Ray Mercer, who will step down boxing’s familiar comeback trail into the ring Sunday in Elgin, is a fighter’s fighter.
He was an Olympic gold medalist in 1988 and an all-armed services heavyweight champion in the Army, where he earned sergeant stripes and the right to refer to himself as “Sgt. Ray Mercer” besides “Merciless,” his fighting nickname.
Mercer, who turns 40 in April, has never been knocked out. His record of 26-4-1 includes losses to Larry Holmes, Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis, all world champions. Mercer held lesser world titles in 1990 and 1991.
His “best” loss was to Lewis, the current heavyweight king. After a toe-to-toe battle for 10 rounds in a non-title fight in 1996, Lewis won a narrow majority decision.
“I wish I had trained hard enough to knock him out, not leave it in the judges’ hands,” Mercer said. “I just call it paying my dues.”
Lewis went on to regain a world title and reap millions as champion. His next planned title defense is April 21 against Hasim Rahman, and Lewis’ camp says he is considering taking that fight to South Africa, at the invitation of former President Nelson Mandela.
Mercer’s career flagged after his loss to Lewis. He won his next three bouts, but health problems from hepatitis B to neck surgery have kept him out of boxing since late 1999. He says he has kept up his training and kept his fighting weight around 240 pounds. He faces Jeff Pegues (18-7) at Elgin’s Grand Victoria Casino.
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“I never for one minute thought of retiring,” Mercer said. “I still have a dream of being heavyweight champion of the world. Two fights, and I’ll be ready for anybody in the world.”
Mercer-Pegues will be the main event, preceded by middleweights Tito Mendoza (22-3) and Julio Garcia (19-0-2), on a Fox Sports Net telecast at 5 p.m. Co-promoters are Dominic Pesoli of 8-Count Productions in Chicago and Dan Goossen of America Presents in Denver.
Double-header: Chicago heavyweights Danell Nicholson and Fres Oquendo face perhaps the biggest fights of their careers on the same card March 23 at Texas Station in North Las Vegas.
For Nicholson (39-3) , it’s a golden opportunity to resurrect his once-promising career and move into position for a title shot. To get there he must unseat David Tua (37-2), another heavyweight whose championship dreams were derailed. It’s Tua’s first comeback bout since he was thoroughly outclassed by Lewis in their Nov. 11 title fight.
Nicholson, 32, has won his last 15 fights but has been out of title contention since 1996, when he lost to Andrew Golota and Kirk Johnson.
Unbeaten Oquendo has moved his training base from Chicago to Puerto Rico, where his tutor is Felix Trinidad Sr. Oquendo’s opponent on the undercard of the Tua-Nicholson main event is highly regarded and also unbeaten Clifford “Black Rhino” Etienne.
Big Las Vegas weekend: The Friday night fights featuring Nicholson and Oquendo will serve as prelude to the much-anticipated comeback of Oscar De La Hoya. On March 24, De La Hoya will take on Arturo Gatti (33-4), a hard-hitting but easy to hit ex-champion.
Their bout at the MGM Grand will be at 147 pounds. Former champion De La Hoya (32-2), whose only losses were split decisions to Felix Trinidad and Shane Mosley, said he plans to move up to 154 pounds, then 160 (where Trinidad now is) and “regain my title as the greatest pound-for-pound fighter in the world.”
On Thursday, a federal judge in Los Angeles put in writing an earlier ruling that voids De La Hoya’s contract with promoter Bob Arum. The ruling is a win for De La Hoya. Arum has said he will appeal it.
While seeking to break his contract to sign with promoter Jerry Perenchio, head of the Univision Spanish-language TV network, De La Hoya recorded an album that earned him a Grammy nomination. But he insisted his ring absence since losing to Mosley on June 16 was “never” a retirement: “I was on a little vacation to regroup so I could relax physically and mentally.”
Maybe, but that’s pretty much the definition of retirement in boxing. And De La Hoya’s vacation lasted longer than some fighters’ retirements.