I seem to recall that the Mercer/Tyson bout was a serious consideration, at one point, but the idea got canned. (I think team Lewis might have even been the people, who put the kibosh on that one).
Mike might have had a tough fight with Ray, I see Mike taking the decision though. He'd probably come out bombing and then have to slow down once Mercer warms up. If Mike gets knocked down...well, that would certainly affect the outcome.
- He didn't use his height and reach effectively - Mercer was in shape and highly motivated - Mercer had a granite chin and came forward with no fear of Lewis's power
Tyson would have toyed with Mercer while being trained by Rooney, the gap in class would have been huge, Mercer would miss over 90% of his shots, Tysonduring that time had a far better defense.
Ali was better than the fighters in the 90`s but the fighters with long reaches would have done well v him and the other top 70`s heavies, Frazier was a lot more talented than the 90`s bunch but may have been too small, Foreman would have been devastating in the 90`s as a younger fighter.
Well, being that Bowe is in my top ten as far as heavies go, I did some research. Turns out something many people don't know is that Lewis/Bowe was almost entirely a financial problem on the part of both sides (though Newman definitely bungled things for Bowe with his completely ridiculous and insulting cash offers). Bowe was ready to fight Lewis after fighting one of the greatest heavyweight fights in history. Exhausted, he challenged him to a fight on live tv. There was no fear in his eyes or demeanor whatsoever.