GL:  It's been a minute since we've had you on BoxingTalk.  Since the last time we spoke, we understand you're going to be fighting Carlos Baldomir on July 28th.  What's the latest and greatest and what can you tell us about the Baldomir fight? "Before there was a lot of speculation about the fight, but the fight wasn't signed.  Now we have a signed contract, the fight should take place July 28th on HBO along with the rebroadcasting of Bernard Hopkins and Winky Wright.  It's a situation of trying to get the fighter signed, sealed, and delivered.  It's signed, sealed, and delivered, so now it's worth talking about."

GL:  Now it's worth talking about. so tell us about it.  Carlos Baldomir made his splash in boxing in 2006, with his victories over Judah and Gatti, he also fought Mayweather.  I'm not sure how much you knew about him prior to that, but give us some thoughts on Baldomir as a fighter.

VF:  Baldomir is one of those fighters, where you give him an opportunity and he takes advantage of it.  He went to New york and beat Zab.  Then he went to Atlantic City and beat Gatti.  He came up short with Floyd, but he's a guy willing to go into a guy's backyard, fight him on his own turf.  So far, two out of three times, he was successful. 

GL:  It's interesting to hear you say he's been successful on other guy's home turf.  Word is, this fight is going to be taking place in your homestate of Georgia.  Is that true, and can you shed some light on the venue?

VF:  We're really working hard trying to bring the fight to Atlanta.  I've been independent for a long time, since 1998.  I'm one of the few guys who as independent from back then that is still independent to this day.  I just formed my own boxing company, Fight Night Sports Management, and that's the company that's going to be promoting all of my fights.  I already had the company for some time now, I finally decided it was time to start managing and promoting other fighters.  It's what Oscar did and wht Roy has done.  It only feels right to have ownership of what you're doing.  I believe in complete ownersip.

GL:  Now that you're going to be looking for new talent as well is that going to make it difficult for you to focus on Vernon Forrest, the boxer, unless you have other people brought in to relegate those situations?

VF:  You always have to have a team, and it's always a team effort.  You go out there by yourself, but there's always a team of poeple that have been with you in camp, and the people in your corner when you're fighting.  There's always a team effort. When I fight, I always do any promotional ventures with my partner, and longtime friend, Charles Watson.  He's one of the guys that's involved in the business side of it.  Pretty much what Richard Shaeffer is doing with Oscar.  We look forward to maiking boxing big in the southeast market.  Atlanta, right now, is the entertainment capital of the south.  We have all the music, and most athletes live in Atlanta in the off season, when they're not training.  There's a big market for it.  No one has really come in and tapped that market.  Hopefully we can come in, and set a strong foundation in that market. 

GL:  Baldomir has never been stopped are you going out there looking for the stoppage?

VF:  I would go out there looking for a win, a stoppage is extra.  I look forward to the opportunity to fight a guy that I know is going to come in to fight.  He's in great shape, he cares about his performance.  I look to put on a spectacular performance.  I haven't fought, and put on a spectacular performance in a while now.  I'm looking forward to grinding it out, and putting on a spectacular show.

GL:  It's interesting you say that, because you almost took my next question away.  Following the fight with Quartey, people had mixed opinions and mixed views about who won the fight.  It was a razor thin kind of fight.  How important is it for you to come out here on the 28th and leave no doubt, to put that stamp, that the elite Vernon Forrest is back?

VF:  That's a two part question.  Let me answer that first part by saying this, I fought Ike Quartey in New York.  It was Lou DiBella's card that I fought on.  I was brought in as an opponent for Ike Quartey.  I fought him in his town, on his promoter's card and won a unanimous decision.  To say that it was a rigged event, decision or whatever, I have three judges who gave me the decison.  Whatever margin they gave me, I won by two points on one card, with a point deducted.  When people say it was close or whatever, what they should do is stop paying attention to what they hear, and start paying attention to what they see.  If you're watching what I'm doing, then it's obvious I won the fight.  Now for the second part of the question.  I think it's very important for me as a fighter, and as a world class competitor, to look good in this fight.  I want to show that I'm still an elite fighter, I want to prove to myself that I'm still an elite fighter.  For me, it is important not only to look good in this next fight, but to really shine.

GL:  Obviously Baldomir is moving up to fight you at 154, right?

VF:  Absolutely.

GL:  I know that you don't look beyond Baldomir, and that you're going to give me a shitty answer, but I'll ask anyway.  The fans want to know.  Even though you're not looking past Baldomir, is there anybody in particular at 54, or perhaps 47, that you'd like to come up to 54, who might be the pot of gold Vernon Forrest is looking for at the end of the rainbow?


VF:  The winner of my fight with Baldomir is supposed to get the winner out of Floyd and Oscar.  That being said, if they're not going to do a rematch...  One of the reasons it took me so long to fight again from the last time I fought in August was...

GL:  That you were the number one contender, and you wanted to get that mandatory enforced. 

VF:  Exactly , I wanted to make sure that all my I's were dotted and all my T's were crossed.  So that if for whatever reason, they decided they were not going to do a rematch, then I would be next in line for whoevr won.  Obviously, Floyd won that fight.  If he wants to maintain that he's the champion at 54, then we have to talk??

GL:  We're going to see how that goes.  You know those cats are going to fight again, and make a lot of money. 

VF:  Hey, it is what it is. 

GL:  Your Harvard graduate could tell you that.

VF:  I can't knock a man's hustle, but at the same time, I'm not going anywhere.

GL:  There isn't a law that says the rematch has to be for the belt anyway.

VF:  That's true.  Nine times out of ten, it's not going to be for the belt. 

GL:  That's more than enough for now.  When you get a venue, give me a ring.  Let me know, so we can put it out there.   

VF:  Look forward to big things from Fight Night Promotions.  We're going to have some major fights, especially for the fans from the Southeast.  World class major fights.  Were looking to make some great matches in the future.

M

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