Ray Mercer...Steel chin..lack of boxing ability

I remember Ray back in 1991 he was behind losing vs Francesco Damiani but pulled out a left hook to end matters then being out- hustled by Tommy Morrison found that majestic button, Morrisons middleweight chin but In 1992 he lost a decision to Larry Holmes (highly acclaimed) thing is he also lost a decision to Jesse Furgeson and won a SD in a rematch then in 94 he was awarded a draw against trial horse Marion Wilson but most felt Wilson won clearly then he fought a war with Evander in 95 and gave Lewis a tough battle in 96 but I think that was because his chin nullified power....Mercer could be easily out boxed.

Jerry Quarry was another who beat the Big Punchers because of his ability to take a punch but Quarry could box a lot better than Mercer.

Chuvalo was another tough strong guy but was out-boxed many times

How does a guy like Mercer lose to trail horses like Ferguson and Wilson and an older Holmes yet hang in there with Holyfield and Lewis and lose close ones...I think its a matter of style

thoughts on Mercer?

 

i expect powerpuncher and seamus to bust in here any minute to convince you that he was a pugilistic maestro

 

No it was a matter of motivation. Mercer was a pretty lazy guy, but he did have some boxing ability. He was a gold medal winner in the olympics. He was guaranteed a shot at Riddick Bowe if he could beat Ferguson and he showed up in poor shape and lost. Tried to bribe Ferguson during the fight to lose.
Mercer was just a dumb fighter. He probably could have done more, but he was somewhat like Hasim Rahman in my opinion with a better chin and less power. He had a decent jab and righthand, but he was somewhat slow and uninventive when it came to footwork and defense. Mercer was just a solid top five contender when he was in shape and focused, but never good enough to beat the elite guys.

 

Watch the Holyfield and Lennox fights and tell me he didn't have a decent skill level. Agree with LH31, he was lazy, often way out of shape, not too quick

 

He had pretty good skills, his main problem was pretty much a lack of versatility (as well as laziness). It's how a 42 year old Holmes was able to beat him and Boogeyman Ferguson as well, the guy had no ring smarts.

 

I was watching the Wilson fight and I felt bad for Marion Wilson because he was a tough guy but was robbed with a draw I guess at least he can show his grand kids the newspaper clippings but its not the same as saying I beat the Champ

 

Great chin, great punch, decent boxing ability. Wasn't always in the best of shape for every fight. The Ferguson and Wilson fight I think were indicators of that. I don't blame his loss to Holmes on lack of conditioning though. Holmes was just a much better boxer than Mercer even in his 40's.

 

Prime Mercer won 3 rounds with past-prime Holyfield and won 4 rounds with close to prime Lewis. Mercers problem was he was reguarily lazy in and out of the ring. To add to this, he had **** ring IQ. Good jab for a short guy. Iron chin. Good power with his broken nose stoppage of Damiani and his murderous KO of Morrison.

 

Interesting avatar. That must violate laws of some sort, somewhere, punishable by death.

 

My avatar is from Boxing Girl, she is a admin on ESB with Rumsfeld and does on the ropes radio with Rumsfeld. :thumbsup

 

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mn6aw6nR_yc[/ame]

Fwd to 13:10

Mercer didn't seem to suffer from boxing ability early ..

 

Wilson absolutely beat Mercer. Wilson had a new trainer for that fight and he taught Marion to box a bit better.

The commentators were absolutely disgusted. They were going on about how this is why boxing wasn't as popular as it could be, whats wrong with the sport, etc.

 

Mercer is/was a guy that will dig deep when he gets tagged or hit hard. Then, he'll compete and hang tough. What he was vulnerable to was a pitter patter type attack or getting outboxed by guys never trying to stop him or hurt him. that's when he stays in his 2nd or 3rd gear and looks mediocre and drops decisions. Starting so late didn't help him either and an earlier start maybe provides some polishing but I still think he has that "Joe Bugner" quality in there. Frustrating guy to watch.

 

Mercer had a chin of iron, a very good jab, and pretty good right hand. He was also a good finisher when he had his man hurt. I agree that defense, ring generalship, and effort/focus were his problem areas.

I'm not sure if Mercer was not good enough to beat the elite guys. He nearly beat Lewis via decision, Kid Morrison, and IMO would be a slight favorite to beaten Foreman, Moore, McCall or Raman if he had the opportunity to do so in the W's.

Team Tyson never came close to picking Mercer in a fight. Neither did team Tau, or team Goleta.

Bowe vs Mercer in the mid 1990's? I'm going with Ray.

 

Agreed.

A live underdog for sure. But Mercer being Mercer would go out and win one of those fights in an upset of sorts and then get licked in a supposedly easy title fight against a Mavrovic or old Tucker or somebody like that. A Greg Page kind of title run where he gets up for a title match or tough fight and then is a different guy in his next fight against softer opposition.