Jean-Marc Mormeck

Jean-Marc Gilbert Mormeck (born 3 June 1972) is a French former professional boxer who competed from 1995 to 2014. He is a two-time unified world cruiserweight champion, having held the WBA, WBC and The Ring world titles twice between 2005 and 2007. He was the first boxer to hold unified cruiserweight title since Evander Holyfield in 1988, and the first fighter to hold The Ring cruiserweight title since Carlos De León in 1987. He was ranked by BoxRec as the world's top 10 cruiserweight from 2001 to 2005 and in 2007, and was ranked No.1 in 2003 and 2004.[1] Mormeck also challenged for the unified world heavyweight title in 2012.

Jean-Marc Mormeck
Mormeck in 2005
Statistics
Real nameJean-Marc Gilbert Mormeck
Nickname(s)The Marksman
Weight(s)
Height1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Reach188 cm (74 in)
NationalityFrench
Born (1972-06-03) 3 June 1972
Pointe-à-Pitre,
Guadeloupe,
France
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights43
Wins37
Wins by KO23
Losses6

Early life

Mormeck was born in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe as an only child to Fulbert and Sonia Mormeck. When he was 6, he and his family moved to Paris, France, where he still lives. Mormeck engaged himself in football and Muay Thai as an amateur. After watching some boxing matches on television, he became inspired to excel in it.[2]

Professional career

1990–1998: early career

He fought as an amateur in 1990 and turned professional in 1995. Early in his career, Mormeck lost 2 minor four-round bouts on points but kept winning for years afterwards. On 10 November 1998, Mormeck won the French light heavyweight title with a unanimous decision win over Alain Simon. He defended that title three times before relinquishing it.

2002–2006: first world title and unification bouts

Later, Mormeck captured the WBA cruiserweight title by a 9th-round technical knockout win over Virgil Hill on 23 February 2002. Following three defenses with wins over Dale Brown, Alexander Gurov and Virgil Hill again, he added the WBC cruiserweight crown to his collection on 2 April 2005, by way of unanimous decision over Wayne Braithwaite.

However, Mormeck lost his WBA and WBC cruiserweight titles to O'Neil Bell after being knocked out in the 10th round. This bout, on 7 January 2006, was for the undisputed (WBA/WBC/IBF) cruiserweight championship.

2007: regaining cruiserweight titles

In their rematch, Mormeck regained the WBA and WBC titles back from Bell (Bell lost the IBF title over a dispute from the organization) by unanimous decision on 17 March 2007.

In the first defense of his second title reign, Mormeck lost his WBA, WBC and lineal cruiserweight titles as he was bested by mandatory challenger and knockout specialist David Haye on 10 November 2007.[3] Mormeck was dropped heavily in the 7th round after being hit by a strong right from Haye. Although Mormeck rose up just in time, the referee realized that he was dazed and in no condition to go on, which caused the contest to be stopped and Haye winning the fight by knockout.

2009–2010: heavyweight

On 17 December 2009, Mormeck made his return to the ring after a two-year layoff, fighting for the first time as a heavyweight, against Vinny Maddalone. He outpointed the veteran heavyweight over 8 rounds.[4]

Mormeck fought Uzbek heavyweight and WBA#7 Timur Ibragimov (30-3-1, 16 KO) on 2 December 2010, at Halle Carpentier, Paris. Mormeck started slowly but dominated the middle rounds to win a split decision (116-112, 116-111, 113-115).

2012: Mormeck vs. Klitschko

In October 2011, Mormeck was signed to fight unified Heavyweight Champion Wladimir Klitschko on 10 December 2011 at Esprit Arena, Düsseldorf, Germany [5] until Klitschko pulled out after having a kidney stone removed on 2 December 2011. The fight was postponed to 3 March 2012.[6] In this fight, Mormeck attempted to be only the third cruiserweight champion to win a world title at Heavyweight, after Evander Holyfield and David Haye. However, he was defeated by fourth round KO.

Return to cruiserweight and retirement

Following another extended layoff, Mormeck returned to the ring in June 2014 against Tamas Lodi of Hungary. Despite his early stoppage win, Mormeck openly expressed weariness for the fight game following the match, calling for a quick title shot before he could put an end to his career.[7]

Instead, Mormeck had to get through a fight with former EBU champion Mateusz Masternak, which he lost via majority decision. As he had promised before each of his final two fights,[8] he retired following his defeat.[9]

Trivia
  • Before his first encounter with O'Neil Bell, Mormeck had no nickname, so he asked his fans to come up with one. He did not know that the fans had selected the moniker "The Marksman" until it was announced at the fight.[10]
  • Mormeck made one appearance in a French television talk-show called "Tout le monde en parle" to raise his mainstream profile.[11]

Professional boxing record
43 fights 37 wins 6 losses
By knockout 23 3
By decision 14 3
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
43 Loss 37–6 Mateusz Masternak MD 10 5 Dec 2014 Palais des sports Robert Charpentier, Issy-les-Moulineaux, France
42 Win 37–5 Tamas Lodi TKO 4 (10) 26 Jun 2014 Patinoire olympique, Asnières-sur-Seine, France
41 Loss 36–5 Wladimir Klitschko KO 4 (12), 1:12 3 Mar 2012 Esprit Arena, Düsseldorf, Germany For WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO, and The Ring heavyweight titles
40 Win 36–4 Timur Ibragimov SD 12 2 Dec 2010 Halle Georges Carpentier, Paris, France Won vacant WBA International heavyweight title
39 Win 35–4 Fres Oquendo UD 10 6 May 2010 Halle Georges Carpentier, Paris, France
38 Win 34–4 Vinny Maddalone UD 8 17 Dec 2009 Halle Georges Carpentier, Paris, France
37 Loss 33–4 David Haye TKO 7 (12), 1:54 10 Nov 2007 Palais des sports Marcel-Cerdan, Levallois-Perret, France Lost WBA (Unified), WBC, and The Ring cruiserweight titles
36 Win 33–3 O'Neil Bell UD 12 17 Mar 2007 Palais des sports Marcel-Cerdan, Levallois-Perret, France Won WBA (Unified), WBC, and The Ring cruiserweight titles
35 Win 32–3 Sebastian Hill TKO 4 (10), 2:32 8 Jul 2006 Savvis Center, St. Louis, Missouri, US
34 Loss 31–3 O'Neil Bell KO 10 (12), 2:50 7 Jan 2006 Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, US Lost WBA (Unified), WBC, and The Ring cruiserweight titles;
For IBF cruiserweight title
33 Win 31–2 Wayne Braithwaite UD 12 2 Apr 2005 DCU Center, Worcester, Massachusetts, US Retained WBA (Unified) cruiserweight title;
Won WBC and vacant The Ring cruiserweight titles
32 Win 30–2 Virgil Hill UD 12 22 May 2004 Carnival City, Brakpan, South Africa Retained WBA cruiserweight title
31 Win 29–2 Alexander Gurov TKO 8 (12), 0:32 1 Mar 2003 Thomas & Mack Center, Paradise, Nevada, US Retained WBA cruiserweight title
30 Win 28–2 Dale Brown TKO 8 (12) 10 Aug 2002 Plages du Prado, Marseille, France Retained WBA cruiserweight title
29 Win 27–2 Virgil Hill RTD 9 (12), 0:01 23 Feb 2002 Palais des Sports, Marseille, France Won WBA cruiserweight title
28 Win 26–2 Franklin Edmondson PTS 8 8 Oct 2001 Palais des Sports, Paris, France
27 Win 25–2 Vinson Durham TKO 2 (8) 4 Aug 2001 Plages du Prado, Marseille, France
26 Win 24–2 Antonio Fernando Caldas Jr. TKO 3 (8) 14 May 2001 Palais des Sports, Paris, France
25 Win 23–2 Valeriy Vykhor TKO 3 (10) 3 Apr 2001 Salle Bellevue, Fréjus, France
24 Win 22–2 Juan Carlos Viloria TKO 10 (12) 29 Jan 2001 Palais des Sports, Paris, France Retained WBA Inter-Continental light-heavyweight title
23 Win 21–2 Livin Castillo TKO 3 (12), 2:36 16 Dec 2000 Forum Bicentenario, Maracay, Venezuela Won vacant WBA Inter-Continental light-heavyweight title
22 Win 20–2 Jerry Williams TKO 6 (8) 3 Oct 2000 Ice Hall, Helsinki, Finland
21 Win 19–2 Antonio Pedro Quiganga TKO 2 (8) 16 Sep 2000 Châteauroux, France
20 Win 18–2 Kostyantyn Okhrey TKO 3 (8) 16 May 2000 Boulogne-sur-Mer, France
19 Win 17–2 Tim Hillie KO 4 (8) 25 Apr 2000 Saint-Quentin, France
18 Win 16–2 Jerry Williams KO 7 (10) 7 Mar 2000 Dijon, France
17 Win 15–2 Rob Bleakley TKO 4 (8) 15 Feb 2000 Palais des Sports, Épinal, France
16 Win 14–2 Bruce Rumbolz TKO 4 (10) 7 Dec 1999 Saint-Vallier, France
15 Win 13–2 Pascal Warusfel UD 10 26 Oct 1999 Guilherand-Granges, France Retained France light-heavyweight title
14 Win 12–2 Ganguina Larme PTS 10 18 May 1999 Noisy-le-Grand, France Retained France light-heavyweight title
13 Win 11–2 Joe Stevenson TKO 2 (8) 2 Feb 1999 Pont-Sainte-Maxence, France
12 Win 10–2 Alain Simon SD 10 10 Nov 1998 Pont-Sainte-Maxence, France Won France light-heavyweight title
11 Win 9–2 Konstantin Semerdjiev TKO 5 (8) 13 Oct 1998 Guilherand-Granges, France
10 Win 8–2 Kamel Amrane PTS 8 23 May 1998 Noisy-le-Grand, France
9 Win 7–2 Turan Bagci PTS 8 20 Jan 1998 Levallois-Perret, France
8 Win 6–2 Kalin Stoyanov TKO 7 (8) 20 Dec 1997 Bobigny, France
7 Win 5–2 Juan Nelongo TKO 3 (6) 5 Nov 1997 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain
6 Win 4–2 Harri Hakulinen PTS 6 24 Jun 1997 Pont-Audemer, France
5 Loss 3–2 Dominique Mansare PTS 6 13 Jun 1997 Clermont-Ferrand, France
4 Loss 3–1 Lee Manuel Ossie PTS 4 22 May 1997 Los Cristianos, Spain
3 Win 3–0 Thierry Vuillemin PTS 6 8 Mar 1997 Noisy-le-Grand, France
2 Win 2–0 Frederic Goutal TKO 4 (6) 19 May 1995 Saint-Lô, France
1 Win 1–0 Pierrick Trideau TKO 1 (4) 25 Mar 1995 Noisy-le-Grand, France Professional debut

See also

References
  1. "BoxRec's Annual Ratings: Cruiserweight Annuals". BoxRec. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  2. "Profile: Jean-Marc Mormeck". Eastboxing.com. Archived from the original on 12 February 2012. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  3. "The Lineal Cruiserweight Champions". The Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia.
  4. Mark Vester (17 December 2009). "Jean Marc Mormeck Decisions Vinny Maddalone in Eight". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 18 December 2009.
  5. "Wladimir Klitschko to face Jean-Marc Mormeck in Dusseldorf in December". The Guardian. 6 October 2011.
  6. "Klitschko pulls out of title bout". BBC News. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  7. "Boxe: Mormeck vainqueur expéditif dans les lourds-légers". AFP. 26 June 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  8. "Mormeck/Masternak: 'Je serai prêt le jour J', affirme Mormeck". francetvinfo.fr. AFP. 27 November 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  9. Billot, Aurélien (5 December 2014). "Mormeck part dignement". lefigaro.fr. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  10. Thomas Gerbasi (7 January 2006). "Bell v. Mormeck". ESPN. Retrieved 3 September 2009.
  11. "Jean-Marc Mormeck". imdb.com. Retrieved 21 February 2008.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.