Forbes wins fight but loses title belt

Dean Juipe

Monday, Aug. 19, 2002 | 9:12 a.m.

Steve Forbes won a fight but lost a valuable possession Sunday night.

The Las Vegas-based boxer earned a 12-round decision victory over David Santos at the Pechanga Resort in Temecula, Calif., but because he failed to make the allotted mandatory weight Forbes was forced to relinquish his International Boxing Federation junior lightweight championship.

That title now sits vacant, and Forbes would appear to be through with the 130-pound division.

"I was kind of upset," he said of being stripped of the belt. "But I had trouble making weight for two years. I think my body is telling me it's time to move up."

Forbes made the comment prior to his fight with Santos, which was nationally televised on Fox Sports Net.

Forbes, 25, raised his record to 21-1 with his second victory over Santos, and as was the case in his Nov., 2000, win over Santos in Detroit, this one was tough to score. Forbes won by split decision, getting a 117-111 advantage from two of the judges but trailing by a 115-113 score on the third judge's card.Santos, 31, drops to 42-5.

There were no knockdowns and referee Lou Moret had an easy time of it. Forbes controlled the bulk of the action and routinely had Santos, of Phoenix, in retreat.Forbes came through the bout virtually unmarked.

"David came in very determined," Forbes said. "I think my inactivity had something to do with (the close margin of victory)."

Forbes had not fought in 11 months.

Forbes, as was reported in the Sun last week, was weighing in the 160s as recently as a couple of months ago and never did get down to 130 pounds. At Friday's official weigh in, he twice got on the scales but was stuck at 132 and was informed by the IBF representative that he would have that organization's championship taken from him.

Amazingly, when Forbes was reweighed as he arrived at the arena for the fight, he had shot up to 152 pounds. Santos, who weighed in at130, added only one pound by the time of the fight.

"We'll talk about it," Forbes said, referring to a pending conversation with his manager, James Prince, and whether he will permanently move out of the junior lightweight division. Earlier in his career, Forbes fought at least three times with weights in excess of 140 pounds.

In the companion main event on the card, former light heavyweight world champion James Toney knocked down Jason Robinson in the fifth round and finished him off with a powerful left hook in Round 7. Now a cruiserweight, Toney is 65-4-2 and will move to the top of the IBF ratings and into a mandatory challenger's position to reigning champion Vassiliy Jirov.

DAVIS LOSES: In another weekend televised fight involving a Las Vegas boxer, United States Boxing Association cruiserweight champion Kelvin Davis was something of a surprise loser to Ravea Springs in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Davis, 18-1-1, came into the Friday fight anticipating a victory, but was outworked by Springs, 25-2, and a four-point decision loser on each of the judges' cards.