KLITSCHKO, WLADIMIR-JEAN-MARC MORMECK SIGNED OFFICIAL PROGRAM (2012-SIGNED BY KLITSCHKO)

HISTORY: On March 3, 2012 at the Esprit Arena in Dusseldorf, Germany world heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko defended his title against Jean-Marc Mormeck. Klitschko knocked Mormeck out in the 4th round. Dan Raphael reported, "

Klitschko, 35, of Ukraine but a hero in Germany, is the No. 1 heavyweight on the planet, the legitimate champion in the midst of a historic title reign that began in 2006. He is 6-foot-6, a chiseled 245 pounds and possesses tremendous one-punch power in his right hand and a murderous jab. Mormeck, France's most popular active fighter, is 39, stands only 5-11, weighs 216 pounds and is not a big puncher. Moreover, the former cruiserweight champion had not fought in 15 months and in his three-fight heavyweight campaign (following a more than two-year retirement) he had looked positively awful. He looked bad against club fighter Vinny Maddalone, got a hometown gift decision against Fres Oquendo and was almost as lucky to escape with a hometown split decision against Timur Ibragimov. There is a reason he was a massive, massive underdog against Klitschko, who hand-picked Mormeck for his 11th defense even though Mormeck was one of the most unworthy heavyweight title challengers in recent boxing history. Klitschko and his older brother, fellow champ Vitali Klitschko, have essentially cleaned out the top 10 of those willing to face them. So Wladimir, who fought only once last year in his wipeout of former titlist David Haye (who ended Mormeck's second cruiserweight title reign before moving up in weight), took this soft-touch fight and still drew a crowd of about 50,000 to Esprit Arena for a fight originally scheduled for December but postponed when Klitschko needed surgery to remove a kidney stone a week before the bout. Hopefully, the fans got a dose of entertainment from the theatrical ring walks because that was about as much drama as there was. Klitschko, as expected, dominated Mormeck, who could not do anything whatsoever against the champion in one of the most pathetic displays a heavyweight title challenger has ever put forth. Try these stats on for size, courtesy of CompuBox: Mormeck was 0-for-2 in first-round punches, 1-for-5 in the second round, 2-for-8 in the third round and 0-for-4 in the fourth round. That means in the 10 minutes, 12 seconds that the fight lasted, Mormeck landed only three punches out of 19 thrown (a putrid 16 percent). Klitschko, meantime, landed 39 of 135 (29 percent) and scored a spectacular knockout. The size, speed, power and talent disparity was stark. Klitschko more or less used the first round to feel Mormeck out and leaned on him, almost to excess, in order to sap some of his energy. (That's an old trick taught by his trainer, Emanuel Steward.) But then it was basically target practice for Klitschko. You got the feeling that he could have ended the fight any time he pleased. When he finally began to let his hands go, he dropped Mormeck with a clean right hand in the second round. He continued to abuse him in the third round and then put together a nasty three-punch combination to end the fight -- a left hook, right hand and another left. Mormeck went down and, although he tried to beat the count, referee Luis Pabon counted him out at 1 minute, 12 seconds. The knockout gave Klitschko No. 50 of his career, a milestone for sure. He moved alone into fifth place on the all-time list for knockouts by a heavyweight champion, breaking the tie had been in with Hall of Fame legends Joe Louis and Jack Dempsey. Klitschko, a 1996 Olympic gold medalist and a two-time champion, also moved to 18-2 with 15 knockouts in world title fights with no obvious challenger on the horizon. So Klitschko will keep on going and try to rack up defenses. He does owe Tony Thompson, whom he knocked out in the 11th round of a 2008 mandatory defense, another mandatory shot, so he is probably next. Klitschko would like to come to America before the end of the year and could face Cristobal Arreola -- who was already knocked out by Vitali in a title bout -- in the U.S. in the fall. Whomever Klitschko faces next, he is likely to be another significant underdog against a star champion who has won all of his defenses in dominant fashion and not been even remotely challenged in any of them. " Offered here is an original, official program for this event which has been signed by Wladimir Klitscho. From the collection of Klitschko's manager and has a letter from him attesting to the autographs. 

FULL DESCRIPTION: This is an original, official program picturing both on the cover. 32 pages complete including covers. Boldly signed on cover in black sharpie by Wladimir Klitschko. Tight binding. Clean inside and out. Not creased or torn. Minor edge and corner wear. 9" x 12."  From the collection of Klitschko's manager and has a letter from him attesting to the autographs.