Mora gets decision to win title

UNCASVILLE, Conn. -- Sergio Mora is the Contender no more.

Mora won the World Boxing Council super-welterweight title Saturday night, outpointing Vernon Forrest at the Mohegan Sun Arena. Mora received winning scores of 115-113 and 116-112 from two of the judges, and the third judge had it 114-114.

Mora, from East Los Angeles, outworked Forrest in the second half of the fight, using short punches inside and superior movement. Mora, the winner on the inaugural season of “The Contender” boxing show, is the first world champion to have appeared on the show.

“Thank God! This is a dream of mine, and I worked very hard and I deserve this,” said Mora (21-0, 5 KOs). “You can’t prepare for Vernon, and I couldn’t relax and I didn’t get overconfident.”

Forrest (40-3) came out strong before noticeably tiring in the fifth round. Forrest’s energy level dropped and as the rounds went, he stayed on his stool until the last possible moment.

In the co-feature, Paul Williams avenged his only defeat, regaining the World Boxing Organization welterweight title with a stunning knockout of Carlos Quintana at 2:15 of the first round.