Wladimir Klitschko Vs Jean Marc Mormeck: Heavyweight Slaughter or Heavyweight Hope? – THE BOXING WEEKEND

By Geno McGahee

This Saturday, the king of the heavyweight division, holder of the WBA, WBO, IBO, and IBF Heavyweight Titles, Wladimir Klitschko, 56-3, 49 KO’s, takes on the former WBA and WBC Cruiserweight Champion, Jean Marc Mormeck, 36-4, 22 KO’s. The odds are stacked high against the challenger, and they have gotten even higher with the latest announcement, noting that Luis Pabon will referee the fight.

Pabon has a history of breaking up fighters the second that they get in close to each other, giving the fighter that wants to fight from the outside a huge advantage. Mormeck, at 5 feet, 11 inches, will have no choice but to get close, bobbing under the right hand and attempting to wear down the champion. Pabon will push him away every time that he gets inside, resetting the situation and allowing Wlad to load up again and throw the right hand.

Pabon may be the least of Mormeck’s problems. Mormeck is near 40 years old and has not looked good as a heavyweight. In his three recent fights, he struggled with journeyman, Vinny Maddalone, winning a decision, got a gift decision over Fres Oquendo and eked by Timur Ibragimov. If you cannot stop this level of fighter, why would you assume that you could chop down and knockout the best big man in the game today?

Another issue that is hard to ignore is that Mormeck has been knocked cold by cruiserweights. O’Neil Bell, 197 pounds, knocked Mormeck into dreamland. David Haye, 199 pounds at the time, blew him away. Wlad is around 240 pounds, 6 feet, 6 inches, and has been fighting very well lately. In fact, he has been near flawless against all opposition dating back to 2004 when he became exhausted and collapsed from fatigue against Lamon Brewster, a loss he avenged shortly after.

The Brewster fight has to be a focus of the Mormeck camp…the only ray of hope in this fight. Brewster withstood terrible punishment and kept coming, getting into Wlad’s head and stopping him from anxiety. The problem is that it is 8 years later and that Wlad has gotten his nerves under control. He is a better fighter, incredibly confident, and ready to steamroll Mormeck, which is what will most likely occur.

The best chance for Mormeck in this fight is the slight chance that Wlad has incredibly underestimated him. If that is the case, he may allow Mormeck to work and with work comes openings and the potential that he could find a way to be effective. I would make the odds 30-1…somewhere around there, but Wlad has fought some quality opponents. It was time for a break. Let’s hope that he doesn’t break Mormeck totally in two and that they keep the ambulance running when the opening bell rings.