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By: Alex Williams, MMATorch Contributor Former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia is set to box 47-year old former heavyweight boxing contender and alphabet title holder Ray Mercer (36-7-1, 26 KOs). The bout will take place May 30 at the Trum Taj Mahal Casino Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The fight will headline the Adrenaline III event. Monte Cox, Adrenaline promoter and manager of Sylvia, says the event will not take place on HDNet (which Adrenaline has a television deal with), but will air elsewhere on television.
Former legitimate, lineal heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman (45-7-2, 36 KOs), who knocked out Lennox Lewis to win the crown, has announced his intentions to begin competing in MMA. Rahman, 36-years old, stated that he would like to fight Kimbo Slice in particular.
Williams' Analysis: Let's get Rahman out of the way first. My prediction is that he will never actually fight MMA. He looked old and slow in getting stopped in seven rounds against number-one ranked heavyweight Wladimir Klitschko this past December. Once he enters an MMA gym and realizes how easy it is for others to take him down and submit him, he'll pass on entering the sport.
Sylvia/Mercer is more interesting than Mercer's age indicates. Sylvia has never boxed before professionally, and to my knowledge, never as an amateur. Mercer has boxed three times since 2007, and has won two out of three. While the opponents he defeated had hugely inflated records, they still boasted a combined ledger of 54-7 going into the matches. Meanwhile the man who defeated him via decision in-between his two wins, Derric Rossy, sports a record of 20-2, with his only two loses coming to one fighter ranked in the Top 10 and one who is Top 20ish. In other words, not just anyway who straps on the gloves today can beat Mercer. He's got a heck of a chin, top amateur experience (1988 Gold Medalist), and two decades of pro experience, including many bouts at the highest level of the sport.
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