TONIGHT! (late) Baldomir v. Forrest

Forrest's public gameplan coming in is to outbox Baldomir, which at his best he can do. But we'll have to see if he's at his best. He hasn't been for years.

Good crowd in Tacoma.

First minute is a "see what he's got" sort of deal for both guys. Vernon is staying back, and Baldomir is trying to push, since, as Larry Merchant said, he only has one speed, which is going forward. Not being a big puncher, that's a novel approach for Baldomir. First half of the round goes by with no one doing much of note, no notable shots landed.

Left to the body from Forrest, follow-up left hook upstairs misses. Left to the chin lands for Forrest, Baldomir isn't able to work his way in yet. Baldomir is badly missing on some attempts. Round ends with nothing much happening on either side. Forrest looks like he wants to counter-punch, Baldomir doesn't look like he wants to commit enough to let him.

Forrest 10-9

20 seconds in, Baldomir complains lightly about either being punched in the back of the head or shoved in the back of the head. Forrest wants to establish the jab now, which is his best weapon theoretically. Baldomir is doing his thing, moving forward and trying to make his style work.

And then they do some sort of dance.

Baldomir is struggling to establish his own ground, and Forrest is doing a much better job in that regard. Forrest catches him with a right, but Baldomir comes back with his best shot of the first two rounds. Fight opens up big at the end of the second round, and we just might get a fight tonight. Another round for Forrest.

Forrest 10-9
Forrest 20-18

Forrest has a small mouse under his right eye.

Baldomir with a nice left hook to the body as Forrest is trying to back away. Now they're starting to really throw the leather. Forrest with a nice right up top, Baldomir can take a punch like few else, though. Forrest is controlling the tempo right now, and Baldomir will need to change that. His boxing-first idea is seemingly going out the window, however. He's willing to mix it up with Baldomir, and I'm thrilled with that.

Both miss big shots with about a minute left, then hit the reset button at center ring. Forrest with two rights to the head, then he avoids a Baldomir haymaker, and gets away from the ropes just after. Baldomir is trying to land bombs, but it's not happening. Right upstairs from Baldomir comes after a blocked left. This is a pretty good fight so far.

Baldomir 10-9
Forrest 29-28

Hurrld has it 3-0 Forrest.

Baldomir is caught with a beautiful straight right from Forrest, then catches him with a stiff jab. These guys are bringing it tonight. It's nice to see Forrest looking this healthy.

Nice left hook from Baldomir, but Forrest comes back with a left to the body. Forrest with two big rights, and Baldomir just walks through them. His chin is crazy. Tacoma crowd is fucking outstanding, but this is good stuff so far. Glad I'm watching.

Aw, hell, a clash of heads.

Forrest lands two nice lefts at the end of the round, and Baldomir thinks one was late. He's wrong, though.

Forrest 10-9
Forrest 39-37

This has been briskly-paced, really going by fast.

Forrest is still totally controlling the pace. Baldomir isn't even fighting poorly -- he's just being beaten. Vernon hasn't looked this good in years. Manny Steward says basically the same thing: "I don't think Baldomir can do any better than he's doing."

Hard left hook from Forrest, again it doesn't even appear to faze Baldomir. Forrest seems to know he's winning and may have rattled Baldomir a little, so he's in a boxing mode now, instead of the fighting speed he was programmed into beforehand. Another fun round, ended with Forrest landing a body shot.

Forrest 10-9
Forrest 49-46

Hard right from Forrest lands midway through, but whoops, another clash of heads. Forrest seems more bothered than Baldomir.

This is turning into a rough and tumble sort of fight. Forrest maintains his control of the pace, but Baldomir is trying to turn the tide.

Forrest 10-9
Forrest 59-55

Nice quick combo from Forrest. Hard right from Forrest. I'll tell you, though, Baldomir's chin is world-class. That is probably the only thing in his game that's world class.

Baldomir looks surprisingly quick to me, but he's not quicker than Vernon. Forrest is frustrating him just because Baldomir cannot establish anything, even though he's fighting perfectly well. Another round for Vernon. He's not in Mosley-conqueror mode, but he's as close as he's been since then.

Forrest 10-9
Forrest 69-64

Hurrld has a 7-0 sweep for Forrest.

Baldomir seems absolutely lost right now. With a little over a minute left in the round, he just drops his hands and stands at center ring, waiting for Forrest to do something. But Vernon's up big right now; Baldomir has to make something happen at this point, and so far, he's just totally unable.

This is Vernon's night.

Forrest 10-9
Forrest 79-73

Forrest is totally in control. It's interesting for me, because I was a huge Forrest fan after the Mosley fights, then his fights against Mayorga made me a huge Mayorga fan. Tonight, I'm remembering what it was I liked about Vernon Forrest in the first place. He's not the superstar-level fighter he used to be, but he's looking good.

BIG right from Baldomir, then moments later Vernon nails him squiy in the ball sack. Forrest is docked a point.

Nasty counter right from Forrest, but Baldimor comes back throwing leather. Forrest doesn't seem to want any of that action. This has been by far Baldomir's best round, and he's now calling Forrest out on the carpet. Great round.

Baldomir 10-8 with the point deduction
Forrest 87-83

Forrest gets back to the grind, but then Baldomir catches him a little with about a minute left. I think Forrest has this locked up barring a very unlikely knockout, but this has been a damn fun fight, much better than I'd expected. Baldomir has done a great job, Vernon has just been better.

Forrest 10-9
Forrest 97-92

Forrest's combos have been sharp when he's thrown them. In the last minute of this round -- another he's been in control of -- he shows those combos at their very best. Hell of a good fight tonight. Not a FOTY candidate or anything, but damn good, and both guys should be proud of their efforts.

Forrest 10-9
Forrest 107-101

Baldomir has to know he needs a KO, but the truth is, he's not that kind of puncher. Hard left from Forrest. Baldomir's chin is just nasty. It's like he wasn't even hit. ANOTHER one. Perfectly timed, would have knocked a lot of guys on their ass. Forrest is winning this round in true champion's style, fighting forward when he doesn't HAVE to. That's impressive, and admirable, even though it's kinda stupid.

Hell of a good fight. Great crowd, great atmosphere, two guys that brought their best. All the shit this fight took in the buildup (including mine) was totally undeserved. Not a CLOSE fight, but a damn good one. Hats off to both Forrest and Baldomir. I'll watch either guy again based on this fight.

Forrest 10-9
Forrest 117-110

Hurrld has 118-109 for Vernon.

OK, here's the officials:

118-109
118-109
116-111

ALL for the NEW WBC 154-pound champion, VERNON FORREST