Weekend Preview: Jerry Forrest & Terron Grant Return
Images by Anna John for StiffJab.com
by Gautham Nagesh
The young boxer you see jumping for joy above is Newport News, Va. heavyweight Jerry “Slug” Forrest, who fights Saturday night at Fort Myer/Henderson Hall Joint Military Base in Arlington on a card promoted by Dr. Richard Ashby’s RBA Promotions.
Forrest will be joined on the card by heavyweight Duane Mobley , lightweight Terron Grant (below), light heavyweight Greg Newby, and cruiserweight Zakki Scott. All are unbeaten young prospects that we have covered before, and each has shown promise in their own right. Grant is a great young man, Newby is a military veteran and product of Lime Lite Boxing in my hood, and Scott impressed me while winning the 2011 Washington Regional Golden Gloves at 201 lbs.
But Forrest is the real attraction, and not just because he’s the only heavyweight we’ve seen capable of doing backflips in the ring after a win. Forrest was an accomplished amateur that beat the likes of Headbangers’ Danny Kelly in the unpaid ranks. No less an authority than heavyweight contender Seth Mitchell told me yesterday that Forrest has “real pop” for a heavyweight, so expect a quick night for his opponent Wayne “Hammerhead” Hampton.
The irreplaceable Gary “Digital” Williams has all the details on the card, which will inexplicably be held on a military base. That means fans had best bring a federal ID and come prepared to have their vehicles searched.Therefore we’re not expecting a huge crowd, or a long night, considering the uneven matchmaking. Regardless, it’s boxing in the DMV featuring legitimate prospects, so you know Stiff Jab will be there.
WBO women’s bantamweight titlist Kaliesha “Wild Wild” West will move up in weight on Saturday to challenge Christina Ruiz at super bantamweight in Pomona, Calif. on a charity card promoted by former world champion Sugar Shane Mosley. West sports a record of 15-1-3 (4 KOs) and looking to capitalize on the success of women’s boxing at the 2012 London Olympics; she’s also thrilled to be fighting so close to her hometown Moreno Valley. Shane’s son Shane Mosley Jr. will fight on the amateur portion of the card as well.
Fox Deportes has a Saturday night show from Sacramento featuring Yoshihiro Kamegai vs. Jorge Silva at welterweight, along with lightweight contender Jorge Linares and junior middleweight prospect Hugo Centeno…A PPV show from Bayamon, Puerto Rico will feature Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. vs. Jonathan Oquendo at 122 lbs. in the main event and Moises Fuentes vs. Ivan Calderon Fuentes’ WBO strawweight strap in the co-feature…Cruiserweight contender and MMA fighter B.J. Flores returns in Springfield, Mo. against David McNemar. Flores is in line for a big fight at 200 lbs., but McNemar is pretty tough for a guy that has only fought twice since 2007. Flores will win, but it shouldn’t be too easy.