CHAMPION BOXER SHOT, KILLED DURING ATTEMPTED CARJACKING

Category: Chronicle Archives Published on Sunday, 26 July 2009 20:00 Written by Michigan Chronicle

Champion boxer Vernon Forrest, also known as “The Viper,” was shot to death late Saturday evening in Atlanta, Ga., during an attempted carjacking.

According to police, Forrest, 38, was armed with a gun and confronted the suspects after they tried to steal his car while he was putting air into the tires.  

"The victim and suspect became involved in a brief foot chase," Lt. Keith Meadows said. "At some point, gunfire was exchanged between the two of them. The victim was shot at least once in the head."

Forrest was born in Georgia but graduated from Marquette High School in Michigan.  He then earned a scholarship to Northern Michigan University where he majored in business administration.

He began boxing at a very young age. While attending high school and college, he trained at the Olympic Center, a facility on the campus of NMU that offers training and educational opportunities for young Olympic hopefuls.  He had to quit his studies when he won a spot on the U.S. boxing team for the 1992 Olympic games in Barcelona.

Forrest turned pro after the 1992 Olympic Games and was considered one of the best in boxing when he bested previously undefeated champ “Sugar” Shane Mosley in 2001.  He won the World Boxing Council’s welterweight title and defended it against Mosley six months later.  After a series of defeats and a two-year hiatus from boxing, he reclaimed his WBC title in 2008 from Sergio Mora.

According to reports, he was the first one in his family to earn a high school diploma.  Bill Bergin, former Marquette Public Schools superintendent and former USOEC boxing coordinator, recalled one of the things he remembered about Forrest.

“He wanted that high school diploma so he could get into college,” he said. “That’s tough, going to school during the day, training after that.  Quick dinner and go back to class till 9 o’clock, 9:30 four nights a week.  That’s what really stood out.”