Jean Marc Mormeck Looks To Unify Boxing\’s Cruiserweight Belts

ByJohn Kouris

Jean Marc Mormeck, 31-2 (22), will attempt to become the first undisputed cruiserweight champion since Evander Holyfield, when he will defend his WBA and WBC belts against the hard-hitting O’Neill Bell, 25-1-1 (23), and try to capture Bell’s IBF belt .“I think that O’Neill Bell is a great champion because he has his IBF title,” Mormeck stated in a conference call. “I think it will be a tough match because O’Neill Bell is not going to want to let his belt go away, but he has to get ready for this because I am going to take it.” This is the second time that Mormeck will be fighting in the U.S. “Since I was a kid back in France, America has always been a dream,” Mormeck said. Don King will promote the Madison Square Garden event on Showtime at 9 p.m. EST on January 7th. The winner of Mormeck-Bell would be the first cruiserweight in boxing history to unify the WBC, WBA and IBF tiles at the 200 pound weight limit.

On April 9, 1998, Holyfield knocked out WBC champ Carlos DeLeon to become the only fighter to unify the cruiserweight titles at 190 pounds. Both Mormeck and Bell have an opportunity to make history in the same arena as Holyfield’s debut 21 years ago. “I have great respect for Holyfield’s career, for the warrior, the man, for everything he’s done,” Mormeck said. “It would be a great honor and something magical to do what Holyfield did.”Mormeck, 31, from Rosny sous Bois, France, won the WBA title on February 23, 2002 in Marseille, when Virgil Hill could not come out of his corner to start the 9th round.

Jean Marc has successfully defended the WBA title four times, including a second time against Hill in May 2005. “I was most impressed with my fight against Hill, because he had great experience.” Mormeck has never been knocked out, never lost past six rounds, and has not been defeated since 1997. “Regarding the two losses, I learned a lot of lessons. When I get in the ring now, I want to win new, win fast and win with a lot of points.” His last bout came in April 2005, when he won the WBC belt with a unanimous 12 round decision against then undefeated Wayne Brathwaite. “I definitely want to fight more, but I have to clear that with my promoter, Don King,” Mormeck said.

On a Tuesday afternoon Showtime conference call to promote the cruiser belt portion of the January 7th MSG event, each fighter stated that if they were to leave with all three belts, they’d try to move up to heavyweight. “It’s been my dream to be a heavyweight,” said Mormeck, through an interpreter. “I want to be a heavyweight. I started at 210 pounds and went to light heavyweight. This unification will help me make a name for myself.”

The subject of names was a popular theme on the call. Showtime is running a contest which will enable fans to choose Mormeck’s nickname. Choices include “Hit the Deck” Mormeck and “Mighty” Mormeck. Fans can vote until the 7th. When told of the nickname possibilities, Bell replied, “After the bout, they can call him Mighty Mouse.”

Mormeck has tolerated Bell’s smack talk up until now. “Bell is talking a lot. He’s going to have to fight. If he fights like he talks, the fight will be boring. He keeps repeating himself. He needs to get known to get respect. He should just train and not talk that much.”Mormeck portrayed himself as the polar opposite to the blood-thirsty Jamaican. “I don’t like blood. I don’t like to fight. I just love to win.”