|
Forrest tops Quartey by Disputed Decision
By Ryan Songalia
06.08.06 - New York City's Madison Square Garden was filled with mixed reactions to the verdict in the junior middleweight fight between Ike Quartey and Vernon Forrest. The arena was a chorus of discontent, reacting to the disputable unanimous decision victory that was awarded to Vernon Forrest on a night in which he did not appear the more effective fighter. The "Now or Never" event was promoted by Lou Dibella Entertainment.
As a pair of former welterweight champions on the comeback trail, both men gave respectable accounts of themselves, fully acknowledging that it may be too late to recover from a big setback. However, Ike Quartey of Accra, Ghana found himself on the downside of a decision he appeared to deserve the better fortune in. Quartey was the more accurate and effective puncher throughout, and used his physical strength and jab to back up Forrest. Vernon Forrest, Atlanta, GA, did not appear sharp from the opening bell, unable to sustain an effective offense for extended periods in the fight.
The early rounds were dominated by the crisp jabs and counter punching of Quartey. Forrest was not using his own jab effectively to set up his power punching, and found himself having to lunge while out of range to land his own blows. However, and this is important in the scoring discrepancies, Forrest was the busier fighter and threw more punches.
By the middle rounds, Forrest's right side of his face began to swell as a visible testament to Quartey's proficient use of his left hand punches. Quartey's stamina remained better preserved than Forrest's, who appeared the more exhausted of the two down the stretch. In the ninth round, a stanza Quartey seemed to win, Forrest was docked a point by the referee for low blows.
Quartey, who looked absolutely sensational in his public workout this past Tuesday, put on a well concocted display of technical brilliance through out the fight. Quartey remained the aggressor throughout, and was much more effective with his jab than Forrest. Forrest was the busier fighter, but his porous defense and unstable balance enabled Quartey to take advantage with accurate power shots.
When the official scores were announced, the debatable tallies of 95-94, 95-94 and 96-94 were met by the jeers of the dissenting crowd. Unofficial HBO ringside judge Harold Lederman's scorecard read 97-92 for Ike Quartey. My perspective had the identical result of the aforementioned commentator.
Forrest's inability to make his longer jab a factor may be attributed to the persistent injuries to his left rotator cup. After suffering damage to his rotator cuff in 2004, he endured a long layoff in which he had multiple surgeries to repair his maligned shoulder.
His open media workout in Manhattan this last Wednesday may have suggested that his arm was not 100 percent healed and functional following his recent injuries. At the Crunch Gym in midtown Manhattan, Forrest barely worked up a sweat as he shadow boxed for a couple of rounds before calling it an early session after approximately twenty minutes of light shadow boxing. Forrest's exhibition was in stark contrast to the impressive showing of Ike Quartey, who was very sharp in his appearance.
Quartey still looks to be in fantastic form, but his continued inability to win over the judges seemed to elicit signs of discouragement and bitterness during his post fight interview. The typically stoic Quartey appeared on the verge of tears while talking to HBO commentator Larry Merchant following the decision.
When Quartey lost under similar circumstances to Oscar De La Hoya in 1999, he spent more than a year away from the ring. In the aftermath of his close loss to Fernando Vargas the following in 2000, Quartey spent nearly five years out of the ring while regaining his hunger and motivation. At the age of 36 and 18 years since his professional debut, this was a setback that he could not afford.
He will find it very difficult to get the big names in the ring giving the high risk, intermediate reward that fighting Quartey will bring. Forrest, while victorious, showed vulnerability and holes in his game, thus potentially helping make him an attractive opponent for some of the big name fighters in the welterweight and junior middleweight divisions. A rematch between the two combatants would be an ideal scenario for the Quartey camp, while Team Forrest will likely look to challenge for a world title before considering going at it with "Bazooka" again.
Forrest would be best served to take a step down in opposition later this year to help regain his form. The Vernon Forrest who showed up Saturday night did not perform like the boxer that earned him Ring Magazine's 2002 Fighter of the Year Award.
A fortuitous Forrest raises his professional ring record to 38-2 (28 KO) and sets himself up for some possible big money showdowns down the road. Ike Quartey, whose deflated and dejected expression told the story of the fight, drops to 37-3-1 (31 KO).
Ryan Songalia is a syndicated columnist. If you have any feedback or questions, my email address is ryansongalia201@aol.com
The Viper and The Bazooka At The Garden
By Frank Gonzalez Jr.
Some questions were answered about the reincarnations of Vernon "The Viper" Forrest (38-2, 28 KO's) and Ike "Bazooka" Quartey (37-3-1,31 KO's) Saturday night at Madison Square Garden. Either guy would make fair opponents for the division's elites, represented by the current crop of WBA Champ, Jose Rivera, IBF Champ, Corey Spinks, WBC Champ, Oscar De La Hoya or relatively unknown WBO Champ, Sergeii Dzinziruk.
I think Kassim Ouma (25-2-1, 15 KO's) would probably beat all of the above but has the smallest chance of getting the big names to fight him after again demonstrating his tenacious style in a convincing win over unbeaten Sechew Powell (now 20-1, 12 KO's). I wouldn't write off Powell though, he's still young and learning. His experience vs. Ouma should pay good dividends in the future. A rematch between Ouma and Roman Karmazin (34-2-1, 21 KO's) might be an interesting redemption match for both..
Fighting at 154-pounds, Quartey and Forrest showed decent stamina, durability and ring generalship. Quartey landed the better punches at a higher clip. Forrest showed that he can still box well and that his left shoulder has healed enough to fight competitively. Neither looked like world-beaters but it was good match making for two former World Champions on the rebound.
Forrest showed poor sportsmanship early on by refusing to touch gloves during at the start of the fight. Bad blood? No-just bad manners.
* * *
Forrest started fast, throwing jabs and combinations, circling round the shorter Quartey, who used his signature, "bazooka" jab with success. Forrest pushed Quartey, who went to the canvas. It was correctly ruled a slip. I thought Forrest did just enough to win the first round, which was close.
Forrest boxed well from the outside, popping Quartey with jabs and not so powerful combinations. Vernon lacked enough pop to ever rattle Ike, as evidenced by how easily Quartey took Forrest's best landed punch of the night, a nasty right upper cut in the third round. Quartey used his jab and pressured Forrest to easily win the second and third rounds. Vernon turned the tide in the fourth, out boxing Quartey and landing some of his cleanest punches.
By the fifth round, I had it even. In the fifth round the tide turned, favoring Quartey, who pressed Forrest with his jab into back-up mode, rendering him less effective. The sixth was all Quartey, who proved much stronger and able to nullify Vernon's range and height advantage by sticking close and working his jab.
The seventh belonged to Forrest, who worked real hard for the payoff of having been slightly more effective in that round. Quartey fought smartly and kept Forrest out of his ideal punching range. By the eighth, Ike's jab caused Vernon's face to swell like a ripe tomato, almost closing his right eye. Late in the round, Forrest landed a low blow and was warned by the referee. Quartey proceeded to take it to Forrest with punches that had more sting and were landing at a high rate.
In the ninth, Forrest was boxing well, when suddenly he threw a nasty low blow that caused referee Arthur Mercante Jr. to pause the action and take a point. Forrest had been warned a few times by then about low punches. Action resumed quickly and Quartey made Forrest pay with a slew of jabs and some bonus right hands. Losing a point at this juncture had to be crucial for Forrest.
The tenth started aggressively with Forrest coming in, then wrapping up, only to be pushed down to the canvas by Quartey, putting a tenth round 'ying' to the first round's 'yang.' It was rightly ruled a slip. Vernon threw lots of shots, rarely landing cleanly. Quartey was one-dimensional but landed some good shots, though not enough to prove more impressive in the final round.
* * *
As they waited to hear the official scores, Forrest did not look confident. When it was announced that the Judges had a Unanimous Decision, I was sure Ike Quartey who had won. Then the scores were read, 96-93 and 95-94 twice...all in favor of Vernon Forrest. Judge Tony Paolillo was the one with the 96-93 scorecard. If you consider the lost point in the ninth, Paolillo only gave three rounds to Quartey, who according to the tabulations, landed more punches overall and at a considerably higher clip than Forrest.
That Decision pissed off the fans at The Garden, who chanted, "Bullshit! Bullshit! Bullshit!" Whoever said foreign fighters get a fair shake in the USA?
During the post fight interview with HBO's Larry Merchant, Forrest said he wanted to thank God. Merchant quipped, "And don't forget to thank the Judges." Maybe Forrest should send a nice box of chocolates to Tony Paolillo.
Well folks, that's boxing. No accountability.
Where does Vernon go from here? A third fight against rebounding Shane Mosley seems out of the question, since the risk is too high for Mosley to chance another loss to Forrest, especially now. Shane also seems content to remain at 147 or wherever Forrest isn't.
As for Ike Quartey, if he never fights again in the USA, I wouldn't be surprised. The Ghanaian fighter was robbed Saturday night in a fight that even the American fans at the Garden thought he won. Quartey can still make money if he elects to continue fighting. He may not win any titles but he usually gives fans their money's worth and that alone maintains his commercial appeal. The European circuit may be a better bet for him in the future. At least there, he might get a fair shake with the Judges.
|
