{"id":58824,"date":"2016-03-18T12:13:11","date_gmt":"2016-03-18T17:13:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=58824"},"modified":"2026-03-07T23:38:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T05:38:12","slug":"bernardo-mercado-a-forgotten-heavyweight-contender","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=58824","title":{"rendered":"Bernardo Mercado: A Forgotten Heavyweight Contender"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1545664804358300\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display: block; text-align: center;\" data-ad-layout=\"in-article\" data-ad-format=\"fluid\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1545664804358300\" data-ad-slot=\"8616314829\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/script><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\" http:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=58824\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-58825\" src=\"http:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/BM-300x194.jpg\" alt=\"BM\" width=\"500\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Bernardo Mercado was a rugged Heavyweight who established himself as a contender in the late 1970\u2019s and early 1980\u2019s. The native Colombian enjoyed a fine amateur career before turning professional in 1975. He was once a sparring partner for Oscar Bonavena. Mercado stood a formidable 6\u20194\u2019\u2019 and possessed tremendous punching power. He won his first five fights by stoppage, four of them within the very first round.<\/p>\n<p>In May 1976, he knocked out former contender Manuel Ramos in the 5th round. In his 7th professional fight, he was finally extended to the distance winning an 8 round decision over MacArthur Swindell. In April 1977, Mercado faced future Cruiserweight contender Randy Stephens and destroyed him in two rounds. <!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Mercado proceeded to win five straight fights, building an impressive record of 20-0, 17 KO\u2019s. He then faced 1976 US Olympian John Tate. \u201cBig\u201d John was also undefeated with a record of 12-0, 9 KO\u2019s and represented the toughest test of Bernardo\u2019s career to date. Tate destroyed Mercado in less than two rounds handing Bernardo the first loss of his professional career. In his next fight, he was paired against Mike Weaver. At the time, Weaver was considered to be a journeyman with a record of 15-8, 9 KO\u2019s. What the world didn\u2019t know at the time is that Mike would later go on to become a world champion. Weaver took Mercado out in five rounds. Having suffered back to back devastating stoppage defeats, Bernardo\u2019s career was very much in doubt.<\/p>\n<p>After an 8th round TKO victory over Tony Pulu, Mercado faced another future Heavyweight champion in Trevor Berbick, who was also former amateur rival. Mercado starched the undefeated Berbick in one round. After two more victories, Bernardo was matched against perhaps the most devastating Heavyweight puncher of all-time in Earnie Shavers in March 1980. At nearly 35 years of age, Earnie was perhaps a bit past his prime but still coming off a big year in 1979. Shavers had destroyed Ken Norton in one round and nearly knocked out reigning WBC Heavyweight champion Larry Holmes before being stopped himself in the 11th round.<\/p>\n<p>Shavers dropped and nearly stopped Mercado in the third round. However, this time, Mercado managed to survive. Ultimately, Mercado prevailed by a 7th round TKO in a war of attrition. Bernardo vaulted to the top of the WBC Heavyweight rankings and was in line for a potential title opportunity against Holmes based on that victory. However, seven months later, his quest for a title shot was thwarted when former Heavyweight champion Leon Spinks stopped him in nine rounds. Spinks would go on to challenge Holmes and Bernardo was once again faced with the prospect of regrouping from a crushing defeat.<\/p>\n<p>In November 1981, Mercado faced off against fellow contender Randall \u201cTex\u201d Cobb and lost a 10 round decision. Mercado would hang around in the top 15-20 of Ring Magazine\u2019s Heavyweight rankings for the next couple of years but his status as a serious contender was finished. Over the next five years, he would go on to win 6 straight fights over non-descript opposition. Finally, in December 1989, a 37 year old Mercado was stopped in 87 seconds by Jimmy Thunder bringing a resounding end to his career.<\/p>\n<p>Overall, Bernardo Mercado finished his career with a record of 33-5, 28 KO\u2019s. He faced some of the baddest Heavyweights of his era, winning some and losing some. Mercado certainly won\u2019t go down in history as a great Heavyweight and never seriously contended for a world championship. However, he was always exciting to watch.<\/p>\n<p>Whether he won or lost, there was never a dull moment with this guy. Mercado had a punchers chance against anyone and would certainly be a tough test for any of the top Heavyweights of today.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Joe &quot;Bean&quot; Esposito 360 Conversation: Brooklyn Dreams, Donna Summer, Music, Movies, Boxing &amp; More...\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Ilkd44HDPAk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; color: #808000;\"><a style=\"color: #808000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.authorhouse.com\/en\/bookstore\/bookdetails\/232300-BOXING-INTERVIEWS-OF-A-LIFETIME\">Click Here to Order Boxing Interviews Of A Lifetime By &#8220;Bad&#8221; Brad Berkwitt<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"wpforms-container wpforms-container-full\" id=\"wpforms-126533\"><form id=\"wpforms-form-126533\" class=\"wpforms-validate wpforms-form wpforms-ajax-form\" data-formid=\"126533\" method=\"post\" enctype=\"multipart\/form-data\" action=\"\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F58824\" data-token=\"41afddc2ff4f53f54eaea7c1dfea18f8\" data-token-time=\"1777698029\"><noscript class=\"wpforms-error-noscript\">Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.<\/noscript><div class=\"wpforms-field-container\"><div id=\"wpforms-126533-field_1-container\" class=\"wpforms-field wpforms-field-name\" data-field-id=\"1\"><label class=\"wpforms-field-label\">Name <span class=\"wpforms-required-label\">*<\/span><\/label><div class=\"wpforms-field-row wpforms-field-medium\"><div class=\"wpforms-field-row-block wpforms-first wpforms-one-half\"><input type=\"text\" id=\"wpforms-126533-field_1\" class=\"wpforms-field-name-first wpforms-field-required\" name=\"wpforms[fields][1][first]\" required><label for=\"wpforms-126533-field_1\" class=\"wpforms-field-sublabel after\">First<\/label><\/div><div class=\"wpforms-field-row-block wpforms-one-half\"><input type=\"text\" id=\"wpforms-126533-field_1-last\" class=\"wpforms-field-name-last wpforms-field-required\" name=\"wpforms[fields][1][last]\" required><label for=\"wpforms-126533-field_1-last\" class=\"wpforms-field-sublabel after\">Last<\/label><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t<div id=\"wpforms-126533-field_4-container\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"wpforms-field wpforms-field-text\"\n\t\t\tdata-field-type=\"text\"\n\t\t\tdata-field-id=\"4\"\n\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<label class=\"wpforms-field-label\" for=\"wpforms-126533-field_4\" >Name or Email<\/label>\n\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" id=\"wpforms-126533-field_4\" class=\"wpforms-field-medium\" name=\"wpforms[fields][4]\" >\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div id=\"wpforms-126533-field_2-container\" class=\"wpforms-field wpforms-field-email\" data-field-id=\"2\"><label class=\"wpforms-field-label\" for=\"wpforms-126533-field_2\">Email <span class=\"wpforms-required-label\">*<\/span><\/label><input type=\"email\" id=\"wpforms-126533-field_2\" class=\"wpforms-field-medium wpforms-field-required\" name=\"wpforms[fields][2]\" spellcheck=\"false\" required><\/div><div id=\"wpforms-126533-field_3-container\" class=\"wpforms-field wpforms-field-textarea\" data-field-id=\"3\"><label class=\"wpforms-field-label\" for=\"wpforms-126533-field_3\">Comment or Message<\/label><textarea id=\"wpforms-126533-field_3\" class=\"wpforms-field-medium\" name=\"wpforms[fields][3]\" ><\/textarea><\/div><script>\n\t\t\t\t( function() {\n\t\t\t\t\tconst style = document.createElement( 'style' );\n\t\t\t\t\tstyle.appendChild( document.createTextNode( '#wpforms-126533-field_4-container { position: absolute !important; overflow: hidden !important; display: inline !important; height: 1px !important; width: 1px !important; z-index: -1000 !important; padding: 0 !important; } #wpforms-126533-field_4-container input { visibility: hidden; } #wpforms-conversational-form-page #wpforms-126533-field_4-container label { counter-increment: none; }' ) );\n\t\t\t\t\tdocument.head.appendChild( style );\n\t\t\t\t\tdocument.currentScript?.remove();\n\t\t\t\t} )();\n\t\t\t<\/script><\/div><!-- .wpforms-field-container --><div class=\"wpforms-recaptcha-container wpforms-is-recaptcha wpforms-is-recaptcha-type-v2\" ><div class=\"g-recaptcha\" data-sitekey=\"6LeyxF8eAAAAALCgKefmpigcK22wWdwPbUdyB_q8\"><\/div><input type=\"text\" name=\"g-recaptcha-hidden\" class=\"wpforms-recaptcha-hidden\" style=\"position:absolute!important;clip:rect(0,0,0,0)!important;height:1px!important;width:1px!important;border:0!important;overflow:hidden!important;padding:0!important;margin:0!important;\" data-rule-recaptcha=\"1\"><\/div><div class=\"wpforms-submit-container\" ><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"wpforms[id]\" value=\"126533\"><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"page_title\" value=\"\"><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"page_url\" value=\"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58824\"><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"url_referer\" value=\"\"><button type=\"submit\" name=\"wpforms[submit]\" id=\"wpforms-submit-126533\" class=\"wpforms-submit\" data-alt-text=\"Sending...\" data-submit-text=\"Submit\" aria-live=\"assertive\" value=\"wpforms-submit\">Submit<\/button><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/wpforms-lite\/assets\/images\/submit-spin.svg\" class=\"wpforms-submit-spinner\" style=\"display: none;\" width=\"26\" height=\"26\" alt=\"Loading\"><\/div><\/form><\/div>  <!-- .wpforms-container -->\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bernardo Mercado was a rugged Heavyweight who established himself as a contender in the late 1970\u2019s and early 1980\u2019s. The native Colombian enjoyed a fine amateur career before turning professional in 1975. He was once a sparring partner for Oscar Bonavena. Mercado stood a formidable 6\u20194\u2019\u2019 and possessed tremendous punching power. He won his first [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[14799],"class_list":["post-58824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-boxing-news","tag-bernardo-mercado-a-forgotten-heavyweight-contender"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58824","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=58824"}],"version-history":[{"count":-2,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58824\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=58824"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=58824"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=58824"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}