It has been more than a week since the Oscar De La Hoya/Steve Forbes encounter, Homecoming. Everyone has his or her own opinion of not only how the fight went, but why it occurred in the first place. I didn’t really think about that too much, I was just glad that I was able to be there to watch it. I had already been planning on trying to get a chance to speak with Forbes after the fight for his own opinions, and luckily for me, that was able to happen.

So, just what did he think of his fight? “I thought it was a good fight,” he told me. “Obviously Oscar’s a big guy and I was moving up in weight, 10 pounds more than I normally fight, and I definitely felt a little difference in there. But I was fighting against a legend, and I thought I put up an excellent fight.”

Steve didn’t get the victory, but I had thought that it was a win-win situation for him. He felt the same. “It didn’t hurt my career at all, if anything I think it enhanced it because people got a chance to see me really compete with one of the best fighters ever.”

Forbes and Oscar square off at Homecoming. Linda Peterson photo

I wanted to get his feedback on the criticisms that have been repeatedly thrown around both before and after this fight. “Well, first, people didn’t expect me to go 12 rounds. I think people thought that I was going to get in there and Oscar was going to knock me out. Then all of a sudden the fight goes 12 and it’s somewhat competitive in there, so now they say, ‘Well, yeah, he’s supposed to give Oscar some good works…’ No matter what I would have done in there it was going to be built on Oscar. He’s the name fighter; he’s the big face in boxing.

“Honestly, I cared more about what people were saying before the fight. Nobody expected me to do anything. But you look at his face after the fight, that tells a whole heck of a story. I think I went out there and fought my heart out against a bigger guy. Of course I wanted to win, but short of winning I was happy with the way I fought.

“I didn’t run from him when everybody thought I would,” he continued. “I brought him to the final bell.”

I mentioned to Steve that I had been a bit surprised when Oscar voiced his disappointment at not being able to knock him out, when he has never even been on the canvas. Forbes explained by telling me, “I think it was a goal, being that I’m a smaller guy. He really thought that I would give him a couple of rounds and then he would be able to knock me out or stop me, and I wouldn’t be able to continue in the fight.

“I had said earlier that, ‘once he tries to bully me and sees that doesn’t work,’ which is exactly what happened, ‘he would try to outbox me,’ and it turned into a boxing match. Yeah, he was frustrated,” he continued, “because he’s a big puncher and normally knocks guys out that are a lot bigger than I am, and the fact that he couldn’t, I know it was frustrating. And he took some lumps along the way.”

Even though Forbes was an experienced fighter with a title under his belt, I wondered if he came out of the De La Hoya fight learning some things. “Oh, absolutely,” he answered emphatically. “I’ve always said that an experience is something where you don’t get what you want, but you learn a lot. And I’ve learned so much fighting great fighters. I’ve always been confident, but my confidence has gone to another level, especially now, against a big, strong guy who can punch with both hands, a good, good puncher. So I definitely came out of there learning a whole lot, and each fight I’m going to be better and better.”

I wondered what Steve thought of the probable re-match between De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather. Could Oscar beat him this time? “I think he could,” he told me. “I think it’s going to be a very physical fight. The last time, he fought a great fight. But he didn’t do nearly the things he did coming into this fight. I think if he had fought me the way he fought Floyd the first time, I would have beat him. I think he worked on a few things, and having Floyd Mayweather, Sr. definitely helped him.

“He boxed like a tall guy,” he explained. “He normally fights like a small guy, but he fought like a tall guy, and it made it very difficult at times to really reach him with some hard punches. I definitely give him a good shot, being that the first fight he fought with Floyd was so close. So I think he’ll be in a better position to maybe win the fight.”

Forbes concluded by thanking, among others, the fans. “I want to thank them for coming out. They wanted to see a good fight, and they got to see one. I didn’t come in just to be there, I came to win. Unfortunately I didn’t get the victory, but I think I did win some things. I think I won a lot of respect, and the opportunity for bigger and better fights.”

While nothing is set yet, Steve has plans for the future. “I’m going to go down to my normal weight of 140 pounds and look to fight for a World Championship. That’s what we’re looking at, probably in the next five or six months.”

I want to thank Steve for taking time out of his day to speak with me for this interview. I first got to see him fight when he was on The Contender. Now, I look forward to seeing him BE the contender when he fights for that title, and I wish him good luck!

Be safe and God Bless,

Viva La Raza,

Barb.