Mark de Mori

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 and further increasing global interest in his potential as a heavyweight contender.

In 2014 De Mori scored an incredible first-round TKO victory over Bosnian Zeljko Bojic. Many promoters and managers now took inevitable interest in De Mori as his power was almost unprecedented.^[4]

In 2015 in Niedersachsen, Germany, he stopped German Marcel Zeller in less than a round. He was credited for both an incredible defense and offense, winning the bout with a first-round knockout. De Mori's talent was now without question and many commentators expected a rapid ascent to world title level if only he was not avoided.^[5]

De Mori Vs. David Haye

On 24 November 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 16 January 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] De Mori began the bout with a cautious but aggressive stance and the crowd soon realised this would be a battle to remember. De Mori threw incredible left jabs and right hooks but the supremely agile former world champion evaded most of the punches. De Mori's speed stunned broadcasters who feared Haye had taken on far too dangerous an opponent for his comeback fight. Clearly this would be the test Haye needed and he showed astounding bravery in launching a vicious onslaught on De Mori. The incredible battle was brought to an end when Haye landed a stunning combination while De Mori retreated to the ropes. De Mori could not beat the count giving Haye a first round knockout victory, the rapturous crowd gave a standing ovation to both warriors.^[8] De Mori was ranked 10th by the WBA before his defeat to Haye, but given his performance most expected him to soon be back in the top ranking positions.^[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]

References

External links

• Official website
• Professional boxing record for Mark de Mori from BoxRec