Ray Mercer vs. Larry Holmes
Ray Mercer vs. Larry Holmes, billed as "The Last Stand", was a professional boxing match contested on February 7, 1992. Background The previous year was a good one for the undefeated Olympic Gold Medalist Ray Mercer. He started the year off by defeating the previously undefeated Francesco Damiani to capture the WBO Heavyweight title. Following that victory, Mercer was matched up against another undefeated fighter in Tommy Morrison for what would be the first and only defense of his WBO title. Morrison outboxed Mercer for the first three rounds, but Mercer came back strong in the fourth round and proceeded to knock out Morrison in brutal fashion by pinning him against a corner and landing several unanswered, heavy blows until the referee stopped the bout 28 seconds into the fifth round. The victory made Mercer one of the top fighters in the heavyweight division and he quickly vacated the then less regarded WBO title in order to face 42-year-old ex-heavyweight champion Larry Holmes in a match to determine who would next meet Evander Holyfield for the IBF, WBA and WBC versions of the Heavyweight Championship. Holmes had twice retired, first after failing to recapture his IBF title in a 1986 rematch with Michael Spinks, and then again after being dominated for four rounds in a 1988 fight with Mike Tyson for Tyson's undisputed title. In April 1991, Holmes launched a comeback and he proceeded to defeat five unknowns through the course of the year before agreeing to face Mercer in February 1992. Holmes was given little chance to defeat Mercer and came into the fight as a 4–1 underdog. Mercer and his team looked at the fight as a "springboard" to gain Mercer more marketability. Holmes, however, remained confident that he could defeat Mercer and vowed that he would retire for the final time should he lose. The Fight Through the early portion of the fight, Mercer and Holmes were both aggressive and traded punches, though Mercer was able to land his punches more effectively and at a higher frequency. Mercer continued to be the aggressor in the second round and spent most of the round on the attack. Towards the end of the round, Holmes stood with his back against one of the corners and was able to land a few right hands to Mercer's head while using that strategy. By the third round, Holmes had fully embraced the defensive strategy and continued to fight with his back against the ropes for the remainder of the fight. Mercer would continue to attack Holmes in the corner with several combinations, but Holmes would counter with some combinations of his own. In the fourth, Holmes would circle around Mercer in an effort to pace himself and not burn himself out by trading punches with the younger and stronger Mercer. Holmes then spent almost the entire fifth round with his back against the corner where he landed some good shots on Mercer, who by then seemed to have tired of Holmes unorthodox