FanHouse Vernon Forrest

TAMPA, Fla. -- Several times a year, Fred Tukes leaves his wife Heather, his two-year-old son Jeremiah, and his 14-year-old daughter Alana, at home in Atlanta to go and trade punches with some of the world's best professional boxers.

ATLANTA (AP) -- Three-time boxing champion Vernon Forrest was remembered Monday by some 1,500 friends, family and fellow athletes as a soft-spoken, modest competitor defined more by his work helping others than his victories in the ring.

The 38-year-old Forrest, a former two-division champion who gained notoriety when he became the first boxer to defeat "Sugar'' Shane Mosley, was shot and killed July 25 in Atlanta. Police have said he exchanged gunfire with at least two robbery suspects before being shot several times in the back.

The truth is that, often times, those of us in this business find ourselves struggling to say only good things about a recently deceased personality whose acts in life demanded that we make him or her known to the public. With Vernon Forrest, it seemed to be the opposite.

It is not manufactured hyperbole for the purpose of being polite that you are hearing and reading such wonderful things about Forrest, a three-time boxing champ who we learned Sunday was fatally shot Saturday night in a carjacking attempt in Atlanta. A more famous Atlanta fighter, Evander Holyfield, may be most well-known as the Real Deal, but there was absolutely nothing phony about the good guy who was Forrest. As HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg, whose network carried many of Forrest's bouts, told the Associated Press on Sunday of Forrest: "He was one of the most gracious and charitable fighters in boxing and he will be missed by the entire boxing community and all of his friends at HBO."

ATLANTA (AP) -- Vernon Forrest, a former two-division champion who gained stardom when he became the first boxer to defeat Shane Mosley, was shot to death in what police are calling an attempted robbery.

Atlanta police Sgt. Lisa Keyes said in an e-mail Sunday that the 38-year-old Forrest was shot several times in the back late Saturday night on a street just southwest of downtown. Keyes said there were no suspects.

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." Keyes said a police report on the shooting was not immediately available.

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On Saturday afternoon, I told someone that I thought Floyd Mayweather Jr. would beat Manny Pacquiao, if the fight between the world's two best boxers finally materializes. After watching Pacquiao destroy Ricky Hatton on Saturday night, I no longer think that.

In fact, I now think this: Pacquiao, the little man who started his professional boxing career in the Philippines fighting at 106 pounds, would beat any boxer at any weight class under 160. Yes, you read that right: Pacquiao would have to move all the way up to middleweight before I'd bet against him.

There are four title fights on cable TV Saturday night, a bonanza for fight fans who won't have to pony up for pay-per-view to catch some good boxing. Since it's boxing in 2008, there's gotta be a drawback and in this case it is that two fights are on HBO and the other two are on Showtime. Still, some judicious flipping and/or the use of a DVR should make it a full night of pugilistic enjoyment.

We'll start by looking at the two HBO fights, live from Atlantic City at 10PM Eastern.

Kelly Pavlik (33-0) vs. Gary Lockett (30-1) for the WBC, WBO and Ring Magazine Middleweight Titles
We start with Pavlik because he's the biggest name, not because this is going to be the best fight of the night. Lockett is a mandatory challenger for Pavlik and he's going to have to come up with a pretty magical effort to hang with Pavlik. He's never fought in the United States before, never fought anyone close to Pavlik's ability and doesn't have the skills of Jermain Taylor or Edison Miranda, each of whom couldn't solve Pavlik's mix of punching power and boxing skills. Unless Pavlik is looking past Lockett, he should end this one fairly early.