1999 Ike Ibeabuchi vs. 1991 Ray Mercer

Ibeaubuchi outworks him if nothing else

 

Ibeabuchi at that time would have been ready for anything Mercer could bring. Mercer was losing to Morrison before getting the knockout. I think Mercer could very well be the most overated contender on this forum, he was never that great.

 

Probably a less exciting and competitive version of Ike/Tua. Especially 91 Mercer, who just followed guys around. Holmes schooled this clown, Ike will just throw endless left hands to win rounds.

 

Ibeaubuchi probably wins a decision. He was, in '97 - '99, a better boxer than '91 Mercer and at least as strong, and bigger.

The best Mercer I ever saw was in 1995 against Holyfield. He looked fit and he'd learned to box just a little. Still, he was outworked by a Holyfield whose own work-rate had started to slow.

I liked Mercer in the 1988 Olympics too. He won gold at the 200 pound HW division, against some giant Korean guy. Preferred him to super-heavys Lewis and Bowe.

 

In 91 Mercer was overrated,he was losing to Morrison and Damiani before scoring a ko, he's lucky those guys didnt have decent chins.. He was tough as hell and could punch back then but that was it, he could be outboxed and was just a brawling slugger then.. And was schooled by an old Larry Holmes after those wins.

However forward to 96,97. That Ray Mercer was underrated.. Think about it he took 2 all time greats to razor close decisions while they were either in their prime or near... I thought the Lewis fight was a draw, and Holyfield needed that knockdown to edge it out IMO. That Ray Mercer seemed to throw fluid combonations(instead of Haymakers) And developed a good jab.... He might have been older, but he was much better and taking boxing serious.... Too bad he wasnt fightin one of the other paper champs of the 90s, or he would have been champ... I would have liked to see the Mercer of 96,97 vs post prison Mike Tyson. Im more of a Tyson fan but i dont think he beats that version of Mercer.. He had the right strengths to beat Tyson, and wouldnt fold under Mikes still explosive punches.


Ibeabuchi wins a clear decision over 91 Mercer.

96,97 Mercer beats Ibeabuchi.. Too much experience and would handle anything Ike brought.. would be exciting though.. Mercer either late stoppage in a close fight, or close but convincing decision.

 

Nah Ike was too strong and Mercer would always lose to him. Ike had trouble with movers but not guys who stood in front of him and Mercer takes a beating in this one anytime. I think Ike throws more punches and is quicker than both Holy and Lewis that Mercer faced.

 

-Mercer had two fights in 96. He was overweight and playing gate keeper in both of them. He managed to draw a still rebuilding Lewis into a close fight and was lucky to get a decisoin against old Witherspoon(who somehow managed to land and throw more punches, Ike could and probably would double these numbers against a guy like Mercer)

-97 he was out of action with injuries, forced to eventually pull out of scheduled fight with Golota. He isn't beating anybody let alone making it to the ring.

-Mercer's best stoppage win was against Tommy Morrison...think about it.

 

Mercer should have gotten himself into decent shape in '96 against Lewis. He was serious in mind and boxed well but his conditioning was lacking. He could have whipped Lewis had he been in better shape.
I'm not sure he was a much improved boxer in '95 and '96 than he was in '91 though. He was a bit better, but Holyfield was slipping, and Lewis ..... well, Lewis is a little bit overrated as a boxer.
Mercer was on a par with Witherspoon in '96, who was probably somewhat past his best.
Mercer probably deserved a shot at a title in '97 - I forget why that never happened.

 

That was the info I was forgetting : Injuries.
Didn't know he scheduled to face Golota though.

 

Yeah, several delays before being cancelled. Golota was injured first time I think, than Mercer's neck got screwed up and the fight just called off; ending his little return to the limelight..after that I think he ended up with Hepatis.

 

Also alot less experienced... Only had like 16 fights.. At that time Mercer was the type of fighter who would make you dig deep... I think that version of Ray Mercer was definetly better than a prime Tua.. And lets not forget the Ibeabuchi-Tua fight was very close, its not like he won going away..... What movers are you talking about? I know Byrd was winning the early rounds against him, but it didnt take long to catch him.

 

I dont think Mercer could ever have "fought" any better than he did against Lewis. Whether he was in top shape or not, he fought like he was. The punch stats were fairly comparable and even though Mercer was heavier he was fighting a 250 pound Lewis in a very small ring compared to Holyfield. The weight didnt seem to be a factor in my opinion, it was just a flat out slugfest.

 

Ok excuse the typo sir!! I meant 95,96... Lewis i believe was already working with Manny. Even Steward says this was one of Lewis's most impressive fights in his opinion.. As for Witherspoon i had a feeling someone would bring that up, let me tell you Witherspoon turned back the clock that night and was On:yep Im serious that night Tim looked like an early mid 80s version, and would have beaten or given any HW at the time all they could handle. Watch the replay Tim looked great, and so did Mercer.... Why no mention of his very close fight with Holyfield when he came in at a trim 224?. I agree the Morrison win was his biggest, but im much more impressed with his fights against Holy-Lewis.. 2 figths that could have easlily gone to him.

 

From what I heard Ike was having trouble with his stablemate Kirk Johnson in training. That kind of movement, boxer mover. Byrd was elusive but he would stand in the pocket.
I dont think Mercer got much better in my opinion, and the Ike Tua fight would be a good example of why I dont think Mercer could win, because he could never keep up with that kind of pace, but he would fight very simiarly to Tua and slug with Ike.

Ike and Tua set a record for the most punches ever thrown in a heavyweight fight and Ike set the individual record.
To compare Mercer threw 381 punches against Lewis. Ike threw 975 against Tua. Those are astounding numbers for heavyweights. 1730 punches thrown in the fight total