Mercado, Bernardo

Very little is known about Mercado's early life. Bernardo was born on January 16, 1952 in the city of Monteria, Colombia. In his youth, he became interested in boxing. In the early 1970s, Mercado was a sparring partner of the famous Argentine heavyweight Oscar Bonaven ^[1] . As an amateur, Mercado took part in the Games of Central America and the Caribbean . In the 1974 games, Mercado won a bronze medal in the light heavyweight category, losing to the Venezuelan boxer Ernest Sanchez in the semifinal ^[2] . After a successful amateur career, Mercado in mid-1975 decides to prepare for a professional career and leaves Colombia.

Despite Colombian citizenship, Mercado spent almost all of his fights in the United States, mainly in the states of California and Nevada . He made his debut in the professional ring on November 15, 1975 in a fight against novice boxer Henry Washington, who had 5 fights. Washington was knocked out in the 1st round. In the period from December 1975 to February 1976, Bernardo held 5 fights against inexperienced, novice boxers, all of whom won by knockout. On May 13, 1976, Mercado entered the ring against an experienced Mexican boxer, Jornimen Manuel Ramos, who had 53 fights, including fights against rivals such as Joe Fraser , Joe Bagner and Chuck Wepner . Nevertheless, by that time, Ramos already had 26 defeats, and he lost the last 12 fights in a row ^[3] . Ramos did little to oppose Mercado and was knocked out by him in the 5th round. In August, Bernardo entered the fray with the frivolous Johnny Mack, who had 24 fights and 17 defeats on his account. Mack demonstrated good stamina and defensive actions, thanks to which he covered the entire distance of the 8-round battle. Mercado won this fight on points by unanimous decision. On September 22, Bernardo defeated Battling Bob Smith by knockout, after which, 7 days later, on September 29, 1976, he entered his first 10-round fight. His rival was the little-known James Woody, whom Bernardo knocked out in the 3rd round. After that, Mercado won 6 more knockout victories mainly over novice boxers. May 11, 1977 Mercado entered the ring against the strong Horace Robinson. Robinson spent only the 9th fight in his career, but had the advantage of a duel against the then-rising boxing star Larry Holmes ^[4] . This battle took place with a large crowd of spectators in Madison Square Garden , on the undercard of the battle between Ken Norton and Duane Bobik. Robinson showed good potential and was close to victory, but at the end of the 6-round battle, the victory was awarded to the Colombian by the decision of the majority of judges. After defeating Robinson, Mercado went to Colombia, where he spent the third time his fight against Batling Bob Smith, whom he again knocked out. In November 1977, Bernardo entered the ring against the unbeaten but weak Togolese Fili Moelo. For Togolese, Mercado was the first serious opponent in his career and he could not stand the test of strength. Mercado beat his opponent the whole fight and eventually knocked him out in the 8th round. In February 1978, Mercado held a second battle against Horace Robinson. Robinson showed good stamina and several times during the battle he was able to shock the Colombian, but this was not enough for a rematch. At the end of 10 rounds, by decision of the majority of judges, the Colombian was declared the winner again. Mercado won an unconvincing victory on points. In June 1978, Mercado met with the future world champion, unbeaten at that time, John Tate . For Tate, Bernardo was the first serious contender in his career. In the battle with Tate, Mercado did not cope with his technique and fighting style and in the middle of the 1st round missed several strong shots. In the second round, Mercado began to miss from a long distance, as a result of which he was knocked down for the first time in his career. Mercado managed to get on the score of 10, but did not manage to recover, after the second fall the referee stopped the fight, fixing the victory of Tate, who had seriously risen in the ranking. Mercado suffered his first loss in his career. Trying to rise in the ranking, Bernardo in October 1978 went to battle against Mike Weaver . Bernardo did not have time to recover from a heavy defeat from Tate and chose the wrong battle tactics, as a result of which he began to get tired by the middle of the battle. In round 5, carried away by the attack, Bernardo received a killer uppercut, after which he swam and practically stopped resisting, which led to a knockdown. Mercado did not have time to rise to the score of 10, for which reason the referee recorded Weaver's victory by knockout. Mercado lost for the second time in a row. Subsequently, Weaver recalled that of the opponents against whom he had to enter the ring, Mercado had the most severe blow ^[5] . Despite the setbacks, Mercado continued to enter the ring against the rating fighters in an attempt to achieve a title fight. So in February 1979, he knocked out a little-known Tony Pulu, and then went to Canada , where on April 3, 1979 he entered the ring against the future champion, unbeaten at that time Canadian Trevor Berbika . For Berbik, the more experienced Mercado was a serious contender in his career. The more experienced Mercado already in the 1st round brought down a hail of punches on the Canadian, after which Berbik tried to open himself for an exchange of punches but missed a killer hook and was knocked down. Trevor managed to get up but practically stopped resisting. After a brief beating, Berbik was back on canvas. At the count of 10 he still sat, due to the referee counted the victory of Mercado by knockout. Berbick lost for the first time ^[6] . Having gained two more victories by knockout over rating fighters, Bernardo in March 1980 met with the famous and experienced Ernie Shavers in the eliminator for the right to become a mandatory contender for the title fight. For Shavers, this was the first fight after a title fight with Larry Holmes, which Shavers lost in September 1979. Shavers took the first line in the WBC ranking and was considered a favorite in this battle. In battle Shavers. In the first rounds, Ernie struck a lot of accurate punches to Mercado’s head, as a result of which these rounds remained behind him. Trying to approach his opponent, Mercado used jabs and uppercuts , but he could not get closer to delivering his signature power strike. In the 6th round, Mercado managed to inflict a right cross and then a left hook, after which Shavers noticeably swam and began to work on the move. The rest of the round Mercado continuously attacked and the round remained with him. In the 7th round, Shavers looked very worn out and constantly entered the clinch. Using his condition, Mercado made a combination and struck another powerful cross, after which Ernie was knocked down. At the count of 10 he did not have time to rise and the referee recorded a sensational victory for Bernardo. At the time the battle stopped, according to the notes of all three, Ernie Shavers was winning. Mercado also won one of the most notable victories in his career and rose quite high in the ratings. Shavers, in turn, was firmly written off ^[7] . In early 1980, Mohammed Ali announced his return to the ring. Since Ali, after defeating Spinks, left boxing with the champion title, this gave him the right to an extraordinary fight against the current holder of the champion belt. In this connection, the leadership of the WBC declared him a mandatory contender for the title fight with Larry Holmes in October 1980 ^[8] . Mercado was ordered to meet with Leon Spinks in the eliminator for the right to become a mandatory contender for the championship fight. The battle with Leon Spinks took place on October 2, 1980 on the undercard of the battle of Ali Holmes. Spinks perfectly prepared for the battle, chose the right tactics for the battle. In the battle, Spinks was inferior in growth and physical strength to Mercado and actively acted as a jab, trying to prevent the Colombian from approaching and delivering his signature force blow. Mercado constantly attacked, but Spinks showed excellent defense. By the end of the battle, Mercado became very tired, in the ninth round, shortly before its end, Spinks caught Bernardo by mistake, put a two in his head, and then made a combination with two hooks into the body and jaw, after which the Colombian ended up on canvas. He did not have time to get up and the referee Ferd Hernandez recorded the victory of Leon Spinks ^[9] . After the defeat, Mercado did not enter the ring for more than 6 months. In November 1981, Mercado entered the ring with Randall Cobb in the next eliminator for the right to meet with the holder of the championship belt. The battle was a long distance with an abundance of clinches. According to the results of 10 rounds with a slight advantage, Cobb was declared the winner by unanimous decision. After this fight, Mercado left boxing for 2 years. In May 1983, Bernardo returned to boxing. meeting with the Mexican Fernando Montes. This was just the third battle that the Colombian spent in his homeland. In this fight, Mercado won by knockout, but announced a loss of motivation and again left the ring for 3 years. In September 1986, Bernardo made another attempt to return to the ring, again meeting with Fernando Montes. Montes was again knocked out. After 3 more battles against little-known boxers and scoring 3 victories, Mercado entered the ring on August 2, 1988 against the unbeaten Wesley Watson. Watson was knocked out already in the 1st round. In December 1989, Mercado went to Australia , where he met the future champion, unbeaten James Thunder, who was 14 years younger than him. At that time, Thunder had only 6 fights in his career, but in the battle he demonstrated the potential and knocked out Mercado in the 1st round, having gained a sensational victory, after which Bernardo Mercado left boxing completely ^[10] . His further fate is unknown.