BUSY preparing for one of the biggest challenges of his boxing career, Mark de Mori says if Matt ‘The Hurricane’ Hicks knocks him out next Sunday, he will look for another job.
The Scarborough heavyweight told the Stirling Times he would use his hand speed and fitness to outbox the 193cm, 115kg former NFL player, who has 12 of his 13 wins by way of knockout.
“There’s always going to be someone bigger and stronger and we’ve got that in Matt Hicks,” he said.
“The only chance he’s got is in the first half of the fight – he needs to knock me out.
“He always goes for the early knockout, so I’ll become the matador – I’m not there to lock horns with a bull.”
Currently fighting out of Don King’s stable, de Mori (16 wins, 1 loss, 2 draws) is sure that if he loses to the Hurricane, King will delist him.
“They’re not the best at keeping me busy, but I’m not really a high priority, so the fact I got signed with them in the first place is huge,” he said.
“(Hicks) has known about this fight since August, so he’ll be ready. But if I lose this fight, I know Don King will delist me and that motivates me.
“Boxing is the art of hitting and not getting hit, it’s not a tough man contest. As he huffs and puffs and lies on the ropes, that’s when the big body shots will come in.”
With the 29-year-old Australian admitting everything was on the line, the big American seemed less concerned.
“I'm travelling all the way over to Perth to end the career of Mark de Mori,” he said.
“To be honest, I had never heard of him… I’m coming over to knock him out; I don’t see the point in going the distance.”
Hicks and de Mori clash at the Cockburn Basketball Centre on Sunday, November 20.