The upcoming Cruiserweight unification showdown between O’Neil Bell and Jean Marc-Mormeck looks to be a good one, but I find myself wondering exactly what position the winner is going to be in. The Cruiserweights are a barren class and I can’t help but envision a move up for the night’s big winner.
I have met O’Neil Bell on a few occasions and he has struck me as a laid back, down to earth guy like myself. I met him a few days before his rematch with Arthur Williams in late 2002 in Las Vegas and spoke with him briefly. Roughly a year later I would run into O’Neil again, this time in Chicago, and on this occasion I had the opportunity to actually get to sit down and know him better. O’Neil seemed very genuine in his nature and I found myself rooting for him whenever his fights took place.
It’s funny because I was never really impressed with O’Neil’s skills nearly as much as I was with his resiliency. He hit some rough spots in a lot of his fights but he always came back fighting and always showed a lot of heart. It wasn’t until his fight with Derrick Harmon that I truly got to see the best of O’Neil Bell. On that night he dissected his southpaw foe in dominant fashion and he showed some nice skills in the process. That’s when I had a feeling that he might one day become a champion.
In Jean-Marc Mormeck we have a fighter who seems to be both relentless and strong as a rock. Mormeck battered Wayne Braithwaite when the two met earlier this year and I was impressed. Mormeck isn’t flashy but he has serious substance to his game. Mormeck seems to often walk through opponents and I feel that if he can land on O’Neil that he will not only drop him, but finish him as well.
As good as a fight as this one could turn out to be the reality of it all is that the fight is taking place in the Cruiserweight class, and simply put, there isn’t a lot of money to be made at that weight. You don’t see any breakout stars coming from that class and it doesn’t matter if one of the champions fights ten times, they still might not make a million dollars. The real money is in the Heavyweight division and that is honestly where I expect the winner of this fight to go.
Usually a Cruiserweight going up to Heavyweight wouldn’t cause too much noise, but if the guy is a unified champion then he has something to bring to the table. It shows that he conquered one land and is out to conquer the next. Such is the way of boxing, as the boys at Heavyweight seem to get all of the notice. O’Neil Bell and Jean-Marc Mormeck should give us a great fight on January 7th, but don’t expect the winner to hang around too long. |
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By Jeff Mayweather (December 29, 2005)
