By Fred De La Riva

13.10 - On a cool October night while the Anaheim Angels were moving one step closer to the American League crown, across the freeway at the Arrowhead Pond, Antonio Margarito was eager to solidify his claim to the welterweight throne. The welterweight class has long been held in high regard among boxing enthusiasts. First created in 1878, the division has been the stomping ground for many of boxing's immortals.

Mickey Walker, Henry Armstrong, Kid Gavilan, and Sugar Ray Robinson once played here. Curtis Cokes, Emile Griffith, Jose "Mantequilla" Napoles thrilled fans with many stirring performances in the 60's and 70's. And of course, who can forget what can arguably be called the division's golden era when boxing greats such as Carlos Palomino, Wilfred Benitez, Pipino Cuevas and ring legends Roberto Duran, Sugar Ray Leonard and Tommy Hearns battled each other in the ring wars of the 80's. With the departure of De La Hoya, Trinidad and now Mosley, the division is again clamoring for a welterweight king.

The press who is always quick to jump on the "flavor of the month's", wagon hastily crowned Vernon Forrest welterweight king with his victories over the once "pound for pound" champion Shane Mosley. Ring magazine also lent credibility to Forrest's reign by awarding him the "true" welterweight Ring championship belt, but boxing fans must take this with a grain of salt. You must remember that Shane Mosley was not the undisputed welterweight champ when he beat Oscar De La Hoya. His claim was for only the WBC title and nothing more. So how can Vernon be crowned on the grounds of his victories over Shane?

The truth is he cannot be until he beats the other title-holders who I'm sure are ready and able to depose this "so-called" king.

One can argue that Vernon beat the best the division had to offer, so now he must be called the best, and that argument is truly valid, but that decision should really be made inside the ring, as it ultimately must be. This road would not be easy, as he has to conquer men such as Margarito and Mayorga. Antonio Margarito, who is the current WBO champion, brings to the table a variety of weapons. He is not the strongest puncher in the division, but his punches are solid and they keep on coming and he doesn't seem to tire easily. He is well balanced and seems to be welled schooled in the game. Ricardo Mayorga, the WBA champ, is a very aggressive fighter, who doesn't back down.

Vernon is not invincible as he is currently being touted. His strong right hand, did keep Mosley in check up to a point, but Vernon's knockouts have decreased as the level of his competition has increased. The glass jawed Edgar Ruiz was the last victim of the "Viper" in 2001 and we have to go back to 1999 to find his previous victim. His most effective weapon against Mosley was the type of clutching that Holyfield made famous in his classic victory over Mike Tyson. Any true follower of boxing knows that this tactic is illegal and he could have and should have been repeatedly warned by the referee.

The truth of the matter is that there is no welterweight king just yet. Vernon cannot make the same claim that Jones, although not the linear champion, Hopkins and Tszyu can make. They unified their respective divisions for the most part. Has Vernon done the same? No he hasn't and as a result, the throne remains empty.

Feel free to contact the author at reevee@earthlink.net