• Wladimir Klitschko v Jean-Marc Mormeck

Wlad wary of weigh-in flashpoint

ESPN staff
February 28, 2012
Wladimir Klitschko meets Jean-Marc Mormeck this weekend © Getty Images
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Wladimir Klitschko is wary of the threat that Jean-Marc Mormeck, dubbed the 'mini Mike Tyson', will offer in the early rounds of their heavyweight meeting at the weekend.

Mormeck has been written off in the build-up to Saturday's bout in Dusseldorf, and the challenger is currently being offered at 14/1 to triumph. He is a former cruiserweight world champion, who lost to David Haye during 2007 - since then, he has won three contests at heavyweight.

And Klitschko, the WBC, IBF, IBO, WBO and WBA champion, is refusing to underestimate Mormeck, who is bidding to become the first Frenchman to hold a significant world heavyweight belt.

"All the belts we saw [at the press conference] I have been unifying through a lot of years," Klitschko told Sky Sports News. "Now it's all on the line, so I have the responsibility to the job that I've done in previous years.

"And everything Jean Marc-Mormeck said in the press conference he really means, and I think he has found some friends and followers that are giving him certain motivation. I think it's going to be very, very challenging - especially in the first rounds of the fight."

Having watched unsavoury scenes erupt before and after brother Vitali's fight with Dereck Chisora earlier this month, Wladimir is aware that his current warm relationship with Mormeck may not last. "It is still Monday and Vitali's press conference also was peaceful," he said. "Let's see what happens at the weigh-in."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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