Former two-division world champion Vernon Forrest was shot and killed Saturday night during an attempted carjacking, promoter Gray Shaw said.
On the evening of July 25, 2009, Forrest was shot dead during an attempted carjacking in Atlanta, Georgia/ Forrest was shot seven or eight times as he attempted to stop carjackers from stealing his Jaguar, which had his girlfriend’s son in the backseat.
Forrest (41-3, 29 KOs), a 1992 U.S. Olympian, was a former two-time welterweight and two-time junior middleweight champion best known for his two decision victories against Shane Mosley in 2002.
Forrest had beaten Mosley to keep him off the 1992 Olympic team but when they met in January 2002 in New York, it was Mosley, then widely regarded as the pound-for-pound No. 1 fighter in boxing, who was a significant favorite.
Instead, Forrest knocked Mosley down and dominated the fight to hand him his first pro loss and win the WBC welterweight title. Forrest outpointed him in a closer fight in the July 2002 rematch in Indianapolis.
Forrest won the vacant IBF welterweight title in May 2001 with a lopsided decision against Raul Frank in New York. It was a rematch because their first bout ended in a three-round no contest nine months earlier. Forrest never defended that belt, instead vacating in order to facilitate the big-money first fight with Mosley.