Was Ray Mercer As Good As Any Of The 80 s Alphabet Boy's?

I never knew he admitted to it. Everyone who does it has an excuse ready.

 

Interesting theory.

I tend to think Lewis had limited tactical options in an 18-foot ring against a hungry, nigh-on 240lb opponent, working his jab to maximum effect.

 

It’s literally two fights, both of which he lost. I’ve never read a single post praising Mercer’s performance against Witherspoon until just now (big surprise, considering the author).

 

Mercer looked better against 90's guys than 80's guys. At his best, he looked pretty good and had that durability factor to make him a pain to deal with for guys who rely on their power. It's not just about avoiding being knocked down, it's the ability to just not respect what the other guy throws. How do you keep the damn guy off you?

 

Damiani should've been a huge wakeup call to Mercer about how Holmes could clown him and literally take him to school when Damiani already had taken him to school. (And how do you thing Damiani-Mercer II turns out?)

"I guess I'd better learn how to box!" Mercer after Holmes, when he should've been saying that after Damiani.

The Mike Weaver who jabbed Scott LeDoux to the deck would've shut out any version of Mercer.

 

You think too much

 

I think that he would have broken through somewhere.

 

Best-for-Best, Mercer beats Tate, Weaver, Coetzee, Dokes, Page and Smith; has a fairly even, either-way tussle with Berbick, and gets beaten by, Witherspoon, Thomas, and Tubbs.

 

Not entirely sure on Weaver and Tubbs, but this is a really cool list, my friend.

 

Mercer was a very dangerous fighter also a nutter who genuinely feared no one. When at his best he has a good chance of beating any 80s HW . Judging when he was in the mood is a tough call

 

Not sure about Page at his best he had good movement good handspeed, good jab, and was fairly durable aswell. His movement especially would be very problematic for Mercer who didn't have the fastest feet, I personally wouldn't have Mercer as a favourite over the best version of Page.

 

That's not a bad shout. It's certainly not a slam dunk for Mercer, and I did pause on that match-up momentarily - mainly on account of Page's early showings and, in particular, his performance against Snipes.

In terms of Page's 'movement', it did stand out, almost always looking good. Page seemed to be up on his toes at all times, but he more often than not failed to work off of his lateral movement, resolving to reposition and plant his feet, from where he would launch a jab or three or a flashy combination before moving off again - and, he really didn't show a lot of upper-body and head movement.

The points at which Page stopped to do some work presented opportunities for opponents more inclined to go forward, in my opinion. Berbick (Page's broken thumb notwithstanding) and particularly Bey were able to disrupt Page with pressure and win more rounds, as a result. Durable as he was, I think Page could be discouraged by this kind of undeterred opposition, taking the steam out of his own aspirations.

The best version of Mercer (vs Lewis, IMO) brings as much, if not more, pressure than just about anyone Page fought - and he did so behind a jab that would, in combination, be a problem for Page. I think this offers Mercer an edge. But, as I mentioned, it's not a clear-cut case, and Mercer/Page, in my view, might reside somewhere between the W for Mercer and "a fairly even, either-way tussle" (similar outlook as with Berbick/Mercer).

 

The various ways in which these fantasy match-ups could be perceived is testament to the diverse range of talent that arose in the early '80s.

 

Tubbs is tricky, to me he's one of the hardest to match up in fantasy match ups. I'm not sure if one can base a whole lot on the Tyson ko, given Tony would come back years later and lose a hotly contested decision to prime Bowe (among other weird Tubbs anomalies lol).

We both know Weaver was kind of a wild card.

Love the avatar, my friend.

 

Everybody knows I'm a major Hercules fanboy. Weaver's name continues to be mentioned here, but I've recently reviewed the entirety of his lopsided 12 round UD boxing masterclass over the Fighting Frenchman in LeDoux's own Bloomington turf TWICE, and I just don't see any version of Mercer somehow stopping Mike, let alone winning the decision over a guy with well established Championship Distance stamina at his best. Ray won two 12 round decisions, but neither Kimmuel Odum or Bert Cooper were remotely in the class of Weaver at the time Mike had his LeDoux-Tate-Coetzee-Tillis WBA Title run. (In fact, 40 y/o Weaver actually UDed 27 y/o Cooper a few years after Mercer did Bert. Announcers had it close, but the judges were pretty well decided that Mike took it with ring generalship, superior maneuvering and defense. I agreed with that. Cooper staggered Weaver in three middle rounds, but Mike showed resilience he was known for.)

Nobody questions Mercer's legendary chin and durability. But his second loss was a later avenged 10 round UD to Jesse Ferguson, and he also drew with 7-9-3 Marion Wilson. He was essentially shut out by Damiani for eight rounds and two and a half minutes before a ridiculously lucky shot shattered the Italian's nose (and there's no way Mercer wins a rematch) then schooled by Holmes,

From 1978 to 1996, only titleholders and title challengers beat Weaver (whose one round loss to Dokes was due to a premature stoppage by an admittedly very skittish Joey Curtis, openly spooked by the Mancini-Kim tragedy, then Weaver was robbed in the rematch by a Don King rigged draw).

Best for best? Mercer never stopped anybody as good as 1979 - 1984 Weaver, and again, there's simply no way Ray decisions the Hercules of the 12 round LeDoux jab fest.

@NoNeck has been submitting excellent replies to this thread.