AIR DATE:
EPISODE: Episode 25
On this show Neil discusses iconic WBO heavyweight champ Ray Mercer, one of many of his heroes – boxers, trainers and coaches – from the ring on TalkinFight Monday to Friday, on YouTube or LIVE at talkinfight.com/live Weekday’s at 7pm EST (6:30 on Fridays) @raymercerboxer
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#boxer #boxing #boxingtalkshow
Transcribed:
Hello once again talk and fight fans.
It’S time for neil the deal and neil the deal has in the house with him ray mercer.
Well, not really in the house but on his mind, how’s, that hey graham, how are you tonight my friend it’s friday, guys exactly yeah baby super bowl weekend, get your popcorn peanuts, cracker jacks wings, pizza chili! Whatever turns your crank, because the uh the bowl is on, we all know who’s playing.
The uh kansas city chiefs are playing my team right here right and the other team posted by some guy named brady.
So he’s he’s had enough.
He’S he’s won enough.
He needs to go away, that’s what he needs to do and put all your money guys on these guys.
All right don’t be afraid.
Neil the deal is giving you a tip.
It’S gon na be a blowout there.
You go that’s a tip for the weekend, guys so stay safe out there, thanks again for all the likes, the shares, the the subscriptions, the comments – man, oh graham, this week was phenomenal.
Eh yep we had a great week.
We had a we.
We literally had a great week thanks to you guys, thanks to the neil, the deal fans, the talk and fight fans, everybody out there, all our sporting fans, so uh.
Let’S get into this uh episode for a good uh friday night, we’re gon na do uh a guy who i watched pretty extensively during his career, because i really liked him.
I just liked the way he he fought.
I i thought that he probably could have um been a world champion even back in the day.
I know angelo dundee.
The famous trainer of muhammad ali said that if there’s anybody in the heavyweight division, that’s going to win the title and keep it for a while dundee thought that this was the gentleman his name was ray.
Mercer we’re going to talk about a guy named ray mercer.
Now he went with the moniker uh merciless merciless ray mercer.
That’S i like that.
I thought that was awesome.
I was like all right.
This guy’s got no mercy and he’s big and he’s tough and he look.
He looked mean every time he entered the ring that guy looked like.
He was eating steel for breakfast.
It was like what the heck is in this guy’s corn flakes he’s literally, he looked pissed off all the time, which is kind of cool right, so merciless ray mercer will talk about him today, guys again thanks again for everything and keep it keep them coming.
Keep them flying, keep them, keep them going.
That’S all i can ask – and i want to thank you for coming out and watching the show tonight, so he was born april 4th 1961.
That makes him uh 59 years old right now, graham his career expanded, it was a pretty big career.
He uh he started in 89 as a pro and uh.
He went to 2005 or 2006 when he decided boxing wasn’t uh.
You know working out for him in the end he was 44 years old when he retired, so he started to get into kickboxing and mma wow, which i never knew so he was in something called cage fighting or something and like those smaller mma sort of pride, I guess or whatever they call that and some kickboxing stuff, but he really only had two or three bouts.
He won all the bouts um that he was in.
I believe he he did pretty good.
He did get beaten up in the end by uh.
He was supposed to fight tim sylvia.
He ended up beating tim sylvia in an mma fight, but he lost to uh.
Somebody it’ll come to me and then the guy actually just beat him up right.
It was like pretty bad, so anyways.
He didn’t really last that long in the mma career in the the kickboxing, but he did it for a few years.
I guess at the end, so the things that he did do, though, that are like really amazing guys check this out.
So he was the winner of the gold medal at the 1988 summer olympics in uh seoul korea in the heavyweight division.
So he was the gold medal winner, so guys anybody who’s a gold medal winner.
You got ta like, and i remember, watching the fight and he he he knocked out all his opponents.
All the remember we talked about how michael spanx only had two fights graham to win the title or to win the goal yep mercer had to fight for five.
I think it was five four at least five guys to win that gold medal.
So there you go it’s a completely different thing there, so he won that in the heavyweight division he was a heavyweight and a super heavyweight.
Those were the two divisions that he was in.
I don’t even know if they have super heavy weight anymore, do they graham or it’s just categorized as heavyweight yeah.
I think yeah heavy weights yeah super heavy weight, still eh anybody.
I think it’s over 240 or something or 50 is super heavyweight or something right.
I thought ray was a super heavyweight yeah.
That’S a question for ray ray.
If you can answer that question for us much appreciated buddy all right so um he did really well during his career uh.
He won the gold right uh.
He also won the wbo heavyweight championship and he was the title holder for in two um.
He was the son of a retired army guy uh, a retired army man.
His dad was in the army.
He was a mechanic in the army and uh ray always wanted to be in the army.
That was his uh goal, so to speak when he was younger.
So he enlisted in the army when he was really young, he loved to fish and hunt he loved the outdoors.
His dad was really cool.
I love that stuff, fishing and hunting’s right down my alley.
I love it and uh and then he decided to go into his amateur career and his dad was helping him out so um.
He started at 23 while he was in the army was when he started graham and uh.
He won all the military titles u.
s amateur boxing title.
In 1885 he became the u.
s army and inter-service heavyweight champion of the military, so he he basically was was the biggest baddest dude in the military.
The army at that time, basically he’s a heavyweight champion of all divisions right and so uh must have been a hell of a fighter.
You know, as far as if you had to go to war, you’d love to have him on your team.
Put it that way.
Absolutely want to have him on your team, so he also competed as a youngster in european tournaments, because his father being a military guy, was stationed in germany.
So he grew up in in georgia and germany, basically at these uh military bases that his his father was at so um.
He he he always wanted to become the best of the military.
At boxing he wanted to become the army boxing uh trial champion.
There’S a camp or something some us military camp.
He wanted to become part of that, so he got into that and in 1988 he was actually named, which is kind of farther into his career.
Obviously, but he was named, the armed forces athlete uh of the year.
So that’s a pretty big accolade to be the the biggest in the armed forces like best athlete, so that’s pretty amazing stuff.
The guy, like i said i watched a lot of his fights and i’ll.
Tell you you’re going to want to watch some of these fights.
Graham, if you haven’t watched any of ray mercer’s fights, he was, he was a monster.
He was a very scary individual and he was he was a lethal puncher.
Now anybody who knows anything about ray mercer will tell you or any of his opponents, will tell you probably the hardest puncher in the heavyweight division of that era of the time he basically when he was in the olympics.
I heard i heard a rumor where he his his partner, was riddick beau, all right in the tri in the olympic trials in the heavyweight or super heavyweight division.
I think it was a super heavyweight and beau, wouldn’t even fight him, a spar with him, because mercer’s punches were just too hard, so beau wanted nothing to do with him right and beau was a big guy like six five, two, fifty five or something crazy.
But this guy, he they put 16 ounce gloves on him and he just knocked he wouldn’t even like the problem was.
He would just knock you out, even with those big gloves on you know what i mean he had so much punching power, so he would.
He was really good that way.
That’S why i really liked him.
I thought you know every time i watch him.
He’S gon na he’s.
Gon na end this in a in a in a flurry, a barrage of massive hard punches.
You know every time so and he he he did pretty well so in his in his pro career he turned pro and he had 44 fights.
Graham, he had 36 wins 26 by knockout, seven losses and one draw so he did pretty pretty well.
If you know what i mean, that’s there’s nothing to be ashamed of that right, 36 wins out of 44 fights with seven losses, so he beat uh some notable guys too.
He beat uh smoke and bert cooper.
We talked about him, graham he’s the guy that willie dewitt had the issue with so he uh.
He beat him in 1990 to win uh cooper’s nabf heavyweight championship crown.
So he took that the nabf in january 91.
He won the wbo heavyweight title and then he vacated that title to fight larry holmes, instead of fighting the mandatory challenger again.
Here we go uh, michael moore at the time, so he decided he was in his best interest to go to for the wbc wba titles.
From holmes, instead of defending the wbo he just vacated, so he had a hell of a out like notable fights.
You know we’re gon na get into that.
He was uh, he hadn’t, yet the thing about ray was he had all these amazing fights, graham like really good, but when he got to the big show the actual title fights he didn’t fare so well like.
Overall, he fought hard, but he was just.
He was just that much, you know what i mean.
I don’t know how to explain that, and he was guys he was just a little bit off.
You know what i mean: the big big big ones, and those were the ones that i’m going to tell you about to watch because he really did have a you know: a good fight.
Every time he was in the ring.
It was a really good battle.
Every time so he was a he lost to holyfield in 95 and then he lost to lewis in 96, the big you know the big boys he got.
He went up through the ranks and he got up there and he lost to those guys.
And then he fought some sort of journeyman dude and he got a neck injury and he hurt himself.
I remember this and he was out of commission for something like 14 months and then then he got hepatitis or something and he was off for another 20 months and so it just kind of went on and on.
Where is he coming back? Is he coming back? Finally, he returned in 2001 and he i don’t know what he was thinking here to come back.
He fights the heavyweight champion in the world millennial of vladimir klitschko in his first fight back, like really dude, you couldn’t pick like you know somebody else you had to pick the hardest guy in the world.
That is insane.
So i don’t know.
Maybe he was getting paid a lot of money, that’s just basically what i figure but anyways he flights glitch going.
We all know what happens when a clitch goes in there and he knocked him out in the first round and then he got up.
I remember this and then he kind of just got beaten up for five more rounds and in the 60 got knocked out that was, it klitschko took him down, so his last fight was august, 26, 2005 and uh.
He lost to a guy named shannon briggs who’s.
A us heavyweight lots of dreadlocks kind of like a flamboyant kind of dude, but he got his just desserts in the end too.
So you know you want to play the flashy guy, eventually you’re going to pay the piper you know.
So that’s basically what happened there.
So after you know he really, he had a really quiet life.
Graham, he lives in north carolina.
I understand he doesn’t uh kind of hangs with the community, he does some community service humanitarian stuff and but he really is under the radar he doesn’t uh.
You know he’s not he’s not out doing commercials or wanting to be in the movie industry or anything like that.
Him and his wife just want to relax and hang out and enjoy his uh, his uh retirement.
I guess right so we’re gon na go over some notable fights that he had guys.
These are the ones i think you should watch mercer fights, they’re amazing, punching power, unbelievable uh skill in the ring, great skill, great skill and uh and mean, as hell like you look mean as heck.
So he’s always fun to watch mean fighters when they went there.
I’M not grossed out girl, you know what i mean yeah, that’s what happens right and it’s an intimidation factor and well.
It worked for mike tyson over michael spanx right.
So you know that’s how that works, and i’m sure bull will tell you that too guys are always trying to intimidate other guys before the fight during the fight in the ring before the fight start.
Like it’s just a completed, then at the end, they’re, hugging and kissing and buying each other drinks, so it’s kind of, like you know same thing in nfl football.
If you’re in a football game or a boxing match or whatever it may be, you do not go to the other team after the thing and start hugging and kissing, you are supposed to hate the other team.
That is the whole point of winning.
You don’t go and exchange jerseys and autographs and hang out at the bar together.
No, no, no, no, not happening you leave the field and that’s it just like they did in the old days.
You know what i mean graham, never mind yet: oh, let’s hang out and whatever that is for early, so anyways.
Let’S get back to the notable fights here we got um mercer versus lewis may 10 1996.
It was a loss majority decision lewis took that down mercer and holyfield again a loss march, 20th, 1995 unanimous decision.
So you know what i’m saying graham he’s he’s going all the way he’s just not winning him uh again: mercer versus holmes, loss, uh, unanimous decision, 12 rounds february, 2nd 1992, great fight, holmes, holyfield lewis, three good ones, and then, of course, that bert cooper fight, which Was a win we’ll give him the win unanimous decision again? 1990.
So guys! That’S who we’re talking about tonight? There was merciless ray mercer check him out hell of a fighter.
You know, never really won the big one, but i respected him a lot ray thanks.
A lot for all the entertainment dude, if you’re watching out there any of your buddies all right.
So what do you think grammy a little more informed about ray now i am and uh just one of those names that uh have left my memory banks.
Quite frankly um, but i remember now uh that you speak to them, because when you bring other guys names into the equation, you start going.
Oh yeah, that era yeah it’s uh, relatively speaking, of pretty like the 90s earlier yeah brief era.
Quite frankly, yeah in terms of uh ray mercer hitting that uh pinnacle.
If you will um one of the upcoming fighters we’ll be talking to is chris byrd and he’s.
Also in that era as well, i think he, i think he knocked out klitschko um.
Yes, chris byrd was amazing.
Is this nobody’s told me about chris bird? Is he coming on the show he’s not coming on your show he’s coming on? Sorry, man he’s what what what you got to be kidding me.
I’M not kidding you really.
Yes, really! Sorry.
What is he going on the female fist? No, has he changed? Has he gone to what’s going on there? No! No! Why is he not on this show uh, because he was available at seven o’clock tonight and he’s on the panel show wow? Well, there you go guys, that’s coming from the boss, oh well, can’t win them all buddy, but guys i want to thank you again we’re going to have some big guests coming up.
I can’t wait to watch chris tonight, i’m just playing around graham.
You know that uh guys go watch chris on the uh on the friday night panel, after this great guys, wicked christian, mikey uh the rest of the guys and uh chris byrd wow, that’s impressive! I can’t wait to watch so thanks again guys for the likes.
If you like, like share, if you like, to share all that great jazz a couple of friends out there, guys thanks for watching all right, i want to say hi to amanda.
Obviously how you doing there love you all the time.
All right, i want to say, hi to amber, amber how are you you and your mom out there thanks for the thanks for the nice comments and stuff, i really appreciate it.
That’S awesome and i want to say hi to my buddy andy wilson, graham because andy uh andy’s watching every night and uh he’s a great guy.
You know what i mean one of my good buddies for since we were in high school.
So thanks andy, your number one buddy all right, thanks, graham guys, have a safe weekend.
Guess what we’re gon na end it all with the kansas city.
Cheese, have a good super bowl, eat lots, drink lots, smoke, lots, do whatever you’re doing, do lots and go kc.
Go that’s who we’re going for mahone’s is not losing.
This trust me put all your money on mahones, the superboy, the super kid, the super child and that team is not losing back to back.
That’S our team and we’re out for the night weekend guys enjoy the ball.
Thank you thanks, graham for having me out take care we’ll see, have a nice weekend, graham.
Thank you new as well sounds like you will and and we’ll be watching chris byrd
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