Both in their primes, how does this one pan out? Both had great chins so I see this one having a great chance of going the distance and being a fun fight.
Mercer. Chag was apparently one of the best amateurs ever, but the pro ranks never saw the best of him, as he had hep C and was rumored to have a plethora of other medical problems. His penchant for pulling out of fights earned him the nickname "sick note" around here. At the end of the day, Mercer was no world beater, but Chag never had a single impressive heavyweight performance.He always looked pudgy and lethargic, probably due to difficulties in training. I don' think there is any data on how Mercer handles a southpaw, but he was a little bigger, a lot harder hitting, and usually heathy.
Bump. It seems Chagaev has been getting a bit overrated as of late, I think people have been putting too much emphasis on ‘boxing fundamentals’ when predicting H2H fights. Mercer is far more proven at the elite level, and while coming up short, he proved his worth, Chagaev lost to Lucas Browne who, yes did test positive for banned substances, but he was very limited and I believe most top fighters are on substances, I believe it’s about who can mask it etc. Anyway, Browne was actually starting to land more before the stoppage, he was landing uppercuts on the inside with regularity, Mercer was much quicker than Browne, he’d eat Chagaev alive on the inside, he’d bully him, push him against the ropes and tear him up. Chagaev didn’t have enough nimbleness to stay away from the ropes and keep it on the outside, the way an Ibragimov or Byrd would be able to.
Everybody’s on the juice but there’s a difference between cycling in trainings for efficiency and stepping into the ring like Captain America.