You can’t really blame Wladimir Klitschko.
While some of the other top fighters in the world (I’m looking at you Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao) refuse to fight the best of the best, Wladimir Klitschko fights anyone who could possibly be considered a heavyweight contender. Anyone.
This time, that “anyone” is former cruiserweight champion Jean-Marc Mormeck. Mormeck, once considered elite in that division, began fighting at heavyweight after his 2007 unification loss to David Haye. After a two year lay off, Mormeck came back to boxing in 2009 at heavyweight and outpointed Vinny Madalone and Fres Oquendo in succession before winning a split-decision over Timur Ibragimov in December of 2010.
And now he gets a shot at Wladimir Klitschko for arguably the biggest prize in professional sports. Let’s have a look at why it does and doesn’t make sense.
Why It Makes No Sense
Clearly this is the easy one. I mean look at the guys on his resume. He hasn’t faced anyone ranked in the top 10 of the heavyweight division and was arguably at his peak as a fighter in 2007 at cruiserweight, yet he gets a shot at the heavyweight championship of the world in 2011? Really? REALLY?!
Apparently the answer is yes.
Jean-Marc Mormeck is a 5’11” tall, 215 pound fighter without the power or quickness that made the similar dimensioned Mike Tyson so formidable. Most every fight fan you could find who would care to speak on the matter would say he stands absolutely no chance against Wladimir Klitschko.
No freaking chance.
Why It Makes Total Sense
Simply put: there is no one else left to fight, and an active champion is better than an inactive one. In his willingness to take on all comers, Klitschko has rid himself of any legit contender that would currently agree to face him. Top ten heavyweights Alexander Povetkin and Robert Helenius are rightfully looking elsewhere to boister their confidence before getting into the ring with a Klitschko. Wlad has already beaten David Haye, Ruslan Chagaev and Eddie Chambers decidedly while the rest of the field was easily handled by his brother Vitali. And while a newly rejuvenated and dedicated Chris Arreola seems like a better fight for Wladimir than he was for Vitali (from a fan’s perspective), rumor has it that Team Arreola isn’t quite yet ready to have their guy in the ring again with a Klitschko.
Moreover, you can’t tell me that Mormeck being from France doesn’t sweeten the pot a bit for the Klitschkos. The brothers have a keen sense of establishing a presence in new markets, and as their quest for world domination continues we should expect more and more fights against popular fighters from all around the world. This is especially true as the division remains in a holding pattern waiting for young fighters like David Price, Deontay Wilder and Seth Mitchell to ready themselves as contenders.
In the meantime, fight fans, we just have to wait. Jean-Marc Mormeck isn’t ideal, but at least Wladimir Klitschko stays busy. So while we might have to wait another 15 months to see Floyd Mayweather back inside the ring to defend his pound for pound crown, we will most certainly not have to wait that long to see the heavyweight champion of the world, Wladimir Klitschko, defend his. No matter who there is left to fight.
The Wladimir Klitschko (55-3, 49 KOs) versus Jean-Marc Mormeck (39-4, 22 KOs) contest will take place December 10 at the ESPRIT Arena in Düsseldorf, Germany.
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