Ray Mercer vs Mike Tyson 94-96

[Impractical Poster]

This is a match up that had always intrigued me. I was a big Merciless fan. He gave Lewis and Holyfield a lot of trouble. I think he would have had a good at beating Tyson around the 94-96 time frame. Such a bummer the fight never happened. It would have been a cracker.

[Kalan]

Mercer wanted the fight and Tyson didn't... Mercer was big. He was strong. He was very tough.. He wasn't a real good boxer but he fought Lennox Lewis to a standstill.. For some reason Lewis engaged in a slugfest with a man who can't be outslugged.. Mercer was never stopped until he was 41 and Wladimir Klitschko beat the living fk out of him.. He wasn't a good style for Mike to fight.. I think Mercer would have won that one ... He would have absorbed everything Mike threw and beat him down.

I knew Mercer was going to expose Tommy Morrison.. He easily absorbed everything Morrison threw at him -- and then he bipped the exhausted swinger out - as easy as you please.. Mercer's next fight was Larry Holmes - an extremely disciplined boxer who didn't throw if he didn't have a target.. Holmes made Mercer do all the leading and punched the crap out of him.. Mercer swung away uselessly.. It's a study in styles.. As he made Mercer miss and countered the crap out of him, Holmes kept telling ringside reporters - "I ain't no Tommy Morrison."

[badkatt]

mercer .....tyson was a shot fighter after jail

[BoxBuzz]

Mercer wanted the fight and Tyson didn't... Mercer was big. He was strong. He was very tough.. He wasn't a real good boxer but he fought Lennox Lewis to a standstill.. For some reason Lewis engaged in a slugfest with a man who can't be outslugged.. Mercer was never stopped until he was 41 and Wladimir Klitschko beat the living fk out of him.. He wasn't a good style for Mike to fight.. I think Mercer would have won that one ... He would have absorbed everything Mike threw and beat him down.

I knew Mercer was going to expose Tommy Morrison.. He easily absorbed everything Morrison threw at him -- and then he bipped the exhausted swinger out - as easy as you please.. Mercer's next fight was Larry Holmes - an extremely disciplined boxer who didn't throw if he didn't have a target.. Holmes made Mercer do all the leading and punched the crap out of him.. Mercer swung away uselessly.. It's a study in styles.. As he made Mercer miss and countered the crap out of him, Holmes kept telling ringside reporters - "I ain't no Tommy Morrison."

Couldn't have said it better.

Not quite as sure as you that Tyson couldn't have inadvertently sparked him. But there's no real evidence of what it would take to spark Mercer.

[Rexob]

Tyson by big KO Mercer was made for Tyson's style.

[BoxBuzz]

Tyson by big KO Mercer was made for Tyson's style.

So was Bonecrusher, hypothetically I suppose. But it didn't result in a KO there.

I suppose Tyson could KO anyone, if given the straight target. But Mercer never found a punch he couldn't absorb.

[sweetviolenturge]

At their bests during this period, I'd have to pick Mercer to outlast Tyson & stop him late in a scheduled 12 rounder.
As we witnessed in all of his post-prison losses, Tyson was just a front runner & would wilt whenever an opponent stood his ground & fought back. And, Mercer would def stand with him & fight back. Hard. Plus, although not a boxer in the classic sense, Mercer did own a good, solid jab of the sort that would have given Tyson all sorts of trouble.

[badkatt]

This is a match up that had always intrigued me. I was a big Merciless fan. He gave Lewis and Holyfield a lot of trouble. I think he would have had a good at beating Tyson around the 94-96 time frame. Such a bummer the fight never happened. It would have been a cracker.

ps mike tyson wasnt even out of prison until march of 95 bro

[Kalan]

Tyson by big KO Mercer was made for Tyson's style.

So was Bonecrusher, hypothetically I suppose. But it didn't result in a KO there.

I suppose Tyson could KO anyone, if given the straight target. But Mercer never found a punch he couldn't absorb.

Not until Mercer was 41... Then Wladimir floored him with a long hooking temple shot..and he took him out with Lampley screaming "There's only one opponent for Wladimir Klitschko and that is Lennox Lewis"... But Corrie Sanders proved to be a good match for him -- and exposed a few problems in Wladimir's game in his 43rd fight... Tyson lacked the size, height, and power of Klitschko... Tyson never put a dent in Tucker, Smith, or Tillis as young Heavyweight.

I doubt if Tyson hurts a prime Mercer.. But Tyson did get hurt and knocked out in his prime -- so I think Mike was the more likely to get knocked out.

[DrDuke]

Prime Mercer had pretty big chances against post-jail Tyson. Mike still had a punch and hadn't been as bad as he had been after Holyfield, but I don't see any possibilities of him neither dominating, nor knocking Mercer out. Ray could take monstrous punishment, while his own punches probably wouldn't have dropped Tyson, as Mike also had a solid jaw. Mercer could create lotta troubles with his toughness and pressure, he could very likely take a close decision.

[Kalan]

Tyson by big KO Mercer was made for Tyson's style.

You mean Mercer was made with a good jab? He also was a good counter puncher ..... a good combination puncher ..... and fought Lewis and Holyfield very tough... Tyson got beaten up and stopped by both of them???

Mercer was too big, strong, rugged and tough for Mike.. He wanted to fight Tyson but the feeling wasn't mutual... Clever boxers bothered Mercer quite a bit... Guys like Holmes and Klitschko gave him a hard time... Ray wasn't a great attacker, but loved fighters who came right at him... Mike Tyson would be his dream opponent.

Mike didn't feel comfortable around Mercer because he's the kind of guy you couldn't intimidate... Mike Tyson and a couple buds walked into a night spot and Ray Mercer was there... They left and went somewhere else.

[Seamus]

Tyson would beat Mercer like a rented mule for a few rounds, and then implode when he realised that he's not going to get the KO. Mercer by TKO in about 8 after a war.

[BroughtonRulesRefuge]

- As previously noted, the ? is nonsensical, but like a fisherman throwing out a trot line, now he's got the usual experts dangling.

Kalan, look into surgery to connect your right and left frontal lobes and an editor to correct your copious mistakes. Mike was a 21 yr old kid when he made Tucker flee for his life and Smith hold on for dear life an 20 when he knocked down a crafty contender, Tilllis and KOed Ribalta.

Mike must've walked into thousands of night spots and out again, bar hopping, ever heard of it?

Mercer never reached his physical potential because mental limitations, but Mike had signed to fight him before he fought Lewis as a tune up to get some quality rds. Lewis sued to prevent his paycheck bonanza from getting exposed to sweeten Mikes part of the deal.

Lessee, 1995 fresh out of prison Tyson on deadly experimental sedatives against the 1980 -81 Parkinson's Ali, errrr, Mercer is it?

Is mercer gonna be drunk or throw the fight? How about my 80 yr old gran against the 2yr old boxing expert you or Daffy Duck vs Snow White.

[Kalan]

- As previously noted, the ? is nonsensical, but like a fisherman throwing out a trot line, now he's got the usual experts dangling.

Kalan, look into surgery to connect your right and left frontal lobes and an editor to correct your copious mistakes. Mike was a 21 yr old kid when he made Tucker flee for his life and Smith hold on for dear life an 20 when he knocked down a crafty contender, Tilllis and KOed Ribalta.

Mike must've walked into thousands of night spots and out again, bar hopping, ever heard of it?

Mercer never reached his physical potential because mental limitations, but Mike had signed to fight him before he fought Lewis as a tune up to get some quality rds. Lewis sued to prevent his paycheck bonanza from getting exposed to sweeten Mikes part of the deal.

Lessee, 1995 fresh out of prison Tyson on deadly experimental sedatives against the 1980 -81 Parkinson's Ali, errrr, Mercer is it?

Is mercer gonna be drunk or throw the fight? How about my 80 yr old gran against the 2yr old boxing expert you or Daffy Duck vs Snow White.

Calm down Stupid.... Put on your thinking cap for a second because your biased thinking is leading you to stray strawberry fields with Moonbeam Dancer and Clarabell.. We're talking 94-96 Tyson - get with the program.

Tony Tucker was knocked out in 2 rounds by chinless Herbie Hide -- but he rocked Tyson down to his booties and Mikey couldn't hurt him with his best shots... So forget Tucker and the super hittable Smith who Mikey also failed to floor.

Mercer arguably beat Lewis and gave Holyfield Hell... Mercer was one tough thug who didn't shrink from ANY opponent in those mid-90's days. Mikey Tyson did. Mikey was scared as Hell -- as most bullies are when they meet their match.

Compared to Ray Mercer, Mikey was a squeaky voiced little tot on roller skates who tried to puff up his chest and look intimidating when he got in there with the fearsome and no-nonsense Holyfield and Lewis... The 2 older gents sneered at the little punk.. Then they and beat the holy Hell out of him... Mikey was too old??? .... Take in the Buster Douglas fight sometime you ignorant, potty mouthed buffoon.... Big Bad Buster lined Little Shorty up for a clouting.

[gilgamesh]

Tyson wouldn't knock out Ray, and would definitely be in for a rough night, but I think he's the more talented guy (hell I know he is), and would win the majority of the rounds. He'd probably win the first 5 or 6 rounds fairly clear, and then over the 2nd half Mercer would be giving him increasing difficulties, possibly rocking Mike a few times or getting the crowd's attention with big shots of his own.

But all Mike would need to do over the 2nd half of the fight is win 1 of the 6 rounds which I think he'd do, and take a decision over the extremely tough, but just a step or so below World Class Ray Mercer.

[Boxing Writer]

Tyson wouldn't knock out Ray, and would definitely be in for a rough night, but I think he's the more talented guy (hell I know he is), and would win the majority of the rounds. He'd probably win the first 5 or 6 rounds fairly clear, and then over the 2nd half Mercer would be giving him increasing difficulties, possibly rocking Mike a few times or getting the crowd's attention with big shots of his own.

But all Mike would need to do over the 2nd half of the fight is win 1 of the 6 rounds which I think he'd do, and take a decision over the extremely tough, but just a step or so below World Class Ray Mercer.

I agree. I think Mercer would be a tougher opponent than Ruddock, but not good enough to beat Mike.

[Kalan]

It's a mistake to say Mercer wasn't world class... He was a World Champion with his crushing KO victories over Tommy Morrison and Francesco Damiani... Tyson at his best was possibly better than Mercer at his best... We're talking mid-90's.

Mercer sometimes didn't prepare well for unimportant fights or for guys who weren't well known, and preformed very poorly.... Possibly this was to lure bigger names into the ring or maybe it was pure laziness... Tyson could be lazy too... Mercer DID train hard and got up for important fights versus bigger name opponents... Tyson would be one of those.

Tyson suffered his first loss to Holyfield during the 94-96 period and he was obviously trained about as well as he could be... Tyson's defense showed cracks and maybe his size was a factor... Mike wasn't a big, tall, strong Heavyweight who could take a pounding... For my dollar, Mercer had a better chin...

The style of fight that would be fought would be boxing and slugging... I feel Mercer had the better jab as he showed against Lewis... Tyson's jab was not real good... A jab and a good right counter shot are staples in beating Tyson... For me, it has the flavor of the Holyfield-Tyson fights -- but possibly a decision for Mercer instead of a KO.... I don't think Mike prevails.

[jamamb]

its 'nifty' to pick guys like this to beat tyson

just need to add some posts about how tim witherspoon was really the best hw ever, at least if it werent for don king

[Kalan]

It's not 'nifty' to pick guys like this to beat Tyson... It's probably accurate... Mercer really wanted a Mikey fight like a SOB.

During this time frame Tyson was vulnerable to guys like Mercer... Ray was almost there against the top Heavyweights... He just needed a little bit more strength, power, skill or something to get the wins over Lewis and Holyfield...

Those were really tough losses for Ray.. Especially to Lewis.. He really thought he could win that one.. It's very tough losing a close fight to an ATG because you start 2nd guessing about what you might have done differently to get it.

[Counter-puncher]

when you read Kalan's contributions, everyone, just remember that he is the man who has the following to say about Chris Eubank Jr:

Some of the smartest boxers up until the present day: Vasyl Lomachenko, Gene Tunney, Jack Johnson, Salvador Sanchez, Vitali Klitschko, Anthony Joshua, Floyd Mayweather, Gennady Golovkin, Joe Gans, Keith Thurman, Chris Eubank Jr, Manny

yes, thats right, the man with literally no footwork, head movement or jab, is one of the 'smartest boxers' in the history of this fine sport.

the man who was just taught a lesson by George Groves.

'one of the smartest boxers up until the present day'



don't be like Kalan, kids.

[Counter-puncher]

Hagler fought no natural Middleweight opponents as big, tall, powerful and skilled as Chris Eubank,

once again Kalan has a strange concept of boxing skill

did anyone see the amazing exhibition of boxing skill demonstrated by Eubank against Groves recently?

wide, swinging telegraphed hooks... walking face-first into punches that should have gotten 2 or 3 knockdowns called.. no jab... footwork that left him lunging in square-on

this is stupid Kalan's idea of a 'skilled' opponent.

for god's sake don't be like Kalan, kids.

[Kalan]

Anybody can lose a fight dude... All your 60's, 70's, 80's, and 90's icons lost several fights...

Groves fought a brilliant fight and improved his game a ton... Give him credit for the best win of his career.

We're talking Mike Tyson vs Ray Mercer on this thread - 2 ATG Heavyweights... But how many losses did they have? A dozen between them? Give Chris Eubank a chance to get a few more losses before you condemn him.

Eubank tried to throw too hard and too fast. He tried too hard to deliver a spectacular performance and that never works. You need to relax, take your time, and look for the high percentage opening - instead of giving your opponent tons of 'em.

It doesn't matter if you could fight another 12-round bout immediately afterward.. You don't have to empty your gas tank to fight a brilliant fight.. I'm sure he'll learn from this fight.. He gets all this "super performance" bullcrap from his dad's pontificating... They gotta get Sr. out of there... He still hasn't admitted that his son lost to Groves.

[Counter-puncher]

Eubank tried to throw too hard and too fast. He tried too hard to deliver a spectacular performance and that never works.

because he isn't a skillful fighter.

he has NO JAB

he has AWFUL FOOTWORK

He has NO HEAD MOVEMENT

how can you possibly watch him and think he is a skillful fighter?

he stands there with his chin in the air winging wide hooks. that's what he has always done. how the fvck could you see different? have you got eyes?

[Counter-puncher]

Groves fought a brilliant fight and improved his game a ton...

he fought well within himself and performed at about 80% of his best

[oogiebe]

Hagler fought no natural Middleweight opponents as big, tall, powerful and skilled as Chris Eubank,

once again Kalan has a strange concept of boxing skill

did anyone see the amazing exhibition of boxing skill demonstrated by Eubank against Groves recently?

wide, swinging telegraphed hooks... walking face-first into punches that should have gotten 2 or 3 knockdowns called.. no jab... footwork that left him lunging in square-on

this is stupid Kalan's idea of a 'skilled' opponent.

for god's sake don't be like Kalan, kids.

Hey Counter Puncher! Tell us how you really feel! Don't hold back!