Ray Mercer

Raymond Anthony Mercer (born April 4, 1961) is an American former professional boxer, kickboxer, and mixed martial artist who competed from 1989 to 2009. As an amateur, he won the heavyweight gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1991, Mercer captured the WBO heavyweight title and later successfully defended it against Tommy Morrison whom he previously decisioned 5-0 during 1988 Summer Olympics trials.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> He subsequently vacated the belt. Mercer was nicknamed "Merciless" for his punching power and aggressive fighting style, a moniker that followed him throughout his professional career.<ref name=":0" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2004, Mercer competed in a kickboxing match against four-time K-1 Japan tournament champion Musashi, losing by unanimous decision.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2009, he made a brief appearance in mixed martial arts, defeating former two-time UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia by first-round knockout.

Early life

Mercer is the son of retired NCO Raymond Mercer Sr. and spent his childhood in Fort Benning, Georgia and Hanau, West Germany as part of a military family.<ref name="Berger1991">Template:Cite news</ref> He later recalled: Template:Cquote

Mercer played high school football as a linebacker in Hanau, Germany, and later graduated from Richmond County Academy in Augusta, Georgia. The following year, he enlisted in the United States Army.<ref name="Berger1991" />

Military service

Mercer served with the U.S. Army Europe (USAREUR), under V Corps, in the infantry. He was stationed with Company D, 1st Battalion, 39th Infantry Regiment in Baumholder, West Germany.<ref name="Rogers">Template:Cite journal</ref> He achieved the rank of sergeant.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Amateur boxing career

Mercer began boxing at age 23 while serving in the United States Army. He later stated that he had never worn gloves prior to his enlistment. "The Army taught me everything I know about boxing," explained Mercer. Mercer was offered the chance to avoid a 30-day field exercise by becoming a sparring partner for the post's heavyweight boxing champion.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

His first organized bout came in 1983 at Schweinfurt, West Germany. After winning his battalion box-off, he went on to claim the brigade title. After that, Mercer claimed, "I won the VII Corps novice and open championships and finished second at U.S. Army, Europe."<ref name="Schad1989">Template:Cite journal</ref> Mercer recalled being physically challenged early in his amateur career:

"I came back from that first day of sparring with a bleeding nose and my lips swollen. For two months, I got pounded. But then it became a challenge. I'm not a quitter. I figured the other guy learned the moves, so could I."

Mercer became the 1985 U.S. Army and inter-service heavyweight champion, alongside Wesley Watson, who was the inter-service super heavyweight title.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> That same year, Army Coach Hank Johnson sought to recruit Mercer for a stateside training camp for the 1988 Olympics, Mercer turned down the offer.<ref name="Berger1991" />

Throughout the late 1980s, Mercer continued to compete successfully in military-sponsored competitions. He won three USAREUR crowns while carrying the banner for V Corps,<ref name="Rogers" /> with his first victory coming less than a year after his first amateur fight.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> While still serving with USAREUR, Mercer had several more amateur bouts in Germany between 1986—1987, and he also competed internationally in Western European open tournaments.<ref name="Rogers" />

In the summer of 1988, he won the inter-service heavyweight championship again,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> before applying for the all-Army boxing trial camp to win a spot on the Army team.<ref name="Schad1989" /> Mercer won the 1988 United States amateur heavyweight championship.<ref name="LATimes">Template:Cite web</ref> At the USA vs. Cuba match-up, he twice staggered Félix Savón, but was impeded from doing further damage by the Cuban referee, Alfredo Toledo.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Mercer subsequently defeated Yugoslavian Željko Mavrović to win the tournament.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

1988 Olympics

Mercer was the oldest member of the US boxing team at the 1988 Summer Olympics.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Despite this, many regarded him as one of the team's most talented boxers.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> During the games, Muhammad Ali's former trainer Angelo Dundee noted that Mercer and teammate Andrew Maynard each had the potential to develop into world champions after becoming professionals. Dundee claimed that "Mercer's 27, but that's not too old. The maturity is there. And the punch. Give him 10 fights as a pro and he'd be ready to start moving up."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> According to Kelvin Richardson of the '88 All-Army Team, Mercer was such a hard puncher that he frequently knocked his sparring partners out of the ring, even while wearing 16-ounce gloves. As a result, his super heavyweight Olympic teammate Riddick Bowe avoided sparring with him.<ref>RAY MERCER and RIDDICK BOWE HAD VIOLENT SPARRING SESSIONS- KELVIN “BIG DAWG” RICHARDSON</ref>

Prior to the start of the Olympics, Mercer's fellow soldiers in Germany signed a large banner for him and shipped it to Seoul. During a post-fight interview, he described the significance of their support to the audience, saying "That banner really picked me up. I'm fighting for the people of the United States, but especially for the ones back in my unit."<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Mercer knocked out all four of his Olympic opponents en route to winning gold as a heavyweight.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He was named the United States Armed Forces Athlete of the Year in November 1988 following his Olympic victory. In January 1989, Mercer was honorably discharged from the Army and began his professional boxing career.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Professional boxing career

Template:Further Mercer began his professional boxing career in January 1989, winning his debut bout via a third-round TKO against Jesse McGhee.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In August 1990, he knocked down and outpointed Bert Cooper in a 12-round brawl that earned him Cooper's NABF title.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Final fights

Mercer retired in 2008 as a one-time major title holder with a record of 36–7–1 (26 KOs).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Mixed martial arts career

Mercer explored mixed martial arts as early as 2003 when he was scheduled to face Kazuyuki Fujita, who was 9–4 across his MMA career. The fight was to be held in Kobe, Japan as the main event of the Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye in an MMA ring. However, the bout was cancelled after Mercer missed his flight to the country.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On March 21, 2007, Cage Fury Fighting Championships announced that Mercer had signed to face underground street fighter Kimbo Slice at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall as part of Cage Fury Fighting Championship 5. The bout was a non-sanctioned exhibition under the New Jersey Unified MMA rules,<ref name="mmaw">Template:Cite web</ref> with both men making their professional MMA debuts. Slice won the fight in the first round with a guillotine choke submission. Afterwards, Mercer said he would be sticking with boxing since he "can't get choked out in boxing."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In March 2010, it was announced that Mercer had signed with the King of the Cage organization, but no bouts materialized.<ref name="kotc">Template:Cite web</ref> At 1–0, he was scheduled to face at the time undefeated MMA fighter and Kickboxer Ron Sparks, but the bout was cancelled due to a lingering injury Mercer had sustained 13 years earlier.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Professional boxing record

Template:Abbr	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
44	Template:Yes2Win	Template:Nowrap	Richel Hersisia	MD	6	Sep 5, 2008	Template:Small
43	Template:No2Loss	35–7–1	Derric Rossy	UD	12	Jan 26, 2008	Template:Small	Template:Small
42	Template:Yes2Win	35–6–1	Mikael Lindblad	KO	1, Template:Small	Sep 15, 2007	Template:Small
41	Template:No2Loss	34–6–1	Shannon Briggs	KO	7 (10), Template:Small	Aug 26, 2005	Template:Small
40	Template:Yes2Win	34–5–1	Darroll Wilson	UD	10	Jun 24, 2005	Template:Small
39	Template:Yes2Win	33–5–1	Steve Pannell	TKO	3 (10), Template:Small	Feb 28, 2004	Template:Small
38	Template:Yes2Win	32–5–1	Shawn Robinson	TKO	3 (10), Template:Small	Nov 11, 2003	Template:Small
37	Template:Yes2Win	31–5–1	Mario Cawley	KO	3 (10), Template:Small	Aug 23, 2003	Template:Small
36	Template:No2Loss	30–5–1	Wladimir Klitschko	TKO	6 (12), Template:Small	Jun 29, 2002	Template:Small	Template:Small
35	Template:Yes2Win	30–4–1	Troy Weida	TKO	1 (10), Template:Small	Feb 23, 2002	Template:Small
34	Template:Yes2Win	29–4–1	Brian Scott	KO	2 (10), Template:Small	Oct 13, 2001	Template:Small
33	Template:Yes2Win	28–4–1	Don Steele	KO	5 (10), Template:Small	Mar 17, 2001	Template:Small
32	Template:Yes2Win	27–4–1	Jeff Pegues	TKO	2 (10), Template:Small	Feb 11, 2001	Template:Small
31	Template:Yes2Win	26–4–1	Jimmy Haynes	KO	1 (10), Template:Small	Dec 18, 1999	Template:Small
30	Template:Yes2Win	25–4–1	Leo Loiacono	KO	2 (10), Template:Small	Feb 21, 1998	Template:Small
29	Template:Yes2Win	24–4–1	Tim Witherspoon	UD	10	Dec 14, 1996	Template:Small
28	Template:No2Loss	23–4–1	Lennox Lewis	Template:Abbr	10	May 10, 1996	Template:Small
27	Template:No2Loss	23–3–1	Evander Holyfield	UD	10	May 20, 1995	Template:Small
26	Template:DrawDraw	23–2–1	Marion Wilson	Template:Abbr	10	Jul 28, 1994	Template:Small
25	Template:Yes2Win	23–2	Jesse Ferguson	SD	10	Nov 19, 1993	Template:Small
24	Template:Yes2Win	22–2	Mark Wills	UD	10	Oct 6, 1993	Template:Small
23	Template:Yes2Win	21–2	Tony Willis	TKO	1 (10), Template:Small	Aug 12, 1993	Template:Small
22	Template:No2Loss	20–2	Jesse Ferguson	UD	10	Feb 6, 1993	Template:Small
21	Template:Yes2Win	20–1	Jerry Halstead	RTD	2 (12), Template:Small	Dec 10, 1992	Template:Small
20	Template:Yes2Win	19–1	Mike Dixon	Template:Abbr	7 (10), Template:Small	Oct 7, 1992	Template:Small
19	Template:No2Loss	18–1	Larry Holmes	UD	12	Feb 7, 1992	Template:Small
18	Template:Yes2Win	18–0	Tommy Morrison	TKO	5 (12), Template:Small	Oct 18, 1991	Template:Small	Template:Small
17	Template:Yes2Win	17–0	Francesco Damiani	KO	9 (12), Template:Small	Jan 11, 1991	Template:Small	Template:Small
16	Template:Yes2Win	16–0	Bert Cooper	UD	12	Aug 5, 1990	Template:Small	Template:Small
15	Template:Yes2Win	15–0	Lionel Washington	TKO	4 (10), Template:Small	May 31, 1990	Template:Small
14	Template:Yes2Win	14–0	Kimmuel Odum	UD	12	Mar 2, 1990	Template:Small	Template:Small
13	Template:Yes2Win	13–0	Wesley Watson	TKO	5 (10), Template:Small	Jan 15, 1990	Template:Small
12	Template:Yes2Win	12–0	Ossie Ocasio	Template:Abbr	8	Dec 7, 1989	Template:Small
11	Template:Yes2Win	11–0	Jerry Jones	UD	8	Nov 14, 1989	Template:Small
10	Template:Yes2Win	10–0	Eddie Richardson	TKO	1 (8), Template:Small	Oct 17, 1989	Template:Small
9	Template:Yes2Win	9–0	Arthel Lawhorne	TKO	2 (10), Template:Small	Sep 19, 1989	Template:Small
8	Template:Yes2Win	8–0	Dino Homsey	TKO	1 (8), Template:Small	Sep 5, 1989	Template:Small
7	Template:Yes2Win	7–0	Tracy Thomas	KO	1 (6), Template:Small	Aug 15, 1989	Template:Small
6	Template:Yes2Win	6–0	Al Evans	TKO	1 (6), Template:Small	Jul 15, 1989	Template:Small
5	Template:Yes2Win	5–0	Ken Crosby	KO	1 (6), Template:Small	Jun 12, 1989	Template:Small
4	Template:Yes2Win	4–0	David Hopkins	KO	1 (4), Template:Small	May 16, 1989	Template:Small
3	Template:Yes2Win	3–0	Garing Lane	Template:Abbr	4	Mar 28, 1989	Template:Small
2	Template:Yes2Win	2–0	Luis Walford	Template:Abbr	1 (4)	Mar 4, 1989	Template:Small
1	Template:Yes2Win	1–0	Jesse McGhee	Template:Abbr	3 (4), Template:Small	Feb 24, 1989	Template:Small

Kickboxing record

0 Wins (0 (T) KO's, 0 decision), 2 Losses

Date	Result	Record	Opponent	Event	Method	Round	Time	Location
March 15, 2005	Template:No2Loss	0–2	Template:Flagicon Remy Bonjasky	K-1 World Grand Prix 2005 in Seoul	TKO (Right High Kick)	1	0:22	Template:Flagicon Seoul, South Korea
June 6, 2004	Template:No2Loss	0–1	Template:Flagicon Musashi	K-1 World Grand Prix 2004 in Nagoya	Decision (Unanimous)	3	3:00	Template:Flagicon Nagoya, Japan

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record

Template:MMA record start |- | Template:Yes2Win | align=center | 1–0 | Tim Sylvia | KO (punch) | Adrenaline MMA 3: Bragging Rights | Template:Dts | align=center | 1 | align=center | 0:09 | Birmingham, Alabama, United States |Template:Small Template:End

Exhibition record

Template:MMArecordbox Template:MMA record start |- | Template:No2Loss | align=center | 0–1 | Kimbo Slice | Submission (guillotine choke) | Cage Fury Fighting Championship 5 | Template:Dts | align=center | 1 | align=center | 1:12 | Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | Template:End

External links

• Template:BoxRec
• Template:Sherdog