Friday, July 11, 2003 | 10:04 a.m.
Vernon Forrest left the press conference five minutes too soon. He missed the fireworks, missed the insults Ricardo Mayorga threw at him.
"Hold on, Vernon," Mayorga shouted toward Forrest as his Saturday night opponent at the Orleans excused himself Thursday and departed after saying a few words at the podium. "Where you going?"
But Forrest neither hit the brakes nor chose to be detained. He was out the door despite his rival's pleas.
That only bolstered Mayorga's resolve.
"I'm going to kill him," he said in the midst of his remarks, reflecting a confidence he will have to back in the ring when he faces a man who he defeated earlier this year.
Mayorga and Forrest headline a Don King-promoted card in a 12-round bout with two major titles at stake. Mayorga, the World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association champion at 147 pounds, is promising to win the fight by knockout within two rounds, which, if he were to pull off the feat, would only add to his rising celebrity status.
He's 24-3-1 with 22 knockouts and owns a Jan. 25 KO-3 win against Forrest in California as well.
Forrest is 35-1 with 26 KOs and only a year removed from consecutive victories against then-superstar Shane Mosley.
But Forrest has kept a very low profile for this fight, training in Florida and skipping an earlier press conference in Las Vegas as well as a conference call with the primary contestants.
"I'd like to apologize to Don King and the media for not being accessible," Forrest said after being introduced at a press conference in which he appeared loose and carefree. "This fight is very important in my career and I didn't want any distractions. I wanted solitude and focus.
"Just bear with me. I'm not giving interviews.
"But I promise you'll see the best fight of your entire life. I guarantee victory.
"Trust me, I'll come home a champion."
The decision to avoid the media and turn down interview requests isn't all that uncommon for Forrest, his trainer said.
"I know a lot of the press are disappointed that Vernon hasn't been talking much lately and they are making a big deal out of the fact he is not, but this is not unusual," said Ronnie Shields. "He always shuts down before a fight to concentrate."
Forrest, who, like Mayorga, is receiving $750,000 for the bout, has no ties to King and is under contract to HBO, which will televise the card from the hotel's new arena. But his lack of public commentary hasn't helped at the box office and only 3,000 seats had been sold by midweek.
Orleans executives are hoping for 6,000 the night of the fight.
Mayorga, an underdog in spite of his earlier win over Forrest, has enthusiastically carried the promotional duties. He's a plus 235 for those looking to place a bet, with Forrest a minus 275.
Mayorga leapt to his feet as Forrest left the press conference and went on a five-minute diatribe that was readily translated by his lead trainer, Hector Perez.
"In our first fight I took his (WBA) title," Mayorga said. "But this belt means nothing to me."
Obviously exaggerating, he went on to say he had thrown the belt to his dog in the back yard of his Managua, Nicaragua, home.
"I understand Vernon's wife is here," Mayorga continued, photographers and some reporters crowding forward to see his animated verbal attack. "I'm going to take her back home so she can sweep up my back yard."
As the crowd groaned, Mayorga picked up steam.
"Two rounds! Two rounds!" he hollered, referring to his knockout prediction. "Anyone out there who doesn't think I can do it, stand up now and I'll bet you $100,000 I can.
"Forrest's mom is going to be picking him up from the canvas."
Barely pausing, he added another shot.
"It's a shame that he left," Mayorga said. "I haven't had a chance to get a picture of me with that belt -- it's been a hassle getting it away from the dog."
King was delighted with the spontaneity of the outburst, coming as it did at the end of what had been an exceedingly dull news conference.
"If he didn't have a fight before, he's got one now," the promoter bellowed, wrapping his arm around Mayorga to show his appreciation.
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