Mercer is a little tough to gauge in mythical matchups because he often ran hot-and-cold. Lost just about every round to Damiani before his uppercut just caught him on the nose. Losing to Holmes is one thing, even an old Holmes, given that Holmes is one of the greatest HWs ever, and had more left than people thought. But Jesse Ferguson? Then 3 years later he almost beats a Steward-trained Lennox Lewis. Mercer had a terrific chin and a very good jab. He had pretty good power, although the brutality of the Morrison KO might make him look more powerful than he really was. I'm leaning towards Mercer by decision, but again it's not an easy pick due to his inconsistency.
Excellent ****ysis. I was cheering for Damiani who was just about doing a paint job on him. But Mercer had big time guts and power, and he hung in there until he was able to one-shot the normally durable Italian. Frankly I would rate Damiani as a far better boxer than Wilder, with a better chin. I think Mercer would explode Wilder's chin into little tinkling pieces. Wilder's big thing is his power, and Mercer's chin will stand up to Wilder all night long.
Good chance Mercer's chin would be able to stand up to Wilder's best, but not such a good chance that Wilder's holds up to Mercer's best.
Mercer gave Lewis all he could handle. [YT]y3bqOLUZjP4[/YT] He took his best punches flush and came back with his own every time. He roughed up Lewis more than anyone else. Wilder is not beating this guy.
