Olympic gold champion and former heavyweight champion of the world Ray Mercer started boxing at 23 when he was in the army. Very impressive. He won the 201lbs olympic gold after 4 years of training. In the HW division you can be late starter if you have the talent.
Ray was a beast. Interesting thinking about how good he would of been if he was more committed and started at 12 :rasta
Reminds me of Anthony Joshua, started boxing at age 18, had 23 only amateur fights (Silver in World Amateur Championship) before winning Olympic Gold.
Yes, that has always been the case. Theses days you can start near 30 at heavyweight and have a fine career. Lower weight fighters burn out quickly. If you're a fly or bantam, you could be past your prime by age 27. Harsh, but that's just how the game goes.
I don't think that his career would have panned out much differently. Ray's biggest asset was his chin. Next, his jab. Without his chin, he is a Seth Mitchell type. Seth could not take a punch but Mercer could. That allowed him to be competitive against anyone, since be could hang in there.
He was a solid contender by the time he fought and lost to Larry Holmes. An Olympic gold medalist with an 18-0 Pro record and wins over Morrison, Damiani and Cooper. I was actually kinda bummed when he lost to Larry because I would have rather seen Mercer fight Holyfield than Holmes.
Well Mercer did fight Holyfield. It was one of Holy's best performances. He even floored and hurt Mercer.
Mercer had a big heart and great chin. He was a little one dimensional. Damiani was on his way to decision when Mercer brook his nose with 45 degree hook that caught him just right. But that fight showed he could be outboxed and Larry exposed it. The Morrison fight showed what Mercer could take and then he brutally bombed out a quickly tiring Morrison. Brutal epic end. Mercer nearly pulled the upset on Lewis too. In a fight many believe he won. Either way it was razor close and had Mercer been in better shape, he often wasn't, he would of taken the fight because when he wasn't gasping for air he was giving the better of it.
Yes but it would have been nice had they fought in 1992 rather than 1995, before Mercer's record was tainted with losses from Ferguson and Holmes and while both he and holy were prime. Certainly would have made a more admirable defense for Holy's title.
Yes. Holmes got that title fight instead, beating a TOP-5 and undefeated Mercer. Ray had great chin. vs Holy it was the only time he was hurt and took a knee until age 41. Wlad dropped 41 y.o. Ray with his great left hook, but Ray got up and took unhuman beating for 5 more rounds. vs Briggs at 44 Ray himself recently said he took a dive because he was hoping Shannon would be DQ'd for hitting behind the head, instead Ray was counted out.
this is so true, people act like boxing is quantum physics... if you have talent, with a good trainer, sparring and dedication you can be a good/great boxer within few years. especially heavyweight.
Deontay Wilder also started really late, so did Earnie Shavers. Black genetics and huge amounts of athleticism. And in case of shavers being able to punch like a truck
Starting late and having world-class success happens more often than people think at heavy. Rahman, Willard, Marciano, etc.