Bernardo Mercado
Born
Bernardo Mercado

(1952-01-16)January 16, 1952
Montería, Colombia
DiedJune 11, 2021(2021-06-11) (aged 69)
Cartagena
NationalityColombian
Statistics
Weight(s)Heavyweight
Height6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights38
Wins33
Wins by KO28
Losses5
Draws0
Medal record
Men's amateur boxing
Representing  Colombia
Central American and Caribbean Games
Bronze medal – third place 1974 Santo Domingo Light-heavyweight

Bernardo Mercado (January 16, 1952 – June 11, 2021) was a Colombian professional boxer briefly ranked as the top contender for the title of champion in 1980 by the WBC.

Born in Montería, Colombia,[1][2] Mercado won a bronze medal in the light-heavyweight category at the 1974 Central American and Caribbean Games.[3]

Mercado was once a sparring partner for Argentine heavyweight Oscar Bonavena, before turning professional on November 15, 1975.

Of his first 20 bouts, the 6-foot-4-inch (193 cm) power puncher won 17 by knockout, nine in the first round. Mercado's first loss as a pro came in 1978, at the hands of future champion "Big" John Tate.[2]

He went on to fight other future champions Mike Weaver and Trevor Berbick, knocking Berbick out in the first round of their meeting on April 3, 1979. In 1980, he earned a seventh round technical knockout over dangerous contender and multiple-time world title challenger Earnie Shavers and was ranked as the number one contender to Larry Holmes' WBC belt. He was defeated in an elimination bout with former champion Leon Spinks by 9 round technical knockout. He would go on to fight such name fighters as Randall "Tex" Cobb and Jimmy Thunder (with whom he fought in his last bout on December 8, 1989).[1]

Professional boxing record

33 Wins (28 knockouts, 5 decisions), 5 Losses (4 knockouts, 1 decision)[2] Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes Loss 33–5 Jimmy Thunder TKO 1 08/12/1989 Melbourne Showgrounds, Melbourne, Victoria Referee stopped the bout at 1:27 of the first round. Win 33–4 Wesley Watson TKO 1 13/08/1988 Bristol, Tennessee Win 32–4 Wesley Smith KO 4 02/08/1988 Central Plaza Hotel, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Win 31–4 Conroy Nelson UD 8 28/05/1988 Saskatoon Place Complex, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Win 30–4 Jose Luis Gonzalez KO 1 06/11/1986 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California Win 29–4 Fernando Montes TKO 8 04/09/1986 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California Referee stopped the bout at 3:00 of the eighth round. Win 28–4 Fernando Montes TKO 5 07/05/1983 Cartagena de Indias Loss 27–4 Randall "Tex" Cobb PTS 10 06/11/1981 Pittsburgh Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Win 27–3 Gilberto Acuna TKO 1 13/06/1981 Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami Beach, Florida Loss 26–3 Leon Spinks TKO 9 02/10/1980 Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada Referee stopped the bout at 2:52 of the ninth round. Win 26–2 Tom Prater TKO 12 14/08/1980 Bogotá WBC Continental Americas Heavyweight Title. Win 25–2 Earnie Shavers TKO 7 08/03/1980 Great Gorge Resort, McAfee, New Jersey Referee stopped the bout at 0:41 of the seventh round. Win 24–2 Henry Clark PTS 10 03/08/1979 Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica, California Win 23–2 Fili Moala TKO 6 25/05/1979 San Diego Coliseum, San Diego, California Win 22–2 Trevor Berbick KO 1 03/04/1979 Halifax Metro Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia WBC Continental Americas Heavyweight Title. Berbick knocked out at 2:55 of the first round. Win 21–2 Tony Pulu TKO 8 14/02/1979 Salt Palace, Salt Lake City, Utah Loss 20–2 Mike Weaver TKO 5 22/10/1978 Sahara Reno, Reno, Nevada Loss 20–1 John Tate TKO 2 22/06/1978 Madison Square Garden, New York City Referee stopped the bout at 2:24 of the second round. Win 20–0 Horace Robinson PTS 10 24/02/1978 Las Vegas, Nevada Win 19–0 Fili Moala TKO 8 18/11/1977 Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada Win 18–0 Roger Russell KO 1 29/09/1977 Madison Square Garden, New York City Russell knocked out at 1:17 of the first round. Win 17–0 Battling Bob Smith KO 2 22/07/1977 Cartagena de Indias Win 16–0 Horace Robinson PTS 6 11/05/1977 Madison Square Garden, New York City Win 15–0 Randy Stephens KO 2 29/04/1977 Fort Worth, Texas Win 14–0 Dan Ronnell KO 7 10/03/1977 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California Win 13–0 Paul Solomon KO 1 15/02/1977 Sacramento Memorial Auditorium, Sacramento, California Win 12–0 Johnny Pouha KO 1 03/11/1976 Silver Slipper, Las Vegas, Nevada Win 11–0 Dan Ronnell KO 6 22/10/1976 Los Angeles, California Win 10–0 Earl McLeay TKO 1 05/10/1976 Hyatt Regency, Incline Village, Nevada Win 9–0 J.J. Woody KO 3 28/09/1976 Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York Win 8–0 Battling Bob Smith KO 1 22/09/1976 Las Vegas, Nevada Win 7–0 MacArthur Swindell UD 8 19/08/1976 Washoe County Fairgrounds, Reno, Nevada Win 6–0 Manuel Ramos KO 5 13/05/1976 Albuquerque Civic Auditorium, Albuquerque, New Mexico Win 5–0 Mark White KO 1 26/02/1976 Reno, Nevada Win 4–0 Dave Martinez KO 3 12/02/1976 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California Win 3–0 Marlyn Johnson KO 1 08/01/1976 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California Win 2–0 Kenny Charles TKO 1 11/12/1975 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California Referee stopped the bout at 0:23 of the first round. Win 1–0 Harry Washington KO 1 15/11/1975 Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California Washington knocked out at 2:34 of the first round.

Exhibition boxing record

1 fight 0 wins 0 losses
Non-scored 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
1 — 0–0 (1) United States Muhammad Ali — 5 Nov 14, 1977 Colombia Santamaría Bullring, Bogotá, Colombia Non-scored bout

References

  1. ^ a b "Bernardo Mercado Boxer History, Facts, and News". AllBoxingStats.com. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved February 20, 2010.
  2. ^ a b c "Professional boxing record for Bernardo Mercado". BoxRec. Archived from the original on October 7, 2012. Retrieved February 20, 2010.
  3. ^ "12.Central American and Caribbean Games - Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic - February 27 - March 13 1974". amateur-boxing.strefa.pl. Retrieved 2019-03-31.

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