I remember scoring it for Mercer, actually. It was a hellacious scrap, the way I remember it. Mercer was just the right combo of iron chin, heavy-handedness and, on that day, determination. If you knew all of Lewis' fights and only this Mercer fight, you would have an awfully hard time getting your head around things like the Ferguson incident. It's amazing to me that this one even went the distance, with what they were landing. The funny thing to me is, having seen so much of both of them, best for best, I'd never choose Mercer over Lennox in a fantasy fight...even though I already think he beat him. I also think Lennox was sort of suckered into this type of fight. He could've won it clearly, without taking most of those shots, if he decided to go with a defensive game plan and stuck to it. He was more than capable of outboxing Mercer comfortably, but Lennox was funny that way, sometimes. I think of Chad Dawson in '08 and '09 with Glen Johnson. If Dawson were smarter, the first fight would've been as easy as the second, though I hate to say it. If Lennox fought Mercer again, I think it'd have been similar to that.
lewis 6-4 if i remember correctly, lewis could have jabbed his way to a easy UD but he decided to have a brawl.
It should have been a draw. Mercer was 35 years old and clearly overweight/past his prime (he weighed 238, compared to 215 five years earlier). Lennox was in the prime of his career, and couldn't beat a guy that an old shot Larry Holmes had disposed with easily a few years earlier. There are no good wins on Lennox's resume. He's the best con artist in boxing history. How otherwise intelligent people can rate him as one of the best 20 heavyweights is beyond my comprehension.