Another window for Mercer?
Brown Sugar
sweepstakes. Even in his better days, he lost to Jesse Ferguson
and an ancient Larry Holmes and that about sums up the extent of
his capalities.
BS
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Ivan Weiss
> While I realize it comes up roughly every six weeks or so on RSB, I can't
> recall the status of Ray Mercer. I know the guy is nearly ancient and had a
> long, injury-related layoff followed by some wins over rinky-dink
> competition. But if his manager/promoter is worth his salt, and if Mercer
> will buckle down in training, I believe a window of opportunity has opened
> for him.
>
> Lewis has Tua and perhaps Tyson to look forward to the next 12 months, then
> nothing of any interest. Considering Mercer's strengths and his disputed
> loss against Lewis in a very enjoyable war a few years back I believe the
> time is ripe for one last push. HBO could use a tough fighter like Mercer
> and I believe a marketable fight could be made for a Lewis-Mercer rematch.
> If I were in the Mercer camp, I'd go into overdrive now pushing for the
> top--a win over the Klit. brothers or even Grant or Golota could cement a
> shot against Lewis, who seems willing to reward the best contenders.
>
> I don't know if Mercer has it in him, but I think he has that window of
> opportunity for the next 12-18 months. Some people will say he's had too
> many of those, others will note that he's never had his shot at the title. I
> think his actions in the Ferguson fight were despicable, but heck, his
> matchup with Lewis was perhaps the champ's most exciting fight (that lasted
> 6 rounds or more). I'd buy it if he could regain that form.
>
> Beats Lewis-Kirk Johnson, at least.
You're grabbing at straws. Mercer AFAIK is retired. He's too old, too slow
and not even motivated enough to fight anybody, let alone Lewis. He
doesn't have it in him and it looks like the rest of the division doesn't
either. When the most logical contender goes in there with a big "HIT ME"
sign on his chin, it doesn't say much for the rest of them.
I look at the division and see a lot of dreck. I can't see that Tua has a
chance in hell to beat Lewis, despite some of the shit I read here. I give
him less chance than I gave Grant, just in styles alone. Lewis jabs his
head off, and even if Tua gets inside on him, he runs into that uppercut.
Ditto for Tyson, who IMO would never get in the ring with Lewis. Ike is
another McCall, a nut ball. Forget him.
It's not Lewis' fault. He's doing what he needs to do, and I give him
credit for doing it to Grant *fast.* But he's the one-eyed man, king in
the land of the blind. Wake me up when some good heavyweights come along,
because I'm not seeing any out there. IMO Ali would have used all these
guys for a floor mop. YMMV.
Ivan Weiss SELF-ESTEEM, n. An erroneous appraisement.
Vashon WA -- Ambrose Bierce: The Devil's Dictionary
Undisputed
recall the status of Ray Mercer. I know the guy is nearly ancient and had a
long, injury-related layoff followed by some wins over rinky-dink
competition. But if his manager/promoter is worth his salt, and if Mercer
will buckle down in training, I believe a window of opportunity has opened
for him.
Lewis has Tua and perhaps Tyson to look forward to the next 12 months, then
nothing of any interest. Considering Mercer's strengths and his disputed
loss against Lewis in a very enjoyable war a few years back I believe the
time is ripe for one last push. HBO could use a tough fighter like Mercer
and I believe a marketable fight could be made for a Lewis-Mercer rematch.
If I were in the Mercer camp, I'd go into overdrive now pushing for the
top--a win over the Klit. brothers or even Grant or Golota could cement a
shot against Lewis, who seems willing to reward the best contenders.
I don't know if Mercer has it in him, but I think he has that window of
opportunity for the next 12-18 months. Some people will say he's had too
many of those, others will note that he's never had his shot at the title. I
think his actions in the Ferguson fight were despicable, but heck, his
matchup with Lewis was perhaps the champ's most exciting fight (that lasted
6 rounds or more). I'd buy it if he could regain that form.
Beats Lewis-Kirk Johnson, at least.
-Undisputed
Steve Moore
>It's not Lewis' fault. He's doing what he needs to do, and I give him
>credit for doing it to Grant *fast.* But he's the one-eyed man, king in
>the land of the blind. Wake me up when some good heavyweights come along,
>because I'm not seeing any out there. IMO Ali would have used all these
>guys for a floor mop. YMMV.
>
>Ivan Weiss SELF-ESTEEM, n. An erroneous appraisement.
>Vashon WA -- Ambrose Bierce: The Devil's Dictionary
>
A couple of years ago, it seemed the division was stocked. Now - due to
aging, injuries, insanity - it seems the only competition left is to determine
who is the best of the rest. There are a lot of interesting matches out
there, but I don't see anyone on Lewis' level. As long as he stays focused, I
don't see anyone touching him. Lewis has a chance to make some serious money
in the next couple of years. I'd love to see him stay busy and clean out the
division.
Steve
pablo
"Ivan Weiss" <iv...@nwlink.com> wrote in message
news:Pine.SOL.3.96.1000430232249.4478F-100000@utah...
> ... Ali would have used all these
> guys for a floor mop. YMMV.
My milage doesn't vary in this case. A totally accurate statement. The
higher divisions are a disgrace, I can't recall boxing ever being so weak
all the way up from super middleweight.
Which of course begs the question - if Roy Jones wants to make history by
beating heavyweights, there hasn't been a better time to go try. Ever.
...pablo
John Frick
You must not pay much attention to the subtleties of what's going on.
When Mercer took guys like Fergusen and Holmes as easy fights and
didn't train hard, he struggled, when he took guys like Lewis,
Holyfield and Witherspoon seriously he did very well, almost beating
both Holy and Lewis. Mercer has got to be way past his prime now
though.
Boxingnut
trouble with Lewis or any of the other Heavyweights of today. Holyfield would have
given Holmes a good workout. Tua has a punchers chance and I'm not sold on Lewis's
chin. Tyson can still punch but he's got no combination punching anymore and who
knows what's going on in his head. So, Lewis rules by default. It doesn't make him
a great fighter but he is the dominant guy for now.
Boxingnut
Ivan Weiss wrote:
> On Mon, 1 May 2000, Undisputed wrote:
>
> You're grabbing at straws. Mercer AFAIK is retired. He's too old, too slow
> and not even motivated enough to fight anybody, let alone Lewis. He
> doesn't have it in him and it looks like the rest of the division doesn't
> either. When the most logical contender goes in there with a big "HIT ME"
> sign on his chin, it doesn't say much for the rest of them.
>
> I look at the division and see a lot of dreck. I can't see that Tua has a
> chance in hell to beat Lewis, despite some of the shit I read here. I give
> him less chance than I gave Grant, just in styles alone. Lewis jabs his
> head off, and even if Tua gets inside on him, he runs into that uppercut.
> Ditto for Tyson, who IMO would never get in the ring with Lewis. Ike is
> another McCall, a nut ball. Forget him.
>
> It's not Lewis' fault. He's doing what he needs to do, and I give him
> credit for doing it to Grant *fast.* But he's the one-eyed man, king in
> the land of the blind. Wake me up when some good heavyweights come along,
> because I'm not seeing any out there. IMO Ali would have used all these
> guys for a floor mop. YMMV.
>
Loveboxing
>recall the status of Ray Mercer.
He's done
Russ