checked this little gem of a slug fest from 1996 both guys trying to prove they are still able to be prime time fighters Ray mercer came out packing a very strong and stiff jab following it up with his right lewis too came out hard with a similar jab backing his up with volleys of uppercuts and right crosses something of note LL was doing something of good effect that he rarely did at the onset of the match and that was opening up the upstairs with heavy shots to the body hitting him in the bread basket then working his way up with combos punctuating them with a solid right he dumped this for some reason about round 4 he just stopped going to the body all together I think had he bought and paid for that real estate it would have benefitted him greatly .. the punches were working in effect making mercer actually drop his hands so lewis could land big heavy combos upstairs remember too the body shot is what evander holyfield used to drop mercer so going to the body wasn't some novelty of an idea that wouldn't work and would be like voodoo .. it works in mercer! mercers jab was so damn stiff in this he had Lewis eyes swelling up using his jab like a telephone pole .. his jab on this night was like that of foremans and listons just heavy as all can be had he not been so careless and sharpened his defense maybe allowing lennox to get off then countering instead of trying to catch lewis punching while punching at the same time things could have been different my dad told me once he watched this fight on espn classics and said it was a darn good one and hard as hell to score he had it a draw of course I had it 96-95 for lewis with the following scores LL 1,4,5,6,7,10 RM 2,3,6,8,9 please post your scores guys so I can see who has what RM
Great fight it was. my score is also 96-95 Lewis, but 10th rd could 've gone either way.It was very close and competitive fight. Mercer was like 15 lbs overweight but it didn't hurt his stamina for some reasons
Great fight. A win for Mercer, win for Lewis, or draw would all be acceptable to me. Most probably felt Lewis would outclass Mercer, but Ray showed up in great shape.
Good post but Mercer wasn't dropped by a body shot to Holyfield, he was stunned from a left hook and took a count
Lennox Lewis SD Ray Mercer This is a really weird good fight with Lennox Lewis in the pocket swapping uppercuts (maybe in wee dress rehersal for Klitschko) but sometimes being outjabbed by a relative dwarf. Mercer's jab was a threat throughout, as was his bungling lunging style and his swarming attacks. On occasion these swarming attacks had Lewis in a spot of bother and he looks dog tired after just such a spell in the sixth, but Mercer perhaps saves him some serious bother by gassing all the more dramatically. Round 4 is one of my favourite HW rounds with Lewis showing what he was so capable of but in a future echo of his immediate lineage, reluctunce to do it, devastating and elastic combinations and some really genuinely nice bodywork, which he had to can due to an aggressive and ill-judged warning from the awful Mercante Jnr about low blows. For all the bluster and hubub surrounding this fight, I didn't have it that close with round 4 as the real turning point, Mercer is willing but his mind just refuses to sign off on the cheque his body needs to write to take the win. The desperate air surrounding the fight is perhaps more about the circumstances the two men find themselves in - Mercer one poor effort away from being put out to pasture, Lewis one loss away from a return to the UK - that lends it that feeling, that and the contradictory but exhorting rambles Steward offers up in the Lewis corner. Lewis understandably bemoanded the size of the ring, and it's fair to say that a bigger ring brings a cleaner result, but he would later admit this fight did him a "world of good". Must be nice to find out you have heart, and even if the test has subsequently been overstated, Lennox certainly passed. LEWIS: 3,4,6,7,8,9,10 MERCER 1,2,5. I thought 3 and 5 were the only really arguable rounds, and they got one each.
I thought Mercer edged this and that this fight kind of exposes Lewis' limitations. Mercer came into the bout out of shape and rusty. He hadnt fought in a year and hadnt won a bout in over 2. He took a lot of time off during certain rounds which ultimately cost him the decision Im sure but even so he outjabbed Lewis, worked this supposed masterful boxer into the ropes time and again, and by the end of the fight had Lewis' features ballooned. If Lewis is/was as good as his fans think he should not have had this kind of trouble with Mercer.
I had it 6-4 for Lewis. I think this fight shows Lewis ( Who ended up with a rare busted up face ) could out box and sometimes out slug a tough minded guy like Mercer. Mercer could be trouble for anyone, and his Mercer's manager Marc Roberts put in a very small ring. Toward the end of the fight, I got the sense that Lewis took over, and Mercer took his foot off the gas. Lewis had issues with good jabbers ( Bruno, Mercer and Klitschko ) . Who doesn't?!
I thought Lewis outworked Mercer in a close, competitive fight that really showed how good Ray Mercer could be when properly focused and prepared (even though he was heavy). Mercer showed a lot in this fight: he out jabbed Lewis repeatedly, something Holyfield and most others were not able to do; he stunned Lewis numerous times with powerful shots, and he absorbed some big bombs from Lewis and stood upright. Lennox Lewis showed a lot of heart and skill, and in my mind, he simply did more over the course of the fight; but Mercer was in it every step of the way. I think I had Lewis up by two rounds. If Mercer fought like this for most of his career, I'm sure he would have gone further. Larry Holmes would have had his hands full with this Ray Mercer.
Agree with consensus so far. The biggest factor in all of this is the overlooked fact the bout took place. So many terrific matches back then just didn't happen. the Lewis camp could have easily done the same thing here---demand the fight take place in the UK and make Mercer a road warrior. Something he hadn't done and not the kind of thing I think he'd have been successful at. How many american heavies are? I think the Lewis management could have forced the bout to the UK and Mercer was an up and down guy and he shows up with his B game, not the A game of his in Atalntic City. Different fight and easy night's work for Lennox. As it was, Lewis tried to outslug Mercer instead of boxing him. he was under pressure because HBO was buying Evander and Bowe and Lewis was not with DKP. So he had to look good. I think he could have easily taken a page out of the Damiani and holmes fights and boxed and circled Ray all night for an easy points win. Instead, he sttod his ground and traded. It provided us fans with a real good fight. What a tough hombre Mercer was to eat some of those shots in there. Lots of guys would have gone into survival mode. The bout kind of opened doors for Mercer but at the end of the day, he really needed the win over Lennox at that time to propel his career. Hardly an ideal position for Mercer to be in--all you have to do is beat Lennox and you can go on to bigger things.
I felt a lot of the rounds were close but Lewis edged most of them. This content is protected 3,4,5,7,10 This content is protected 2,6,9 This content is protected 1,8 I remember there were a few rounds Lederman gave to Mercer or Lewis and I had it the other way round. Close fight but the overall picture is in my opinion that Lewis won the fight. I remember I almost gave Lewis round 9 as well.
