Ex-boxing champ Vernon Forrest killed in apparent robbery

When he heard that his longtime friend, former welterweight champion Vernon Forrest, had been gunned down in Atlanta on Saturday night, Bernard Hopkins thought about all the good things that Forrest — the man who knocked Shane Mosley from the unbeaten ranks and the only one ever to knock him down — brought to boxing and to life.

Vernon Forrest

You never heard anything bad about this guy," Hopkins, one of the great all-time middleweight champions, "And let's not forget the disabled kids his foundation (Destiny's Child) helped (find homes for). He was doing that way before the cameras came in and before the big fights came in. He had that mentality.

Vernon Forrest photo

Forrest, 38, a 1992 Olympian who had a 41-3 pro record, was shot during an apparent robbery in southwest Atlanta, death was caused by "multiple gunshot wounds involving the torso and thigh.

Vernon Forrest boxer

after being robbed at gunpoint at a gas station, where he stopped to put air in the tires of his Jaguar, Forrest grabbed his gun and chased the suspects. Gunfire was exchanged.

Vernon Forrest smart

Atlanta Police Detective Lt. Keith Meadows, citing a witness account, told the Atlanta Journal Constitution that "Vernon walked up to the guy" he was chasing, "then, at some point, (Forrest) turned and walked away.

Vernon Forrest figure

That's when the man shot the boxer seven or eight times in the back,