Mayorga To Defend Titles In Rematch Against Forrest, Corley v Judah

21.05 – In a highly anticipated rematch of perhaps the year’s biggest upset, Ricardo “El Matador” Mayorga will defend his World Boxing Council/World Boxing Association (WBC/WBA) welterweight titles when he faces former WBC 147-pound champion Vernon “The Viper” Forrest July 12 at The Orleans in Las Vegas. In the second of three world title fights, DeMarcus “Chop Chop” Corley will put his World Boxing Organization (WBO) Junior Welterweight crown on the line for a third time when he faces former International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior welterweight titleholder Zab “Super” Judah. Rounding out the Don King Productions world championship tripleheader will be WBA Super Welterweight Champion Vivian Harris making his initial title defense against unbeaten mandatory challenger, Souleymane “The Sensation” M’Baye. The Mayorga-Forrest and Corley-Judah bouts will be televised by HBO.

Highlighting an outstanding undercard will be two exciting elimination bouts. In a rematch of their July 27, 2002, contest, IBF No. 3 contender Pete Frissina will take on No. 5 Jesus Perez in an IBF bantamweight eliminator. Frissina captured the first meeting in a hard-fought 12 round decision to retain his North American Boxing Organization (NABO) 118-pound title. In, addition, former WBA light heavyweight champion and current WBA No. 2 contender, Lou Del Valle, will battle No. 5 contender Manuel Siaca in a WBA light heavyweight eliminator.

Mayorga (24-3-1, 1 NC, 22 KOs), of Managua, Nicaragua, shocked the boxing world when he registered a third-round KO over Forrest on Jan. 25, 2003, in Temecula, Calif. The aggressive, hard-hitting Mayorga, a 6-1 underdog, knocked Forrest down in the first and third rounds. Despite giving away four inches in height, the roughneck brawler kept the pressure on throughout, and never backed down despite absorbing several powerful punches. Mayorga captured the WBA belt by scoring a fifth-round TKO over previously undefeated Andrew “Six Heads” Lewis March 30, 2002, in Reading, Pa. Mayorga decked Lewis with two devastating right hands nearly one minute into the fifth round, and forced the referee to stop the contest at 1:08. Discounting a no-contest against Lewis on July 28, 2001, Mayorga is unbeaten in 17 starts (16-0-1 with 14 knockouts).

Forrest (35-1, 26 KOs), of Atlanta, stamped himself as one of boxing’s best pound-for-pound fighters in 2002 after winning consecutive 12-round unanimous decisions over Shane Mosley on Jan. 26 in New York, and July 20 in Indianapolis. After outpointing Mosley by the scores 118-108, 117-108 and 115-110 the first time, and 117-111, 116-112, 115-113 in the return bout, the lanky boxer-puncher was a prohibitive favorite to defeat Mayorga in his second title defense. He opted to slug, however, and paid the price. Displaying a championship heart, Forrest made it to his feet and beat the count after going down the second time, but the referee halted the match shortly thereafter at 2:06 of the third round. Prior to turning pro on Nov. 25, 1992, Forrest, a college graduate, compiled a 225-16 amateur record. The Georgia native defeated Mosley to earn a berth on the 1992 United States Olympic team, and was the favorite to bring home the gold in Barcelona. Hopes were dashed, however, as Forrest lost his first bout after coming down with food poisoning the night before. Outside of the ring, he works with mentally challenged adult males that reside in his group “Destiny’s Child, Inc.,” in Atlanta.

Corley (28-1-1, 16 KOs), of Washington, D.C., successfully defended his title for a second time by registering a 12-round unanimous decision over former WBO and WBA 140-pound titleholder Randall Bailey on Jan. 4, 2003, in Washington, D.C. In command for most of the bout, Corley was accurate with both hands as he triumphed by the scores 117-111 twice and 116-112. The flashy southpaw captured the then-vacant WBO 140-pound crown with a first-round TKO over Felix Flores on June 30, 2001, in Las Vegas. In his initial defense, Corley floored former world champion Ener Julio twice en route to registering a lopsided 12-round unanimous decision on Jan. 19, 2002, in Miami. The charismatic Corley has won 11 consecutive bouts since suffering his only defeat on a 10-round split decision to Daniel Lujan on March 20, 1999, in Santa Ynez, Calif.

Judah (28-1, 1 NC, 21 KOs), of Brooklyn, N.Y., will make his first start since tallying a 10-round unanimous decision over Omar Weis by the scores 97-92, 97-93 and 96-93 on July 13, 2002, in Tunica, Miss. The once-beaten southpaw scored the bout's lone knockdown in the second when he dropped Weis with a picturesque left hook flush on the chin. Judah, who came close to decking his opponent on several other occasions, was appearing before a paying and national television audience for the first time losing his IBF title on a second-round knockout to World Boxing Council/World Boxing Association (WBC/WBA) champion Kostya Tszyu in their eagerly awaited 140-pound unification bout Nov. 3, 2001, in Las Vegas.

Harris (22-1-1, 16 KOs), of Brooklyn, N.Y., by way of Georgetown, Guyana, captured the WBA title in his most recent start by scoring an upset second-round TKO over defending champion Diosbelys Hurtado on Oct. 19, 2002. Lightly regarded going in, Harris hurt and floored the champion with a left hook and a devastating right hand. A wobbly Hurtado managed to rise from the canvas, but was obviously shaken. The referee wisely halted the proceeding 43 seconds into the round. The only blemishes on Harris’ record came in back-to-back 2000 outings when he dropped a close 10-round decision to Ray Oliveira on Feb. 25, and fought to a 10-round draw against Ivan Robinson on Aug. 11. Harris, who has won six consecutive bouts, was a three-time Guyanan amateur champion and 1997 New York Golden Gloves champion prior to entering the pro ranks.

M’Baye (27-0, 18 KOs) of Levallois-Perret, France, will make his United States debut in the first fight of his sixth pro year. In his last outing, M’Baye registered a third-round KO over Adam Zadworny on Dec. 21, 2002, in Cottbus, Germany. The native Frenchman captured the WBA International 140-pound title with a 12-round unanimous decision over Khalid Rahilou on May 23, 2002, in Levallois. On Jan. 22, 2002, the hard-punching youngster produced a second-round TKO over previously undefeated Jurgen Haeck to win the European junior welterweight crown.

Frissina (26-3-1, 15 KOs), of Tarpon Springs, Fla., made his professional debut at age 19 on Aug. 26, 1995, with a first-round TKO over Jose Martinez in Las Vegas. The 27 year old captured his first pro championship on June 11, 1999, by winning the National Boxing Association (NBA) 122-pound title with a 12-round decision over Elias Juarez in Tampa, Fla. Dating back to April 1998, Frissina has posted a 17-0-1 record. During that span he also has added the USBA bantamweight and NABO crowns on Feb. 23, 2001, and Nov. 3, 2001, respectively. In his most recent bout on July 27, 2002, Frissina successfully defended his NABO belt with a 12-round decision against his upcoming opponent, Perez.

Perez, (23-2-2, 13 KOs), of Cordoba, Colombia, will look for redemption after losing to Frissina in July 2002. Perez made his pro debut at age 21 on Feb. 3, 1994, with a first-round KO over Victor Tejedor in Barranquilla, Colombia. The scrappy boxer went unbeaten during the next six years by posting a 20-0-2 record with 12 KOs. His first loss, which came in his first fight outside of his home country, was a sixth-round TKO at the hands of Tim Austin on Mar. 3, 2001, in Las Vegas. Perez recorded an eight-round decision over Hugo Dianzo in his most recent outing on Oct. 4, 2002.

Del Valle (31-3-1, 21 KOs), of Long Island, NY, has taken on some of the top fighters in the sport during his career that began in 1992. Des Valle has fought in five title bouts, beginning with a 12-round loss to Virgil Hill for the WBA light heavyweight Championship on Apr. 20, 1996. On Sept. 20, 1997, Del Valle again fought for the WBA light heavyweight Title. This time, he came out on the winning end when he scored an eighth-round TKO over Eddy Smulders. However, the title would be lost just 10 months later when Del Valle dropped a 12-round decision to Roy Jones Jr. on July 18, 1998, in New York. In addition, Del Valle faced Bruno Girard twice for the WBA super middleweight championship, battling to a 12-round draw on Aug. 4, 2001, and losing a tough 12-round decision in his most recent fight on July 13, 2002.

Siaca (16-4, 15 KOs), of Toa Baja, Puerto Rico, made his pro debut at age 21 on April 19, 1997, and earned a four-round decision over Derrick Whitley in Condado, Puerto Rico. In only his 11th career fight, Siaca captured the WBA Latin America super middleweight title with an eighth-round TKO over Carlos Robles on Feb. 26, 1999. Just five fights later, on Sept. 16, 2000, Siaca faced Girard for the WBA super middleweight championship. The hard-hitting boxer-puncher battled Girard for 12 hard rounds before losing on a decision. Siaca also twice fought for the WBA super middleweight championship against Byron Mitchell, losing by 12th-round TKO on Mar. 3, 2001, and on a 12-round decision in the rematch on Sept. 29, 2001. In his most recent bout on May 11, 2002, Siaca stopped Jose Cruz-Rivas in the second-round from San Juan, Puerto Rico.

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