Lennox Lewis vs Ray Mercer in a ten round non-title heavyweight bout
Date: May 10, 1996
Venue: Madison Square Garden, New York
Lewis stance: orthodox
Mercer stance:
Lennox Lewis suffered the first major setback in his illustrious career when he was stopped in the second round against Oliver McCall. He lost his unbeaten record, plus his WBC world title. McCall was promoted by Don King, who said Lewis' chances of a rematch were between slim and none, and "slim" had left town. Lewis' first fight on his return was an impressive fifth round stoppage of Lionel Butler, in a WBC title final eliminator. Don King persuaded the WBC to allow Mike Tyson to get a title shot ahead of Lewis, so Lewis stayed busy with a fourth round knockout of Justin Fortune. In his next fight, he dominated Tommy Morrison over six rounds.
Ray Mercer started boxing as an amateur while serving in the US army, and didn't turn pro till he was 27. He won a gold medal at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, in the division below Lewis, who was super heavyweight champion that year. Mercer won the WBO heavyweight title in 1991 with a ninth round stoppage of Francesco Damiani. He successfully defended his title against Tommy Morrison with a fifth round knockout. Mercer then suffered his first loss, with 42 year-old Larry Holmes outpointing him over 12 rounds. After a couple of routine wins, Mercer suffered another loss, this time to Jesse Ferguson. Mercer then beat a couple of journeymen before winning a rematch with Ferguson by split decision.
What followed was a classic heavyweight war.
For an in depth look at their respective records, visit:
Lennox Lewis - https://boxrec.com/en/proboxer/1853
Ray Mercer - https://boxrec.com/en/proboxer/1620
