Raymond Anthony Mercer (born April 4, 1961) is an American former professional boxer, kickboxer, and mixed martial artist who competed from 1989 to 2009.

After graduating from Richmond County Military Academy in Augusta, Georgia, he coasted for a year before enlisting in the Army.

After that, Mercer claimed, "I won the VII Corps novice and open championships and finished second at U.S. Army, Europe.

[4] While he had street fights as a youth, it wasn't until he was offered a chance to avoid a 30-day field exercise in the winter of 1984 by serving as a sparring partner for the post's heavyweight champion that he found a sanctioned way to use his aggression.

[8] At the USA vs. Cuba match-up, Mercer twice staggered Félix Savón, but was impeded from doing further damage by questionable intervention by the Cuban referee, Alfredo Toledo.

A few tried to trip the pair, another tried to tackle the heavyweight Mercer, and one security guard even stopped him and tried to steer him back to his seat.

When asked if he thought he needed to stop the South Korean in order to win the gold medal, he replied: "Definitely.

Upon winning the Olympic Gold Medal, Mercer was approached by boxing promoter Bob Arum, with whom he signed a contract to turn professional.

Also under the deal, Arum got the rights to promote a certain number of televised bouts, leaving the boxer free to fight for others.

[17] Upon winning the 1988 Olympics, he was named United States Armed Forces Athlete of the Year in November 1988 (which was quite an achievement, considering that the Army branch alone produced 19 Olympians in 1988.

In January 1991 he challenged undefeated Francesco Damiani for the WBO heavyweight title, scoring a one punch knockout victory in the 9th when behind on points.

Later that year, he beat undefeated puncher Tommy Morrison in five rounds, and with a major world title fight on the horizon vacated his WBO belt and fought 42-year-old legend Larry Holmes rather than mandatory challenger Michael Moorer.

Having split fights with dangerous veteran Jesse Ferguson (Mercer was investigated for allegedly asking Ferguson to "throw the fight" during their first encounter), an overweight Mercer labored to a draw with trialhorse Marion Wilson, and saw a proposed 1994 bout in Hong Kong with Frank Bruno fall through.

Mercer enjoyed an unexpected run of form in major fights, losing on points in a thrilling brawl with Holyfield in May 1995, losing a controversial decision in a wild punch up with Lennox Lewis in June 1996, and scoring a controversial points win over double ex-champ Tim Witherspoon in yet another high action bout in December 1996.

In February 2001 a 39-year-old Mercer launched a final comeback, knocking out four journeymen before being matched with WBO title holder Wladimir Klitschko in a high-profile bout on HBO.

Once famed for his incredible iron chin, Mercer looked his age and was knocked down in the first and stopped in the sixth round for the first time in his career.

After his loss to Briggs, the now aged Mercer did not compete in a boxing match until two years later in 2007, having taken time off to attempt kickboxing and MMA as side careers.

He threw powerful punches and trapped his opponent in the corner more than once, and managed to adapt as more kicks were thrown, even knocking Musashi down in round two, but he was tacking on more accumulated damage that slowed him down, as he went on to lose the bout via unanimous decision.

Mercer came out with a failed double jab towards Bonjasky's shoulder and head, but missed, and attempted to throw a right.

Though he was offered additional opportunities to have a further K-1 career, after the Bonjasky bout in 2005, Mercer, aged but undeterred, returned to boxing and refused another kickboxing fight.

Mercer had planned to attempt a dabble in mixed martial arts as early as 2003; he was scheduled to Kazuyuki Fujita, who was 9-4 in the sport, in Kobe, Japan as the main event of the Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye.

[21] After a series of scheduled boxing matchups fell through (including a proposed bout against former champion Hasim Rahman), Mercer decided to try mixed martial arts (MMA) and approached Felix Martinez, co-founder of Cage Fury Fighting Championships, about working with the promotion.

Mercer later stated in the press conference at Adrenaline III: Bragging Rights, that he had expected Kimbo Slice to box with him, and said that he did not really train in any other aspect of MMA and was unprepared for the guillotine choke.

Though he originally planned to give up on MMA, circumstances pushed Mercer into a comeback; On June 13, 2009, he made a big splash when he defeated former UFC Heavyweight Champion Tim Sylvia at Adrenaline III: Bragging Rights.

[23] At 1-0, he was scheduled to face at the time undefeated MMA fighter and Kickboxer Ron Sparks, but the bout was cancelled because a longtime injury Mercer sustained 13 years earlier.