Carlos Takam Spoils Jerry Forrest’s Appetite, Gets The Win In Las Vegas
Preparing for a new opponent, Jerry Forrest was confident in his ability no matter what. He believed his fists would do the talking. It was his stomach and lack of power that was the story of the night.
Inside the MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas, Carlos Takam beat Forrest (26-4) via unanimous decision (96-94, 98-92, 97-93). Takam now has his sights set on becoming a world champion, looking to face Tyson Fury sometime down the line.
Q: Who do you want next, @carlos_takam?
A: ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/oSqIXQe5Iz
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) July 10, 2020
Before the bout began, the announcers were grilling on Forrest for eating a sandwich in the locker room. That may have slowed him down a bit to start things off, as Takam (39-5-1) was hot right out of the gate. The former heavyweight title contender hit jabs, left hooks and overhand rights. Forrest was standing right in front of Takam, making him an easy target. Takam would hit shots from the outside and then go right back in.
By the end of round one, Takam landed 24 punches compared to Forrest’s ten. Round two saw inside right hands and jabs by Takam. Takam’s team was telling him to go for the “red gut”, which was the stomach of Forrest. Another one-two combination and a head shot had Takam in the lead. He would continue to hit shots to the face and gut as Forrest tried landing shots on the inside.
Takam’s trainer really yelled “You know where that roast beef sandwich is!” 😂#TakamForrest heading down the home stretch, LIVE NOW on ESPN. pic.twitter.com/OCzqaubcp8
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) July 10, 2020
Throughout the bout, Takam was putting pressure on Forrest’s arm, holding him by the elbow to distract and hurt him. While it didn’t inflict much damage, the mind games were there.
Takam continued to lunge forward while nursing an injury by his eye. He would continue to check it out while hitting clear shots to the body and face of Forrest. By the sixth round, Takam had a 57-26 connecting advantage. While he seemed slower, Takam landed solid blows. The last-minute bout could have been a reason why he was slowing down, or the injury by his eye.
Something changed in round seven, as Forrest was landing shots to the face. He hit a left hook in the middle of the action. Forrest would continue to do so the next round but would not truly take advantage. Takam was covering his face, and the announcers pointed out it would have been a good time to go to the body. A left by Forrest helped him in the eighth but Takam hit a huge shot towards the end of the round.
Forrest would try and land shots to the eye as Takam was missing shots. He would, however, storm back and land overhand shots as well as inside blows. Round ten saw Forrest get hit in the face as he was giving up on the late game plan. Takam would stop and move until the end of the fight.
The elder Takam was a replacement for Jarrell Miller, who once again was caught with performance-enhancing drugs. He would land 106 of 455 shots according to CompuBox, while Forrest landed 70 of 321.
Takam has now won four in a row and is 6-2 in his last eight fights. Forrest is now 1-2 in his last three fights ever since losing his 18-fight win streak against Jermaine Franklin.