killer and another man then left the scene, but the worst had happened: Vernon Forrest was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police would arrest and later charge 25-year-old Jquante Crews, 20-year-old Demario Ware and 30-year-old Charman Sinkfield for the murder.
Thinking Back
One incident I remember was that he took several Destiny?s Child residents to his second bout with Mosley at the Conseco Field House in Indianapolis. Right after winning the decision, he ran into the stands to embrace them.
Al Mitchell recalls it this way, ?I still remember his first fight with Shane Mosley?two busloads of people from [Destiny?s Child], he brought them in and got them top seats. And I guarantee you; the cheapest seat was probably about $500. All of them called him ?Uncle Vernon.??
?The people I work with have been abused and neglected,? he said. ?These are people that society turned their back on. Everybody needs help and everybody needs love.?
