RSR Chats with 1988 Olympics Gold Medalist and Former WBO Heavyweight Champion “Merciless” Ray Mercer
Interview by Mike Plunkett
“He was throwing punches and I was throwing punches, you know, that fight, I’m just glad it went my way. That was the Fight of the Year” – Ray Mercer
It’s a rare occurrence when a fighter makes it to the very top of his profession, first as an amateur and later as a professional. Such is the very nature of prizefighting that it takes a unique type that has the focus and will to succeed beyond unfavorable odds, self doubt and the inevitable pain. In the case of “Merciless” Ray Mercer the desire to test himself in the service of his country paid off in dividends he could never have imagined, first as a serviceman and later as a 1988 Olympian, a campaign that would ultimately see him bring honor to his country with a gold medal win. Years later as a professional fighter he would go on to ascend another unlikely summit winning a major world title in the heavyweight division during a period that produced many talented and great fighters.
Ray Mercer is a throwback former world champion from a different era in the heavyweight division. The gold medal as a decorated amateur and major world title as a professional are easily rare achievements in any era, and something far beyond expectation among today’s current crop of American heavyweights. Having exchanged blood sweat and lethal doses of leather with great fighters from three different decades he is in fact not only a throwback, he’s a unique bridge to heavyweight history. For this writer it was a unique opportunity and an honor to represent RSR to talk with “Merciless” Ray Mercer about his highly successful amateur and professional careers, his recollections of some of the biggest name heavyweights of the post-Ali era, his participation in MMA and his views on the current state of heavyweight boxing.
MP: How did you first get involved with the sport of boxing?
Being in the military, I was one of the bigger guys stationed over in Europe and I was talking a lot of trash, and they had a champion that I didn’t know about, and the trainer came and asked me if I wanted to spar his guy. I told him I would do it after we had an exercise called “The Reforger” where you went into the field to sleep in the snow for thirty days. I told him I’d do it when I got back and he told me if I said yes I wouldn’t have to do it. So I got my nose and my mouth and lips and everything busted up for like two weeks and I just got fed up and I asked the guy to show me how to defend myself and two months later I made his guy quit. I went on to win thirteen fights plus catching the US Amateur title that year, my first year.
MP: You compiled a 64-6 record as an amateur. The year 1988 was a highlight year for you, first by becoming the United States Amateur Champion at heavyweight while in the U.S. Army and after that by taking home Gold at the Seoul Olympics. Tell us about that period.
That was a very exciting time in my life. I had never been so serious about anything in my life other than my family, than when I was trying out for the Olympics. I know we had the best trainers in the Army, we had the best fighters; we were always in shape and that gave us the edge because we always knew we were going to be in better shape than civilian guys, and that’s what got us over. We just trained hard and we knew how to work together, it was like a team thing for the two years we were together. We turned up to do well in the Olympics, make the trials and go on to do well in the Olympics, that was the first time that’s ever been done. I was in tip-top shape, nobody knew me and I just went over there and knocked everybody out. I won the Gold and brought it home.
MP: To date you’ve compiled a record of 36-7-1 as a professional fighter, having faced many of the biggest names in the heavyweight division over the last twenty years, along the way exchanging leather with eight men that at one time or another held a major world title. Going back in time to the beginning, you scored your first professional win, a 3rd round TKO over Jesse McGhee on February 24th 1989. What do you recall of that night?
I can’t remember too much about it. I know I was hyped. You know you have the little jitters or whatever and that’s what got me over that night. It wasn’t like I was fighting him. I was fighting the jitters more than anything, my first pro fight. That was my biggest part of that fight, getting over myself. The situation that I found myself in, just like in the Olympics, I never thought in a millions years that I would be there. I actually had to pinch myself to find out if I was really alive. It was sort of like the same thing that night.
MP: You powered your way to a 15-0 record over sixteen months before having what many regard as your first breakout performance, a twelve round give and take war with “Smokin” Bert Cooper for the NABF heavyweight title. I consider this bout to be a classic. Tell us about it and your impressions of Cooper as a name heavyweight.
Oh wow! He gave meaning to the line you better be in shape and you better come to fight because that guy, when I fought that night, we trained so that every punch he’d throw, I would hit him with two more than he hit me with. He was throwing punches and I was throwing punches, you know, that fight, I’m just glad it went my way. That was the Fight of the Year. It was exciting but I spent two days in the hospital after that fight; I was dehydrated, I broke out in hives, I had a fever, I was throwing up and I went to the doctor and they admitted me for two days just to put the fluids back in me. I think if I hadn’t won that fight I would have died. That was actually the toughest fight I had ever been in, right there with Bert Cooper. I’ve got all the respect for him, in the world. I think right now he could still get in there and knock somebody out. I had him when he “Smokin” Bert, he was really smokin’. That guy came to win.
MP: The victory over Cooper led to a January 1991 bout with the undefeated Francesco Damiani for the WBO heavyweight title. You looked to be a half step behind Damiani in that match until landing a left uppercut in the 9th to pull it out. Did you feel as if your opportunity was slipping from your grasp as the rounds progressed?
That I did and I knew I was going to have to knock the guy out to win that fight because looks can be deceiving when it came to that guy. And he was a southpaw also, so it was hard for me to adjust to that. He was fast! He didn’t look fast at all but the guy was fast, he was skillful and he just totally out-boxed me. Me and my trainer, there was always a punch we would always work on, you’d never really throw it in a fight but you’d work on it, and it was a 45-degree left uppercut that I caught him with right on his nose that did the damage. The whole fight I knew I could knock him out if I just caught him with that. I was throwing that the whole fight and I finally landed it and thank God because that guy was tearing me apart.
MP: Next up was a rumored bout with Olympic rival Riddick Bowe, then an undefeated contender also closing in on a major world title opportunity. What happened to that match and how serious was the rivalry between you two?
It was more serious with our managers than with us, really. Me and Bowe were Olympic team mates, I always liked him and he always liked me. Our managers were going crazy. I was switching managers and my old manager wanted to make that fight and he went above those that were in charge and tried to make the fight, which is why they had that big confrontation on television, with both our managers pushing and shoving each other. I watched all of that unfold on TV. I didn’t even know that was going on, I didn’t even know I was supposed to fight him. My old manager had already signed that, his name was Marc Roberts.
MP: Your October 1991 bout with Tommy Morrison, then an undefeated knockout artist with a 28-0 record was the first defense of your WBO heavyweight title and ultimately one of the most graphic highlight reel knockouts of all time. You fought a conservative and defensive fight early, absorbing a few terrifically sharp combinations before switching gears in the 5th round to stop Morrison. Tell our readers about that encounter.
I went out, I knew the guy was going to be strong, but he was super strong. He was throwing left hooks and he was hitting me in the body and catching me to the head with those hooks. He was just explosive and I knew that you can’t do that for twelve rounds, so I waited for him to get a little tired. After the fourth round he started breathing really hard and that’s when I came out of my defensive shell. That guy was throwing bombs! As a matter of fact he hit me harder than I’ve been hit in boxing, period. That guy could punch. When he started breathing like that I came out of my shell man, I just went for what I knew and I caught him.
MP: In your next bout disaster struck when you were apparently conned into the wrong fight and tactically out-boxed by one of the all-time great ring master’s, former world heavyweight champion Larry “The Easton Assassin” Holmes over twelve rounds. What went through your mind as the rounds progressed and were you surprised by what Holmes had left?
No I wasn’t. The people around me, when we trained for the Larry Holmes fight, my trainers were telling me don’t take this guy for granted just because he’s old. The reporters are going to come to you and say you should knock this guy out; they wanted me to go out and say yeah, I’m going to knock him out in three. But my trainers didn’t want me to say anything like that. They wanted me to prepare for the long haul. And that’s what we were doing the first half of camp, but as the fight got closer my trainers started telling me what round I should knock Holmes out. They started telling me, OK this guy shouldn’t last that long after how hard we had trained in that first half of camp, training and thinking we were not going to do that, then switching up on me over the last half, it sort of messed with me then. I started thinking I was in better shape and I could actually go in there and knock the guy out.
Holmes was just talking and throwing his left jab, he was typical Larry Holmes and I give him credit for that night. He talked me out of my game. I was just totally talked out of my game that night by Holmes. Losing to Larry Holmes didn’t hurt me at all because this guy was one of my idols. If I stayed on my first program when we started training…..I think we lost that fight in training, to tell you the truth. Nothing can prepare you to fight somebody like Larry Holmes when you were as young as I was.
MP: Over the next couple of years you seemed to stray from your early career momentum. There were two publicized encounters with Jesse Ferguson, the first being a controversial loss which cost you a shot at WBA/IBF heavyweight champion Riddick “Big Daddy” Bowe. What went down?
Lack of training, change of management, all of that, you know, I just wasn’t concentrating and I just wasn’t ready for that fight, the first fight. I just wasn’t in the shape I was supposed to be in, I didn’t take him seriously. It was just one of those things.
MP: You returned in 1995 with a vengeance. Finely conditioned and with a seemingly improved and accurate left jab and a jacked-up game of patience. The new approach enabled you to take former heavyweight champion Evander “The Real Deal” Holyfield, then embarking on a comeback, to the very brink of defeat despite his being a heavy favorite. To me, this marked beginning of a campaign that saw you press some of the biggest names in the division like no other at that time despite the fact that you came up short in a few of those bouts. What was behind the new approach?
Yeah, I really did. I had Mr. Tommy Parks, one of the greatest trainers in the world ever. He took control of training and we trained to go in there and throw as many punches as we could to beat him. We knew we had to throw a lot of punches to beat Evander Holyfield because he would go in there throwing. We worked on that and it was working until he caught me with a left hook. I took a knee, I wasn’t hurt. I was just surprised. I got up and I got on the defensive and that’s where I made my mistake. I was offensive at first and then I switched to defense and that’s where I lost the fight with Evander Holyfield.
MP: Next up in 1996 was Lennox Lewis, the 1988 super heavyweight Gold Medalist and at that point former WBC heavyweight champion. Many had you winning that bout but the official verdict was a hotly disputed majority decision loss. Tell us about it.
I really don’t know. I trained for that fight and I took that fight to him. I figured that if I got close they’d give it to me being the USA Olympic Gold Medalist fighting against him being a Gold Medalist for his country (England). But it didn’t happen that way. I went in there and I took the fight to him, and I think I won that fight and he told me himself that he was going to give me half of his check and I just want him to know I’m still waiting on it. I really don’t know what happened with the judges on that fight. To this day I still got people coming up to me telling me I got robbed.
MP: You were out-jabbing him in that bout.
Yeah, I was out jabbing him and I was busting him up with a couple of right hands too. As soon as the fight was over they put shades on him and a hat. He was busted up.
MP: Seven months later you scored a close decision over former two-time WBA heavyweight champion “Terrible” Tim Witherspoon. At one point in the 4th round Witherspoon rocked you with a blistering two-handed combination but as per your reputation, you withstood it and went on to eke out the win. Did you feel the bout was close and were you worried they would take it from you given your previous two close losses?
To tell you the truth I was a little worried about that fight. Tim came in good shape. He was throwing his right hand and he was throwing combinations. For that fight I just wasn’t mentally prepared. I just thought Tim Witherspoon was old and I would just go in there and beat him. I really don’t think myself that I beat him like I should have beaten him to get the victory. I give Tim that. I know he probably feels the same way. He worked real hard in that fight and that was just one of the fights that just went my way. I had a couple go wrong. If I got one then I’m not worried about it.
MP: 1998 through to June 2002 saw little in the way of activity from you but ultimately resulted in a title shot against Wladimir Klitschko at the advanced age of 41 for the WBO heavyweight title. You were badly rocked early but managed to cut him before losing via 6th round TKO. Had the inactivity and years taken something away from you by that point?
It took a little from me but not physically. Mentally I just knew I needed to get in shape and I just had one way to get in shape and that was get in there and lose weight. In between training I would go fishing up in New Jersey. I was losing weight and I was in the best shape I could have been in but the thing about it was my trainer, Matt Howard, kept telling me I needed to lift weights. I had never seen pictures of Klitschko when I signed for that fight. I never even knew about him. I didn’t know he was that big and that strong. Then when I got in the ring, I didn’t lift no weights at all for in training for other fights, and when I got in there it showed the first time he hit me and knocked me right onto my butt. I knew then that I was in trouble, but I tried to hang in there, like I always did. I tried to catch him with right hands to the body and whip my jab on him. I couldn’t see half the time but I was doing it. I just got caught and the referee stopped the fight. I wasn’t really prepared like I should have been for that fight. Lack of knowledge kept me from winning that fight. It’s my own fault. My trainer told me I needed to lift weight, the guy was big and he was strong, but I felt it wouldn’t make a difference.
MP: You deviated from boxing in March 2005 when you took part in a K-1 match, losing in bizarre fashion to Remy Bonjasky. Were you out of your element in such a match?
Yes. Actually I was never supposed to be fighting that guy. They switched up on me. Before Bonjansky it was supposed to be a guy I could get in there with and beat. I don’t remember his name. They switched it up when I was in the airport on the way over there. They gave me Bonjansky and I wasn’t going to turn it down. The guy kicked me in the head. (Laughs) He kicked me in the head and that was it. I did feel like I was out of my element, totally. I didn’t want to get hurt in there.
MP: Back to boxing, you took on Shannon Briggs in August 2005. What happened?
The guy was big and strong and I went in there with the wrong fight plan. I was right there. He didn’t have to look for me. He caught me with a couple good shots but I started coming on and I threw a right hand and missed and I went through the ropes. I was through the ropes and he just jumped on my back and he started rabbit punching me on my temple. I was still conscious and everything, I just went down. I started feeling warmness and tingling in my fingers. I’d never felt that before so I just laid there and I knew for a fact he was going to be disqualified. But that didn’t happen. That didn’t happen. I figured that stuff like that wasn’t going to happen. This guy was from New York, or whatever. But the referee, they did me wrong down there.
Shannon Briggs and Klitschko are the fights that I wish had back he most. I wish I had those fights back again.
MP: When a series of proposed bouts fell through, including a match against former heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman, you took on internet legend Kimbo Slice as part of the Caged Fury Fighting Championship 5, losing via first round choke submission. What was behind the switch to MMA?
Rahman’s people had been planning for like four years for us to fight, and doing this and doing that. But whenever they saw me in shape they’d call the fight off. If they knew I was training, they’d just call the fight off and wouldn’t sign the contract. We got tired of that so we just took the Kimbo fight. It gave us something to do; Kimbo had a big name.
MP: Your last bout was a six round majority decision win over Richel Hersisia two years ago at age 47, a win that seemed to cap a fine career in boxing. In June 2009 you defeated former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia at Adrenaline MMA 3: Bragging Rights, knocking him cold in just nine seconds, making you the first fighter to ever knock him out. Did you feel a measure of redemption after this win?
Not really. Actually in a way, in another form of sport, it was lovely. It’s what I tried to do in boxing all of the time.
MP: When were you at your very best?
I was at my very best when I fought Evander Holyfield.
MP: Who was the best fighter you faced, who hit you the hardest?
The best fighter that I ever faced was Lennox Lewis, I got to say that. The hardest hitting guy was Tommy Morrison. The toughest fight was Bert Cooper.
MP: Where do you want to be in five years?
On the beach. (Laughs)
MP: Don’t we all?
I want to be on a beach when these kids get away from college or something. I want to teach the sport. That’s what’s wrong with boxing now; all the good trainers are going with the Russians and where the money is at. We got no heavyweights coming up, we got nothing. Boxing is suffering. Boxing needs old school trainers and I’m thinking about doing that.
MP: Is there anything you’d like to say to your fans around the world?
It’s been a fun ride, without just saying, there’s nothing to train for to do that extra mile or that extra ten sit-ups but you think about the people and the way they are going to be looking at you, and you want to put on a good show. My hat is off to them for making me train harder and you know, just making my life a blast. You cannot imagine how important to me they are in my career or in my life. That’s what I want to say to my fans.
Ray Mercer
Nickname: “Merciless”
Division: Heavyweight
Professional Record: 36-7-1, 26 KO’s
Date Opponent Location Result
1989-02-24 Jesse McGhee Atlantic City, US W TKO 3
1989-03-04 Luis Walford Bismarck, US W KO 1
1989-03-28 Garing Lane Las Vegas, US W UD 4
1989-05-16 David Hopkins Indianapolis, US W KO 1
1989-06-12 Ken Crosby Las Vegas, US W KO 1
1989-07-15 Al Evans Atlantic City, US W KO 1
1989-08-15 Tracy Thomas West Orange, US W KO 1
1989-09-05 Dino Homsey Stateline, US W TKO 1
1989-09-19 Arthel Lawhorne Jacksonville, US W TKO 2
1989-10-17 Eddie Richardson Phoenix, US W TKO 1
1989-11-14 Jerry Jones West Orange, US W UD 8
1989-12-07 Ossie Ocasio Las Vegas, US W SD 8
1990-01-15 Wesley Watson Atlantic City, US W TKO 5
1990-03-02 Kimmuel Odum Las Vegas, US W UD 12
vacant IBF Inter-Continental Heavyweight Title
1990-05-31 Lionel Washington Rochester, US W TKO 4
1990-08-05 Bert Cooper Atlantic City, US W UD 12
NABF Heavyweight Title
1991-01-11 Francesco Damiani Atlantic City, US W KO 9
WBO Heavyweight Title
1991-10-18 Tommy Morrison Atlantic City, US W TKO 5
WBO Heavyweight Title
1992-02-07 Larry Holmes Atlantic City, US L UD 12
1992-10-07 Mike Dixon Augusta, US W TKO 7
1992-12-10 Jerry Halstead Atlantic City, US W TKO 2
1993-02-06 Jesse Ferguson New York, US L UD 10
1993-08-12 Tony Willis Bay Saint Louis, US W KO 1
1993-10-06 Mark Wills Atlantic City, US W UD 10
1993-11-19 Jesse Ferguson Atlantic City, US W SD 10
1994-07-28 Marion Wilson Atlantic City, US D SD 10
1995-05-20 Evander Holyfield Atlantic City, US L UD 10
1996-05-10 Lennox Lewis New York, US L MD 10
1996-12-14 Tim Witherspoon Atlantic City, US W UD 10
1998-02-21 Leo Loiacono Miami, US W KO 2
1999-12-18 Jimmy Haynes Tunica, US W KO 1
2001-02-11 Jeff Pegues Elgin, US W TKO 2
2001-03-17 Don Steele Philadelphia, US W KO 5
2001-10-13 Brian Scott Copenhagen, DK W KO 2
2002-02-23 Troy Weida Atlantic City, US W TKO 1
2002-06-29 Wladimir Klitschko Atlantic City, US L TKO 6
WBO Heavyweight Title
2003-08-23 Mario Cawley Coconut Creek, US W KO 3
2003-11-11 Shawn Robinson Elizabeth, US W TKO 3
2004-02-28 Steve Pannell Coconut Creek, US W TKO 3
2005-06-24 Darroll Wilson Atlantic City, US W UD 10
2005-08-26 Shannon Briggs Hollywood, US L KO 7
2007-09-15 Mikael Lindblad Karlstad, SE W KO 1
2008-01-26 Derric Rossy MO L UD 12
WBO NABO Heavyweight Title
vacant WBC Asian Boxing Council Heavyweight Title
World Boxing Foundation International Heavyweight Title
2008-09-05 Richel Hersisia Karlstad, SE W MD 6