Mark de Mori
| Mark de Mori | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Nickname(s) | The Dominator |
| Rated at | Heavyweight |
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Born |
11 February 1982 Perth, Western Australia, Australia |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 34 |
| Wins | 30 |
| Wins by KO | 26 |
| Losses | 2 |
| Draws | 2 |
Mark de Mori (born 11 February 1982) is an Australian professional boxer who fights at heavyweight.[1] He is a knockout specialist, having won 26 of his 30 fights inside the distance.
Early life and amateur career
De Mori grew up in the suburbs of Perth. He was supposedly deaf until the age of four and suffered chronic asthma attacks throughout his childhood and early teenage years. Whilst recovering, he became increasingly drawn to boxing and taught himself to box by watching videos and attempting to recreate the moves he saw in his father's garage. De Mori took part in 11 fights during his time as an amateur, winning all.[2]
Although lessened, De Mori's asthma remains. He says that his private gym, the Odjebi training centre in Split, "has a good climate and is really good for my asthma".[3]
De Mori has lived in Croatia with wife Milijana De Mori, whom he met in the country, for the past two-and-a-half years.[3]
Professional career
De Mori turned professional at the age of 22. He knocked out five of his first six opponents before taking an 18-month break from the sport.[2]
De Mori has occasionally been accused of adopting an 'arrogant' style in the ring, as he tends to keep his fists low, rather than in front of his face. The stance is similar to that of famous American boxers from De Mori's childhood that he attempts to replicate. The stance, which has proven successful, has angered previous opponents.[2]
In 2007, De Mori signed a three-year deal with prominent boxing promoter Don King. King cited "youth and exciting style" as the reason he put faith in De Mori, as he slowly worked his way up the ranks. One year into his deal with King, De Mori scored an eight-round win by unanimous decision over Ed Mahone in New Zealand. Mahone had been the favourite heading into the fight but was worn down by De Mori's 'jab and move' approach.[2]
In 2009, De Mori won a further two US fights, both by knockout as a result of body blows, ranking him the number 17 heavyweight in the world by the World Boxing Council.
In 2014 De Mori scored a first-round TKO victory over Bosnian Zeljko Bojic.[4]
In 2015 in Niedersachsen, Germany, he stopped German Marcel Zeller in less than a round. He was credited for both an impressive defense and offense, winning the bout with a first-round knockout.[5]
On November 24, 2015, it was announced at a press conference that De Mori would be the comeback opponent of former heavyweight champion David Haye. The bout took place on January 16, 2016 at The O2 Arena in London and was promoted by Salter Brothers Entertainment.[6][7] De Mori hinted he would try to exploit Haye's weakness of having six pins in his right shoulder,[3] but Haye beat him with a first-round knockout.[8] De Mori was ranked 10th by the WBA before his defeat to Haye.[9]
Split with King
In 2015, De Mori was given an early release from his contract with Don King and "a lump of cash" after Canadian Bermane Stiverne, another client of King's, failed to retain the WBC heavyweight title. King reportedly had De Mori as the next challenger for Stiverne prior to his defeat to Deontay Wilder in January 2015, and according to De Mori this was the reason for his contract release.[3]
He has since signed with manager Mike Borao and promotion company Warriors Boxing.[3]
Training
De Mori is trained by former boxer and two-time Olympian Marijo Šivolija at the Odjebi training centre in Split, Croatia.[3]
References
- ↑ Professional boxing record for Mark de Mori from BoxRec. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 "Who is Mark De Mori? David Haye's comeback opponent profiled". mirror. Trinity Mirror plc. Retrieved 2015-11-29.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "De Mori planning to make hay ...". au.news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2015-11-29.
- ↑ "BoxRec - Mark de Mori v Zeljko Bojic". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2015-11-29.
- ↑ "Mark de Mori KO’s big punching German Marcel Zeller! | FightFan.com". fightfan.com. Retrieved 2015-11-29.
- ↑ "Anthony Joshua s mission is to get it Whyte against Dillian". www.thesun.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-12-14.
- ↑ sport, Guardian. "David Haye confirms comeback against Mark de Mori at O2 Arena in January". the Guardian. Retrieved 2015-11-29.
- ↑ "David Haye vs Mark de Mori - as it happened: Haye knocks out Australian in first round in heavyweight comeback". Telegraph.co.uk. 16 January 2016.
- ↑ "World Boxing Association Ranking". wbanews.com. Retrieved 2015-11-29.