AFP/Dusseldorf, Germany
Undisputed world heavyweight champion Vladimir Klitschko claimed the 50th knock-out and 60th victory of his career when he ended hapless Frenchman Jean-Marc Mormeck’s hopes in the fourth round on Saturday. Klitschko, 35, defended his IBF, IBO, WBO and WBA titles against Mormeck, who stepped up from cruiserweight just over two years ago, in Dusseldorf and made good on his promise to knock the Frenchman out. “I’m delighted to get the 50th knock-out of my career, I promised and I delivered,” said Klitschko, who had a 17cm height advantage over the Frenchman. His elder brother Vitali, who was in his corner, confirmed he will defend his WBC title against Britain’s ex-WBA champion David Haye this summer, but did not give a date or location. Mormeck, who turns 40 in June, was lucky to finish the second round after Klitschko put him on the canvas with 80 seconds left in the round with a firm right to the chin and then pinned him in a corner with a rapid combination. The challenger was offering only token resistance and made a mockery of his pre-fight promises to smash Klitschko’s “glass jaw” which was as ineffective as the handful of punches he threw in the opening rounds. The pair both ended on the canvas in the third after a slip, but it was all over in the fourth when a swift combination from the champion saw the Frenchman drop his guard and a final head shot left Mormeck on the canvas. Puerto Rico referee Luis Pabon stepped in quickly to count out the fight at one minute and 12 seconds as the Frenchman lost his fourth fight in the heavyweight division. The pair were scheduled to meet last December, but kidney stones forced Klitschko to postpone the original fight and the ease of the champion’s win will have done little answer the critics who said he had picked an easy fight. After the fight, Mormeck explained his lack of urgency because of a cold he suffered in the build-up. “He knocked me out, yeah, ok, but he’s hard to box because he is so tall and the referee should have stepped in more as he kept pushing me down, so I am quite frustrated,” said the Frenchman.Meanwhile, Klitschko has issued a warning to any fighters looking to step up to the heavyweight division to think twice after he knocked out Jean-Marc Mormeck. The 35-year-old defend his IBF, IBO, WBO and WBA titles, needing just four rounds to knock-out Mormeck, who stepped up from cruiserweight two years ago, and made good his promise to make the Frenchman the 50th KO of his career. Last July, Klitschko beat Britain’s David Haye, who had also stepped up from cruiserweight, to claim the WBA title. The champion said promising cruiserweights and light heavyweights to carefully consider any challenge for a world heavyweight title. “I think all the light heavyweights who have ambitions to get into heavyweight division should think twice,” he said, having claimed the 57th win of his career with just three defeats in 60 fights. “Jean-Marc wanted to believe I was weak at this point but I wanted to prove that my chin was solid,” he added after Mormeck had threatened to “smash” the Ukrainian’s “glass-jaw” in the pre-fight build up. “From the first round, I set the pace and I controlled the fight the whole time.”