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WBA sets eliminator for Haye's HW belt
If this is true then ****ing lol at Haye if he takes it!
Former cruiserweight champion Jean-Marc Mormeck and former heavyweight champ Hasim Rahman have agreed to meet in a title eliminator May 12 in France, Mormeck promoter Joe DeGuardia and Rahman promoter Greg Cohen told ESPN.com.
The winner would become the mandatory challenger for titlist David Haye of England. Haye has a mandatory due against Ruslan Chagaev, but it is unclear if that fight will ever happen because of Chagaev's problems with hepatitis B, which make it unlikely he would be medically cleared to fight in England. He has been cleared to fight in Germany, but Haye would have no reason to go there to fight him.
So Mormeck (36-4, 22 KOs) and Rahman (49-7-2, 40 KOs) would meet for the shot to become the next mandatory.
"We've done the contracts. Rahman is not leaving it up to the judges," Cohen said. "Rahman is very motivated and excited. He's not getting a lot of money for this fight. He's doing it for the opportunity. This is it. Either win and go on and fight for a title, or retire."
Rahman, 38, who reigned as heavyweight champ for seven months in 2001 after knocking out Lennox Lewis (before being knocked out in the rematch), has won four fights in a row against low-level competition since heavyweight champ Wladimir Klitschko crushed him in seven lopsided rounds in December 2008.
Mormeck (36-4, 22 KOs), 38, retired for two years after Haye knocked him out in the seventh round to take the cruiserweight title in 2007. Mormeck followed Haye up in weight when he came of retirement in December 2009. Mormeck has fought three times at heavyweight, going the eight-round distance with journeyman Vinny Maddalone, getting a highly questionable 10-round decision against Fres Oquendo and winning a split decision against Timur Ibragimov in a struggle.
There has been some speculation in the French and British media that Haye and Mormeck will meet in May, but DeGuardia said there have been no discussions between the camps and that Mormeck intends to face Rahman.
"They called but there haven't been any kinds of conversations about the fight," DeGuardia said. "It's a fight that could potentially happen in the future."
Former cruiserweight champion Jean-Marc Mormeck and former heavyweight champ Hasim Rahman have agreed to meet in a title eliminator May 12 in France, Mormeck promoter Joe DeGuardia and Rahman promoter Greg Cohen told ESPN.com.
The winner would become the mandatory challenger for titlist David Haye of England. Haye has a mandatory due against Ruslan Chagaev, but it is unclear if that fight will ever happen because of Chagaev's problems with hepatitis B, which make it unlikely he would be medically cleared to fight in England. He has been cleared to fight in Germany, but Haye would have no reason to go there to fight him.
So Mormeck (36-4, 22 KOs) and Rahman (49-7-2, 40 KOs) would meet for the shot to become the next mandatory.
"We've done the contracts. Rahman is not leaving it up to the judges," Cohen said. "Rahman is very motivated and excited. He's not getting a lot of money for this fight. He's doing it for the opportunity. This is it. Either win and go on and fight for a title, or retire."
Rahman, 38, who reigned as heavyweight champ for seven months in 2001 after knocking out Lennox Lewis (before being knocked out in the rematch), has won four fights in a row against low-level competition since heavyweight champ Wladimir Klitschko crushed him in seven lopsided rounds in December 2008.
Mormeck (36-4, 22 KOs), 38, retired for two years after Haye knocked him out in the seventh round to take the cruiserweight title in 2007. Mormeck followed Haye up in weight when he came of retirement in December 2009. Mormeck has fought three times at heavyweight, going the eight-round distance with journeyman Vinny Maddalone, getting a highly questionable 10-round decision against Fres Oquendo and winning a split decision against Timur Ibragimov in a struggle.
There has been some speculation in the French and British media that Haye and Mormeck will meet in May, but DeGuardia said there have been no discussions between the camps and that Mormeck intends to face Rahman.
"They called but there haven't been any kinds of conversations about the fight," DeGuardia said. "It's a fight that could potentially happen in the future."
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