by James Slater – Last night in Paris, France, former cruiserweight titlist and local man Jean Marc Mormeck took another step forwards in his heavyweight campaign. The 37-year-old won a ten-round unanimous decision over “Fast” Fres Oquendo – winning by scores of 96-95, 96-95 and 96-94. Now 2-0(0) as a heavyweight and 35-4(22) overall, “The Marksman” kept his dream of getting a second fight with current WBA heavyweight champ David Haye alive. Just..
For many fans in attendance felt Chicago’s 37-year-old Oquendo, who fell to 32-6(21), deserved the win yesterday. Able to catch the shorter man (5’11.5″, to 6’2″) with good shots to the head as Mormeck pressed his way in, Oquendo shook his man on a few occasions. Oquendo’s uppercuts were working well notably. Mormeck was aggressive and he banged away whenever he was able to get in close, but most of the time Oquendo was able to effectively counter the Frenchman’s attacks.
Mormeck was a tired fighter in the last few rounds of what was a pretty good action fight, and it looked at one point as though “The Big O” would perhaps get the stoppage. Instead, Mormeck held on to the final bell and was then given a points win that a good number of people are sure to question – not least Team-Oquendo.
Oquendo, who has dropped debatable decisions in the past – to the likes of Evander Holyfield and, more recently, James Toney – will come home from France feeling he was very much ripped off once again; and he will have his share of supporters. A rematch, in a neutral location, would be a great idea, but don’t hold your breath.
Mormeck, an excellent cruiserweight until running into David Haye back in November of 2007, appears to be just too small for the big guys. While a rematch with Haye would perhaps be somewhat interesting (seeing how Mormeck scored a knockdown over Haye before being stopped in the 7th-round in 2007) and almost certainly the Frenchman’s only chance of being able to make something of a fight of it against en elite heavyweight, this particular part-two looks to have next to no chance of happening.
Mormeck will not drop back down to 200-pounds, though, so his heavyweight quest will continue for as long as he keeps winning. Judging by his struggle last night, this may not be too long without the aid of some creative match-making. Mormeck may be able to make some good money as a heavyweight, but you would be had pressed indeed to find anyone out there willing to put any cash of their own on his chances of grabbing a belt.