| Fight Name: | Battle of Orleans |
| Fight Date: | July 12, 2003 |
| Location: | Orleans Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S. |
| Titles: | WBA, WBC and The Ring welterweight championship |
| Fighter1: | Ricardo Mayorga |
| Nickname1: | El Matador (The Killer) |
| Hometown1: | Masaya, Masaya, Nicaragua |
| Record1: | 24–3–1 (22 KO) |
| Height1: | 5 ft 9 in |
| Weight1: | 146 lb |
| Style1: | Orthodox |
| Recognition1: | WBA, WBC and The Ring Welterweight Champion |
| Fighter2: | Vernon Forrest |
| Nickname2: | The Viper |
| Hometown2: | Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Record2: | 35–1 (26 KO) |
| Height2: | 6 ft 0 in |
| Weight2: | 147 lb |
| Style2: | Orthodox |
| Recognition2: | WBC/The Ring No. 1 Ranked Welterweight WBA No. 4 Ranked Welterweight |
| Result: | Mayorga via 12th round MD |
Ricardo Mayorga vs. Vernon Forrest II, billed as the Battle of Orleans, was a professional boxing match contested on 12 July 2003, for the WBA, WBC and The Ring welterweight championship.[1]
After his upset victory over Vernon Forrest in January 2003, unified welterweight champion Ricardo Mayorga agreed to an immediate rematch.[2] Speaking that a media event to announce the re-match on 20 May, Mayorga said: "He is going down. I am hungrier for this fight than I have ever been. I invite everybody to come out and watch two great rounds of boxing."[3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
On the untelevised portion of the card, Pete Frissina defeated Jesús Salvador Pérez by split decision in a IBF bantamweight title eliminator.
Vivian Harris successfully defended his WBA (Regular) belt against No. 1 ranked Souleymane M'baye. Harris dropped his unbeaten opponent in the 2nd round enroute to a unanimous decision victory. With two judges scoring the bout 116–111 and one having it 117–110.[9] [10]
| Fight Name: | Battle of Orleans: DeMarcus Corley vs. Zab Judah |
| Titles: | WBO light welterweight title |
| Fighter1: | DeMarcus Corley |
| Nickname1: | "Chop Chop" |
| Hometown1: | Washington, D.C., District of Columbia, U.S. |
| Purse1: | $150,000 |
| Record1: | 28–1–1 (16 KO) |
| Height1: | 5 ft 7 in |
| Weight1: | 139+1/2 lb |
| Style1: | Southpaw |
| Recognition1: | WBO Light Welterweight Champion |
| Fighter2: | Zab Judah |
| Nickname2: | "Super" |
| Hometown2: | Brownsville, New York, U.S. |
| Purse2: | $100,000 |
| Record2: | 28–1 (1) (21 KO) |
| Height2: | 5 ft 7 in |
| Weight2: | 140 lb |
| Style2: | Southpaw |
| Recognition2: | WBO No. 4 Light Ranked Welterweight Former light welterweight champion |
| Result: | Judah defeats Corley by split decision |
In the first of the two televised bouts, WBO light welterweight titleholder DeMarcus Corley made the third defence of his title against former IBF junior welterweight champion Zab Judah.[11]
Speaking before the bout Corley would admit that this was his biggest fight thus far saying "Is this the biggest fight I've had? You could say that, yeah, I think because it's on HBO and they say once you made it to HBO, you've made it. So it's a test for me to display my talent all over the world, also to HBO, to see what I can do." He would also suggest that he was aiming to challenge undisputed light welterweight champion Kostya Tszyu.[12]
Judah meanwhile had been out of the ring for almost a year, having been involved in legal disputes with his former promoter, Main Events. Having signed with new promoter Don King, a match up with fellow King fighter Corley was arranged. The two men had been involved in brawl at a bar in Philadelphia in March. Judah had giving an interview to Ring magazine after the Bernard Hopkins vs. Morrade Hakkar bout when Corley walked past. After an exchange of words Judah threw a punch at Corley prompting a scuffle with flying chairs and phones before the police broke it up.[13] [14]
The champion was dropped by a looping left from Judah in the third round. Corley would work himself back into the bout during the middle rounds but Judah was able to control most of the fight by jabbing and moving and making Corley miss with his best punches.
At the end of 12 rounds judge Duane Ford, scored it 115–112 for Corley while judges Chuck Giampa and Michael Pernik, scored it 115–112 for Judah, giving him a split decision victory. HBO's unofficial scorer Harold Lederman had it 116–111 for Judah.[15]
Speaking after bout Judah said "I felt a little rusty with a year off, but I think I had a great fight."
Corley meanwhile felt like he had done enough saying "He caught me with one fast punch that knocked me down, I still thought I won, despite the knockdown. I'd love to fight him again, but next time I'd put more pressure on him."[16]
Mayorga would dominate much of the first half of the bout rocking Forrest in the second round. Forrest would take control from the halfway point as Mayorga tired, before the champion would come back to end the bout on top.
After 12 rounds Jerry Roth scored the bout a draw at 114-114, but Larry O'Connell had it 115-114 and Ove Oveson had 116-112 both for Mayorga giving him a majority decision victory.[17] [18] [19] Unofficial HBO scorer Harold Lederman had it 115–113 in favour of Mayorga, while the LA Times scored it 114–114.[20]
Speaking in ring after the bout Mayorga would say "Forrest is a sissy and doesn't punch that hard. He fought a lot better this time, he could have beaten most welterweights." He would later state he wanted to face unified light middleweight champion Oscar De La Hoya next.[21] [22] [23]
Confirmed bouts:[24]
| Winner | Loser | Weight division/title belt(s) disputed | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Zab Judah | DeMarcus Corley | WBO Light Welterweight Championship | Split decision. | |
| Non-TV bouts | ||||
 Vivian Harris |  Souleymane M'baye | WBA (Regular) Light Welterweight Championship | Unanimous decision. | |
| Pete Frissina |  Jesús Salvador Pérez | IBF Bantamweight Title Eliminator | Split decision. | |
 Syd Vanderpool | Demetrius Jenkins | Light Heavyweight (10 rounds) | 9th round TKO. | |
| Kili Madrid | Marteze Logan | Welterweight (4 rounds) | Majority Draw. | |
| Mario Preskar | Roman Armstrong | Heavyweight (4 rounds) | 1st round TKO. | |
| align=center | Country | align=center | Broadcaster |
|---|---|---|---|
| HBO |