Next week, Jean Marc Mormeck gets what every heavyweight
contender yearns for: a title fight against Vladimir Klitschko. For the
39-year-old Frenchman, the rewards are considerable. He will earn one of the
biggest purses of his career. Mormeck will also have a chance to make sports
history by upsetting the champion, however unlikely that may be. Even if
Mormeck loses the bout, he could become a great French boxing hero if he puts
on a gutty, heroic effort in the ring. Clearly, the Klitschko match, in many
ways, is the crowning achievement of Mormeck’s career. That Mormeck will almost
certainly lose is beside the point; he “wins” just by getting the fight in the
first place.
However, two other
heavyweights arguably deserve the privilege of facing Klitschko more than
Mormeck does. They are the boxers that Mormeck controversially outpointed last
year: Fres Oquendo and Timur Ibragimov. Mormeck, after all, was selected as
Klitschko’s challenger based on the merit of these wins.
In May 2010, Oquendo –
then ranked WBA #10 and IBF #11 – travelled to Paris to face the unranked
Mormeck. Most observers agree that Oquendo easily outboxed and outfought Mormeck,
winning a lopsided majority of the fight’s ten rounds. Shockingly, however, the
bout’s three French judges declared Mormeck the victor by unanimous decision. Media and fans worldwide
decried the verdict as a travesty. CompuBox punchstats documented that Oquendo
connected with 158 of 745 blows, while Mormeck landed only 103 out of 331 punches
attempted. ESPN’s Dan Rafael, who scored the bout for Oquendo by a margin of
eight rounds to two, reflected the views of most when he criticized the
decision as “pathetic,” preposterous,” and “a candidate for robbery of the
year.”
Rafael may have been too generous to Mormeck. Upon reviewing
the fight film, this writer had Oquendo winning a shutout, giving the Boricua
seven rounds with three even. Mormeck simply made no impact on Oquendo, who
dominated the action with flawless defense, clever footwork, rapid-fire jabs,
and well-placed combinations to the head and body. The decision in favor of
Mormeck is easily one of the most brazen and unconscionable robberies in boxing
in many years.
The consequences for
each boxer’s career were serious and far reaching. The WBA and IBF immediately
dropped Oquendo from their top-15 ratings. Consequentially, Oquendo was
rendered ineligible for a title shot, and his chances of participating in an
elimination bout against a top contender were spoiled. Mormeck, by contrast,
earned a top-15 WBA and IBF world rating based on the win, which put him on
boxing’s radar screen as a potential challenger for Klitschko.
Oquendo’s decision to
fight in France was driven by his expectation that the officials would be from
neutral countries. “I knew I could knock out Mormeck under fair fight
conditions, and they told me they’d have neutral officials,” he explained. “They
also agreed to use my gloves, the ten ounce Everlast gloves that I use in all
my fights. Before I agreed to go there, they tried to get me to agree to use
the big pillow Adidas gloves, but I said no way. So they gave in and put
Everlast gloves in the contract.”
Upon arriving in France,
though, circumstances changed to Oquendo’s disadvantage. Shortly before the
fight, French officials surprisingly announced that the oversized Adidas gloves
– preferred by Mormeck – would be used. Worse yet, he learned that the referee
and all three judges were French. Oquendo did not know how to react, as his
manager was tending to a terminally ill father and could not accompany him to
Paris. “It was the day of the fight, and they told me I wouldn’t get paid if I
didn’t do it their way,” said Oquendo. “I needed the payday, so I went along
with it.”
In the ring, Oquendo had
to fight two opponents: Mormeck and the referee. While Mormeck was allowed to
hit behind the head, use elbows, and hold at his leisure, Oquendo was
constantly threatened with penalties for any moves that even remotely resembled
a clinch or a foul. “When I threw my best punch, the overhand right, it always
landed on top of Mormeck’s head because of how he fights…he comes forward with
his head down,” he explained. “Every time I rocked him with my right, the
referee stepped in to tell me that I can’t do that, that I was hitting in back
of the head, and that he would take a point away if I didn’t stop. They never hassle me about that here in the
states, but over there, I had to stop throwing the punch and adjust.”
Six months later in
Paris, Mormeck won a split decision over WBA #7 rated contender Timur
Ibragimov. Again, the decision and officiating were controversial. This time,
Mormeck performed better than he had against Oquendo, and the action was hard
fought and closely contested. Still, many fans and journalists believe Ibragimov
did enough to win the fight (including this writer, who in spite of giving
Mormeck the benefit of the doubt as much as possible, scored the match 6-5-1 in
rounds for Ibragimov). To his credit, Mormeck won many of the middle rounds
with his dogged inside attack. But Ibragimov had the upper-hand in the early
and late stages of the match. He took the first three rounds by boxing, moving
and scoring frequently with left jabs. The Uzbekistani won the final three
rounds as well, as he landed more clean punches than Mormeck and connected
repeatedly with hurtful rights to the body that had the Frenchmen hanging on.
When first offered the
Mormeck match, Ibragimov balked for several reasons. For one, he understood the
risks of being robbed in Paris. In addition, he did not have time to prepare;
the bout was only three weeks away, he was nursing an injured heel, and he
lacked sparring partners who resembled Mormeck physically and stylistically.
But Ibragimov was confident that he could beat Mormeck, and the temptation to
accept the match ultimately undercut his better judgment.
Ibragimov took the Paris
match because he was impatient about not getting offers for lucrative fights.
He explained, “After I beat McCall, I got in the world ratings, and I waited
for a big fight. But all I got was bad fights for small money. First they give
me a tough undefeated fighter for small money. Then they send me to Panama for
small money to fight a guy in his hometown. I thought it was crazy to keep
taking fights like this, but that’s all they offered. Finally, after all this,
they offer me the Mormeck fight for good money. First I said no, because I knew
I would lose the decision in Paris unless I knocked him out. But then they told
me that they would have all officials from South America…the referee and the
judges. I knew I could floor Mormeck, and I needed the money, so I finally said
okay.”
As matters turned out,
none of the officials were from South America. The judges were from EBU
countries other than France, and the referee was French. Ominously for
Ibragimov, that referee happened to be one of the officials who had served as a
judge for the Mormeck-Oquendo fight. The handwriting was on the wall.
Throughout the match,
the referee aggressively threatened to penalize Ibragimov for any perceived
infraction of the rules (usually holding or pushing), sometimes even shoving
the Uzbekistani to emphasize his point. The referee’s apparent object was to
inhibit Ibragimov so that Mormeck would have maximum opportunity to bull his
way inside and unload punches without being tied-up. Even though both boxers
mauled and clinched often, the referee only blamed Ibragimov. At no point was
Mormeck reprimanded for holding, using elbows, or hitting behind the head.
Ibragimov elaborated, “This referee, he let Mormeck get away with everything. Anytime
we clinch, the referee never says ‘break.’ He just steps in and pushes me back
and warns me. He only push me back, never Mormeck. Even if Mormeck grabs me,
the referee never says anything to him.” The referee’s actions had a major
impact on how the fight played out. Mormeck, an infighter who is four inches
shorter than Ibragimov, probably could not have executed his fight plan during
the middle rounds without the referee’s interference.
The referee’s assistance
proved critical to Mormeck in the tenth. At this point, Mormeck was fatigued
and holding on as Ibragimov took control of the fight with a sustained body
attack. Midway through the round, Mormeck wobbled while absorbing a hard right
to the ribs. For the first time, the French boxer was in trouble. But a moment
later, the referee intervened to penalize Ibragimov for holding, even though
both fighters – and especially Mormeck at this point – were initiating
clinches. Mormeck then enjoyed a much-needed respite as the referee stopped the
fight to emphasize to the judges that a point was taken from the Uzbekistani.
When the action resumed, the exhausted Mormeck frequently clinched, and
continued doing so through the 11th and 12th rounds until
the final bell. Never once, though, did the referee reprimand Mormeck for these
tactics.
Some may argue that it
is moot to claim Ibragimov was robbed in Paris, as the fight was so closely
contested that a verdict in favor of either boxer would have been reasonable.
Fair enough. However, it is entirely reasonable to argue that the referee’s
officiating allowed Mormeck to keep the fight close, and prevented Ibragimov from
neutralizing his opponent’s fight plan. In most rings around the world,
Ibragimov would have been allowed to tie-up and push Mormeck away while at
close quarters. Also, in most venues, a point would not have been deducted from
Ibragimov in the tenth, and the fighters would have been expected to fight
their way out of the clinches, which would have drained Mormeck’s stamina more
quickly than actually happened. Such conditions would have permitted Ibragimov
to use his superior distance boxing to establish a clear and unequivocal margin
of superiority over Mormeck.
The experience of
Oquendo and Ibragimov in France illustrate a salient truth about professional
boxing: that money, marketability, and television turn the sport, even to the
point of determining who will win a fight. Oquendo and Ibragimov were not
protected by powerful promoters with big television contracts. With bills to
pay and families to support, neither boxer could afford to wait indefinitely
for their chance to face Klitschko. Economic realities inclined them to go to
Paris, where they were at a massive political disadvantage against Mormeck, a
French boxing hero backed by funding from one of his country’s major television
stations. Given that Mormeck is marketable in his home country and in Europe,
the powerbrokers guiding his career needed to ensure that his ultimate “cash
out” fight – a title match with Klitschko – was not jeopardized by Oquendo or
Ibragimov. Ultimately, as is seen so often in high profile bouts, the officials
leaned heavily in favor of that fighter who was the television market star.
Charles Farrell, a
long-term boxing agent, manager, and journalist, commented on the role that
television and marketing played in influencing the outcome of Mormeck’s fights
with Oquendo and Ibragimov. “If you’re matching either Klitschko brother, you’re
looking for a couple things,” explained Farrell. “You’re evaluating
whether one opponent might have more marketing currency than
another. This explains why Jean Marc Mormeck will always get
decisions over guys like Fres Oquendo or Timur Ibragimov, who bring nothing to
the table in terms of increased viewing audience. Mormeck gets the nod
over them in the Klitschko sweepstakes -- and this would be why he'd inevitably
get the decision over either in any fight where a reasonable doubt that the other
had won could be established -- because at least some people actually care
enough about his winning to pay to see him try.”
According to Oquendo’s
manager Tom Tsatas, “Boxing is no longer a true fighting sport. It’s not like
MMA, where you cannot buy yourself a victory. In a major boxing match, you have
an “A” side and a “B” side. The “A” side’s backers have the money, and they pay
to bring in the “B” side. The ending is predictable. All the “A” side fighter
has to do is survive, and he gets the decision. Boxing has gotten to the point
where it is like a Harlem Globetrotters basketball game.”
Oquendo and Ibragimov
are experienced, jaded professionals, and they know how the business side of
the boxing game is played. Concerning their experience in France, both fighters
are disgusted but fatalistic. When asked to comment about Mormeck getting the
Klitschko fight, Oquendo replied, “How did he get that title fight? I’ll tell
you how. I fought him in his home country, where he had his own judges. The
fight was named “robbery of the year on ESPN.com. Watch the fight yourself, and
do the math. You’ll see how Mormeck got where is now.” As for Ibragimov, when
this writer presented him with a long list of journalists who reported that he
really won the Paris bout, he replied, “Thanks bro, but now Mormeck get the
Klitschko fight and I don’t.”
-- For much more boxng headlines, news, videos, interviews and more, visit the homepage at DoghouseBoxing.
