https://www.ringtv.com/565353-best-i-faced-ray-mercer/ Throwback interview. Surprised no mention of the Witherspoon fight. BEST JAB Larry Holmes: I learned how to throw my jab off Larry. He had one of the best jabs in the world, ever. I’ve got to give that to him; his jab was awesome. He used the jab for a lot of things: to hurt you, set up the right hand, he used it well. BEST DEFENSE Francesco Damiani: He was a southpaw, he took away my jab, he looked kinda big, he was awkward. This guy could really move and he was a boxer. FASTEST HANDS Evander Holyfield: He was just fast. Before you know it the jab is coming back. He was a smaller guy, so he was obviously faster than the big guys. BEST FOOTWORK Holyfield: When he threw punches he didn’t just hit and stay there, he was a very smart fighter. He’d hit you and move to the side. He’ll come back with something and move to the other side. He’s real slick on his feet. BEST CHIN Bert Cooper: We had fight of the year in 1990. That dude took everything I had and I took everything he had. We both ended up in the hospital. Lennox Lewis and Holyfield took a good shot. SMARTEST Lennox Lewis: He knows when to battle and when not to battle. He listens to his trainer, he’s smart in a lot of ways. He gets in there and you think he’s not going to throw this and he does. He hits you with stuff you don’t think you’ll get hit with. He’ll set you up. STRONGEST Lewis: We were coming in and bumping into each other. He wasn’t budging and I wasn’t budging. He’s got some slick moves, he’s a big man, everything he did was slick and strong. He was definitely the strongest. BEST PUNCHER Wladimir Klitschko: He was a bigger and stronger guy. I really didn’t know him so when he hit me I was like, ‘Damn, where did he come from?’ I was in shape and he was just a powerful dude, his jab and everything, very heavy-handed, more than Lewis. BEST BOXING SKILLS Holyfield: Everybody knows he’s got the skills to hit and move, hit and not get hit. He was slick, everything his trainer told him to do he does. He was in a position to punch all the time, that’s one thing that amazes me, you have to have good footwork for that. He knows all the moves, he’ll make you pay for your mistakes. He’s just a natural, he’s got everything, he’s complete, he’s the Real Deal. BEST OVERALL Lewis: He’s a big guy, he was a great champion, he’s a strong guy, he had one of the best trainers in the world in Emanuel Steward, that’s half the battle. Emanuel Steward could get Lennox Lewis to fight the fight Emanuel wants him to fight. (Lewis) is one of the best of our generation.
Mm- Wlad really committed war crimes with his fists as a young man I agree with a lot of these Mercer was very honest.
Mercer fought them all! His greatest achievement still might have been crossing the line over to MMA and knocking out their great champion Tim Silvia with the first punch of the fight! That remains to this day one of the greatest and most underrated performance in any sport. Bottom line Mercer fought everyone from the 90s, one of the toughest eras and had success. He's even a WBO champion, which in 2021 is hailed as a legitimate belt. He was never stopped until he was well into his 40s and had nothing left in him to prove but at one time he was even more known for his chin then Oliver McAllen.
Sounds extremely reasonable. The Cooper chin shout out may seem weird but that was Cooper 1990 with a fighting heart.
He is honest because I spoke to him maybe 6 years ago I forget exactly and one of the questions I asked was who hit harder Wlad or Lewis. And he said without hesitation Wlad. But he added that he was older. Glad to see he hasn’t changed his opinion for a magazine interview years later.
He seemed to answer honestly and doesn't seem to hold a grudge against anyone he lost to which is refreshing. I remember him in another interview saying Tommy Morrison hit very hard.
Good stuff. One cool thing about Mercer is that he had a lot of success for a guy that started so late with the sport. To win Olympic gold in the era that he did with his background is remarkable in itself, let alone what he accomplished as a pro. He started boxing at age 23 and won Olympic gold at 27. That is unreal.
