I was told this morn by my boyfriend of the tragic end of Vernon Forrest.... He was so upset and so was I.  I had the pleasure of meeting Vernon in 2003 and until this day, he was the nicest, most down to earth famous person I ever met.
I watch boxing alot with my boyfriend and like alot of people, I thought it was violent and yes it can be, but so is football and hockey and the rest and tons of people flock to those sports. Boxing really is the SWEET SCIENCE.  I was impressed with the fact that EVERY time I saw Vernon enter the ring, he had people with special needs in there with him.  I believe he ran some sort of organization for people with special needs and I was impressed...
So, yrs later, he was in the city I live in, Buffalo Ny for a charity event... My boyfriend of course went and got a ticket to meet him.. I was working and figured I would hear all about the time he had and was wishing he met Vernon.  So, as Im doing wash, my phone rings, its my boyfriend and he tells me, Kel, guess whos here with me right now??? Then I say nothing and hear this person on the other end... IT WAS VERNON... He stuck around after the event and I may add, that with all the other celeb athletes there... Vernon stuck around to play with the kids... Well anyways, he asked me how i am and asks me if I was going to come down and say hello to him.  I was thrilled. So I get ready to go and what happens, my brother comes over to my moms house to use the free washer and dryer like i was and he loses his friggin keys to his van and I was blocked in... took me 45 min to find them, my boyfriend calling me freaking out... HE asked Vernon if he wouldnt mind waiting a bit more and guess what?? He did... Needless to say, we found my brothers keys, he is still in the dog house for that and I get there... a complete mess and there is Vernon standing with my boyfriend and Willis Maghee , he was a jerk btw.... So, me , being the goof I am go running up to him and he opens his arms and he bear hugs me... I told him how sorry I was for delaying him and he took the time to ask how i was... I blushed, told him how I thought he was a wonderful example for boxing and then he asked me where to go to eat around here... Being from Buffalo of course I told him The Anchor Bar... HE and Willis asked me if I wanted to go out on the town with them.... I told them no and gave him a hug again and went home.
I was on air the whole ride home, I have always been a bit of a tom boy so sports to me are the BEES KNEES! He was so real and genuine.... I was not disappointed at all.
So as I get home, there is a message on my machine and I played it and it was Vernon leaving me a message when he thought he wouldnt be able to stay long enough to meet me...
What a class act.
If u never had the chance to see or meet him, too bad.
He was kind and he needs to be remembered for the class act he was.
may God rest his soul and give peace to his family and friends.
To the ones that took his life, I pray you do the right thing and turn yourselves in.
I just had to share this story to any true fans of not only boxers but stand up guys!
Kelly

Kelly, if he was even half the man you portayed in your post, then the world has lost a good man! I remember his fight with Mosley..which, of course, he won. He did not deserve such a gruesome death...RIP.

Kelly, if he was even half the man you portayed in your post, then the world has lost a good man! I remember his fight with Mosley..which, of course, he won. He did not deserve such a gruesome death...RIP.

Thank u... he was in my book... Read up on him, u will be amazed.
Thanks for reading my post

I didn't want to do something cosmetic. I want to know what I do is going to make a difference in somebody's life."
-- Vernon Forrest
theres a wonderful story about Vernon... Please take the time to read it.
Vernon Forrest One of True Good Guys
Posted Jul 26, 2009 11:01PM By Kevin Blackistone (RSS feed)

Filed Under: Boxing
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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."

Forrest will be missed most, however, by people beyond the ring -- people who need people, as the old Barbra Streisand song goes.

Forrest told this story any time he was asked. It goes that he was hanging out at the home of a friend who worked with the psychologically and emotionally challenged. (How novel is that? He wasn't hanging out at the strip club or dogfighting ring.) He watched one of those in his friend's stead, an autistic child, who Forrest said struggled for an hour to tie his shoes.

Forrest said he became so frustrated watching the child fight to do something most of us take for granted that he could no longer take it for granted. His friend refused to help the child because the friend hoped the child would break through alone. The child's battle broke Forrest, however, and Forrest eventually helped the child tie his shoes. Then Forrest set out to help others with similar struggles.

"If you sit there and watch a person take about an hour to tie his shoestrings, then you realize that whatever problems you got ain't that significant," Forrest recounted to the New York Times in August 2006 before a match against Ike Quartey. "A light just turned on in my head."