Inducted on November 14, 2013
“Merciless” Ray Mercer
Name: Ray Mercer
Alias: Merciless
Birth Name: Raymond Anthony Mercer
Born: 1961-04-04
Birthplace: Jacksonville, Florida, USA
Hometown: Union City, New Jersey, USA
Stance: Orthodox
Height: 6′ 1″ / 185cm
Reach: 77″ / 196cm
Trainer: Hank Johnson, Stacey McKinley
Manager: Marc Roberts, Matt Howard
Amateur Career
- Amateur Record: 64-6
- 1988 U.S. Heavyweight Champion
- 1988 U.S. Olympic Trials Heavyweight Champion. Mercer defeated Tommy Morrison, Charlton Hollis, and Michael Bentt by 5-0 decisions.
- Won the 1988 Olympic Box-Offs with a 3-2 decision against Michael Bentt.
- 1988 Heavyweight Gold Medalist at the Seoul Olympics. Results:
- 1st round bye
- Defeated Rudolf Gavenciak (Czechoslovakia) RSC 3
- Defeated Luigi Gaudiano (Italy) KO 1
- Defeated Arnold Vanderlyde (Netherlands) RSC 2
- Defeated Baik Hyun-Man (South Korea) KO 1
Professional Career
- Has a record of 2-1 (2 KOs) in World Title fights.
- Has a record of 4-5 (2 KOs) against former or current world champions.
- Won against Ossie Ocasio, Francesco Damiani, Tommy Morrison, Tim Witherspoon.
- Lost against Larry Holmes, Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, Wladimir Klitschko, Shannon Briggs.
- Defeated Kimmuel Odum by a twelve-round unanimous decision to win the vacant IBF Inter-Continental Heavyweight Championship on March 2, 1990.
- Defeated Bert Cooper by a twelve-round unanimous decision to win the NABF Heavyweight Championship on August 5, 1990.
- Behind on points, Mercer knocked out Francesco Damiani by a ninth-round knockout to win the WBO Heavyweight Championship on January 11, 1991.
- Knocked out Tommy Morrison in five rounds to defend the WBO Heavyweight Championship on October 18, 1991.
- Stripped of the WBO title for fighting Larry Holmes instead of mandatory challenger Michael Moorer.
- Lost to Larry Holmes by a twelve-round unanimous decision on February 7, 1992. Holmes, who was 42-years-old, was a 4-1 underdog.
- Lost to Jesse Ferguson by a ten-round unanimous decision on February 6, 1993. Mercer had been promised a title fight against champion Riddick Bowe if he beat Ferguson.
- On June 29, 1993, Mercer was charged with offering Ferguson a $100,000 bribe to take a dive. According to the indictment, the bribe proposal wasn’t made before the fight, but during the fight, when Mercer apparently realized he could not beat Ferguson. Mercer pleaded not guilty and was acquitted on March 29, 1994.
- Defeated Jesse Ferguson by a ten-round split decision on November 19, 1993.
- Lost to Evander Holyfield by a ten-round unanimous decision on May 20, 1995.
- Lost to Lennox Lewis by a ten-round majority decision on May 10, 1996. The Associated Press scored the fight 97-93 for Mercer.
- Defeated Tim Witherspoon by a ten-round unanimous decision on December 14, 1996.
- Was scheduled to face Mike Tyson on January 19, 2002, but Tyson pulled out of the fight to face Lennox Lewis on April 6, 2002 (Lewis vs. Tyson was postponed until June 8, 2002 due to licensing issues).
- Lost to WBO Heavyweight Champion Wladimir Klitschko by a sixth-round TKO on June 29, 2002.
Boxing Record: click