How do folks in here rate Ray Mercer?

I rate Mercer as a good solid top five contender of the 90's. Even though he won the WBO title, he was inconsistent and lacking in certain areas. He wasnt much of a thinking fighter, but he had a good chin, good jab and a decent righthand. The better the condition he was in the better he performed. He reminds me a bit of Hasim Rahman with a better chin.

 

about sums it up though personally i think he was light years ahead of rahman

the lewis fight was his best performance and he was even just past peak. many thought he won, including myself and showed everything there was of ray mercer: thudding jab, great chin, solid combinations on the inside and outside and, as you pointed out, not much of a thinker. he could have won that fight clearly but he had lapses where he either utilized a poor strategy or did nothing at all allowing lennox to catch up. much the like the holyfield fight, he showed he could fight with the best on even terms but never quite beat them (morrison being his best win)

 

Top 10 heavy of the 90's. I liked to watch him fight. Tough fighter with very good jab. Underrated win on many boxers record.

 

Mercer's pro debut was on the Duran-Barkley undercard twenty years ago. He had moida on his mind even then.

When well-trained and in condition, he represented a pretty frightening style for any but the top level guys. He had a King Kong jaw, with wrecking balls for fists and he understood combinations and leverage. What he did to Morrison was sobering to say the least. Then Holmes made a jerk out of him. That's about the story of his career.

 

He was really good til he got Hepatitis.

 

So did the Boogieman, Jesse Ferguson. Remember he tried to bribe the guy? Ferguson ratted his ass out.

 

haha, that was mercer though. always a stern test but couldn't get over that next hump. he had serious toughness but when he wasn't focused he could be complete ****. a completely different mercer would have likely showed up against bowe and made a hell of a fight against it.

 

Yes Mercer tried to bribe Ferguson. Mercer would have certainly put a better notch on Bowes belt than Ferguson, thats for sure.

 

**** was he thinking...ferguson is going to take a mid-fight bribe instead of a shot at the heavyweight champion

 

He probably panicked knowing Ferguson was only supposed to be a tunep and wasnt in the title mix.

 

yeah looks like it. out of curiousity, how'd you score the lewis fight?

 

I was at that fight in the Garden. I gave it to Lewis, barely. The crowd boo'd Lewis big time, but I thought he did enough to win, and I think win or lose he came out of that fight a better fighter. I later watched it on tape, and Steward had to set him straight as he kept telling Steward to warn the ref about Mercer supposedly fouling. Steward basically had to tell him, look *****, youre in a fight, be a man and fight your ass off, and Lewis answered the call.

 

we may not agree on who won that fight but you're bang on, lewis came out the better for it. he had a reputation as soft, relatively deservidly so, but he certainly grew some balls in that fight. his boxing skills didn't work. his punch didn't work. his size didn't work. he had to get to business and fight! he did and he grew as a fighter as a result