Ray Mercer

Mercer, being a son of a retired Army NCO Raymond Mercer Sr., grew up as a military brat in Fort Benning, Georgia, and later in Hanau, West Germany. He later recalled:

As a kid I was a little hardheaded. I had a tough time in school until my father, Raymond, he was a mechanic in the military, got me straight. When he was in the field, whether at Fort Benning, Georgia, or in Germany, I'd take advantage of my mother and act up. My father tried to get me to play some kind of sports. I was negative. Team sports wasn't in my blood. I'd come home and play Go-Karts or shoot BB guns or ride choppers. With my father, I was fishing by the age of nine and hunting by fourteen. We'd go for deer, rabbit and squirrel at Fort Benning. My father had a good life in the military. I figured I'd do the same. I wanted to go back to Germany. I liked it over there.

— —Ray Mercer on his childhood.[1]

Mercer played linebacker at high school in Hanau, didn't plan to go for a college education. After graduating from Richmond County Military Academy in Augusta, Georgia, he coasted for a year before enlisting in the Army.[1]

Mercer served with the USAREUR, V Corps, infantry, he was stationed with Company D, 1st Battalion, 39th Infantry, in Baumholder, West Germany.[2] His latest military rank was sergeant.[3]

Mercer started boxing at the age of 23 while serving in the U.S. Army in West Germany. Mercer said he had never even put on a pair of gloves until after he enlisted, "The Army taught me everything I know about boxing," explained Mercer.[4] While he had street fights as a youth, it wasn't until he was offered a chance to avoid a 30-day field exercise by serving as a sparring partner for the post's heavyweight champion, which in winter of 1984, with the wind-chill factor driving temperatures below zero, was quite an opportunity, that he found a sanctioned way to use his aggression. The beginnings were tough, "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." He learned quickly enough, winning military titles and a United States Amateur Boxing Federation title.[1] He became 1985 U.S. Army and inter-service heavyweight champion, along with Wesley Watson, who was inter-service superheavyweight champion[5] (Mercer later beat Watson in professionals). But in 1985, when Army Coach Hank Johnson sought to recruit Mercer for a stateside training camp for the 1988 Olympics, Mercer turned down the offer. "I was in my prime at partying. The training was not a sacrifice I wanted to make. I told Hank, you won't see me until the Olympics", he said.[1] He first boxed in organized competition in 1983 at Schweinfurt, West Germany. He won a battalion box-off and then won the brigade championship. "After that, I won the VII Corps novice and open championships and was runner-up at U.S. Army, Europe," Mercer said. When he was reassigned to Baumholder, he won three USAREUR crowns while carrying the banner for V Corps[2] (he won the USAREUR Championship less than a year after his first amateur fight.[6]) As he served with USAREUR, for that reason in 1986—1987 Mercer had several international bouts in Germany, he also competed internationally at Western Europe open tournaments.[2] In summer of 1988 he again won the inter-service heavyweight championship.[7] His next step was to apply for the all-Army boxing trial camp and win a spot on the Army team.[4] "Right now, I want to be the 'woodwork' man. I'm 26 years old and relatively unknown. My plans are to stay healthy, and I need to do well in international competition prior to the Olympics to build confidence."[2]

He won the 1988 United States amateur heavyweight championship.[8] At the USA vs. Cuba match-up, Mercer twice staggered Félix Savón, but was impeded from doing further damage by questionable intervention by the Cuban referee, Alfredo Toledo.[9] At the USA vs. Europe match-up, Mercer with a hard right to the nose turned it into a "No mas!" fight for Yugoslavian Željko Mavrović.[10]

Mercer turned pro in January 1989 and debuted with a 3rd TKO of Jesse Hughes. He scored a series of knockouts and in August 1990 knocked down and outpointed big punching Smokin' Bert Cooper in a spectacular 12 round brawl that earned him Cooper's NABF title. In January 1991 he challenged undefeated Francesco Damiani for the WBO heavyweight title, scoring a one punch knockout victory in the 9th when behind on points. Later that year he beat undefeated puncher Tommy Morrison in five, and with a major world title fight on the horizon vacated his WBO belt and fought 42-year-old legend Larry Holmes rather than mandatory challenger Michael Moorer. It proved an unwise decision, as the crafty Holmes conned Mercer out of the fight, outjabbing the puzzled Mercer and gaining both the points decision, and Mercer's world title fight with heavyweight king Evander Holyfield.

Having split fights with dangerous veteran Jesse Ferguson (Mercer was investigated for allegedly asking Ferguson to "throw the fight" during their first encounter), labored when overweight to a draw with trialhorse Marion Wilson, and saw a proposed 1994 bout in Hong Kong with Frank Bruno fall through, Mercer enjoyed an unexpected run of form in major fights, losing on points in a thrilling brawl with Holyfield in May 1995, losing a controversial decision in another wild punch up, this time with Lennox Lewis, in June 1996, and scoring a controversial points win over ex-champ Tim Witherspoon in yet another high action bout in December 1996. In the frame for a bout with Andrew Golota in 1997, Mercer suffered a neck injury and was out of action for 14 months. He returned February 1998 with a 2-round KO of Leo Loiacono, but contracted Hepatitis B and was again inactive, this time for 20 months.

Continuing to seek a fighting career, Mercer opted to travel to Japan and challenged Musashi in the kickboxing combat sport K-1 on June 6, 2004. Mercer held a reasonable account of himself, but his age and inability to successfully defend kicks was evident as he went on to lose the bout via unanimous decision. On March 19, 2005, he had one more K-1 bout against Remy Bonjasky, to whom he lost via verbal submission. The first and only strike of the night, a head kick, landed square on the head of Mercer. It wasn't your typical fight; Mercer took the head kick and then quit the fight.. As Mercer put it, "I got the shit kicked out of me".

After a series of scheduled boxing matchups fell through (including a proposed bout against former champion Hasim Rahman), Mercer decided to try mixed martial arts (MMA) and approached Felix Martinez, co-founder of Cage Fury Fighting Championships, about working with the promotion. On March 21, 2007, Cage Fury announced that Mercer had signed to face underground street fighter and Internet legend Kimbo Slice at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall on June 23, 2007, as part of Cage Fury Fighting Championship 5. The bout was a non-sanctioned exhibition under the New Jersey Unified MMA rules.[20]

Kimbo Slice won the fight in the first round with a guillotine choke submission. Mercer later stated in the press conference at Adrenaline III: Bragging Rights, when he was scheduled to fight Tim Sylvia under MMA rules instead of Boxing rules, that he had expected Kimbo Slice to box with him, and said that he did not really train in any other aspect of MMA and was unprepared for the guillotine choke.

On June 13, 2009, Mercer made a big splash when he defeated former UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia at Adrenaline III: Bragging Rights. He won the fight via knockout in 9 seconds with a huge right hand to the chin, becoming the first man to ever defeat Sylvia by knockout.

In March 2010, it was announced that Mercer had signed with the King of the Cage organization, although no bouts would materialize.[21]

• Boxing record for Ray Mercer from BoxRec
• Professional MMA record for Ray Mercer from Sherdog