For the third time in the month of July, a well known boxing star was killed in another senseless criminal act. 
The popular fighter had won welterweight and junior middleweight titles and compiled a professional record of 41-3 with 29 knockouts. His long time publicist, Kelly Swanson said that he was a caring human being who stood up for the fairness of life. “It was truly his calling,” Swanson said of his work with children. “When he wasn’t boxing, this was his full-time job. … When they would see him, they would just light up, and some of them couldn’t even talk. Vernon was very much involved. He’d have some of the kids over to his house on Sundays. They were part of his family.”
“Forrest’s manager, Charles Watson, said the 1992 Olympian stopped at a gas station to put air in his car tires when a man asked for money. When he pulled his wallet out, the man snatched it and started running, and Forrest took off after him, Watson said.” Forrest lost him when the assailant turned the corner and then turned back to return to his car. That is when he was shot. Fulton County medical examiner Michele Stauffenberg confirmed the case was a homicide and that the autopsy showed Forrest died from “multiple gunshot wounds involving the torso and thigh.”
Vernon Forrest lived in Atlanta and was a part of the Olympic team that also had Oscar De La Hoya as a member. He was also revered for his participation with the Destiny’s Child group homes in Atlanta. They work to provide housing for the mentally disabled. He is survived by his only son, Vernon Jr.
He won his first world title by defeating Raul Frank at Madison Square Garden for the vacant IBF welterweight belt in May 2001, and less than a year later handed Shane Mosley his first career loss to capture the WBC title. He then lost the title in two controversial fights and subsequently took off two years due to injuries. He then came back with both fists swinging and beat Carlos Baldomir for the vacant junior middleweight title and held that title until June of last year. The soft-spoken yet hard-punching Forrest reclaimed it when he won a lopsided decision last September in what turned out to be his final fight.
Hall of Famer Alexis Arguello, the mayor of Managua, Nicaragua, was found dead at his home on July 1 in an apparent suicide. Two weeks ago, Arturo Gatti was found dead in a condominium in Brazil. Gatti’s wife remains the prime suspect in that case. Why these tragic events always seem to come in threes is a mystery to me, but here again, it happened. I hope that this suspect is caught and brought to justice.