Wladimir did what he had to do

By Boxing News - 03/03/2012 - Comments

Image: Wladimir did what he had to doBy John F. McKenna (McJack): (Super) WBA/IBF/WBO/IBO and The Ring heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (57-3, 50 KO’s) did what he was supposed to when he KO’d French challenger former cruiserweight champion Jean-Marc Mormeck (36-5, 22 KO’s) in the 4th round. The pair fought at the ESPRIT arena in Dusseldorf, Germany on Saturday night and there were no surprises.

It was clear from the opening bell that the 5’11 ½” Mormeck was totally outclassed by the 6’6” foot champion. In addition to giving away 6’ ½” in height Jean-Marc was outweighed by 28 pounds. Mormeck’s 15 months of inactivity prior to taking on “Dr. Steelhammer” certainly did not help him. Mormeck’s attack, or the lack thereof, was evident early on in the fight. The “Marksman” as Jean-Marc is known to his fans seemed to be out of his element and somewhat baffled as how to handle Wladimir’s superior skills.

Klitschko closely followed trainer Emmanuel Steward’s instructions and grabbed Mormeck whenever he succeeded in getting inside. Still, Steward being the perfectionist he is chastised Wladimir for being “sloppy” between the 3rd and 4th rounds. Klitschko, after first flooring Mormeck in the 2nd round, ended hostilities in the 4th round with a beautifully thrown three punch combination.

For “Dr. Steelhammer” it was his 11th title defense and 9th KO in his 2nd title reign, which began in April 2006. The KO was also the 50th of Wladimir’s career. More impressive is the fact that Klitschko has lost hardly any rounds during his title reign.

Klitschko took a lot of flak for taking on Mormeck, but the reality is that there were a number of other contenders who were not interested in fighting him when he was seeking a worthy opponent in the fall of 2011. The handlers of Chris Arreola felt as though he needed more seasoning before tackling Wladimir. (Regular) WBA heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin also turned down a fight with Klitschko. Both Robert Helenius and Tyson Fury were also thought of as needing more seasoning.

“Dr. Steelhammer” has very little left to accomplish in the ring. The legendary Joe Louis’ record 25 title defenses and nearly 12 years as heavyweight champion seem unattainable. Both of those records have stood for well over 60 years.

Many boxing pundits have been critical of the Klitschko’s stating that they have been fortunate to fight in an era when the competition has been weak. It may be however, that the Klitschko’s are so dominant that they make their opponents appear to be mediocre.
The great Joe Louis faced similar criticism when he embarked on his “Bum of the Month Club” in 1941. The reality was that Louis was also a dominant heavyweight who stood head and shoulders above his opposition. His true greatness was not fully comprehended until much later.



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