Tim Sylvia vs. Ray Mercer...

[Cutthroat]

http://www.epiccarnival.com/2009/02/bad-idea-department-tim-sylvia-boxing.html

Don't know if this has been posted yet, but Tim Sylvia will be making his pro boxing debut against Ray Mercer according to this article...


Bad Idea Department: Tim Sylvia boxing Ray Mercer

In what is setting up to be an epic fail, former UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia (you know, the guy Fedor took out in like 30 seconds on the first Affliction show) is going to fight former WBO heavyweight champion 47 year-old Ray Mercer (you know, the guy who got choked out by Kimbo Slice in an MMA bout). Having seen the names one would assume that at this point in their respective careers it would be an MMA match. That would be incorrect...

Sylvia vs. Mercer will be headlining the May 30 event at the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort in Atlantic City, N.J.

While first pitched as an MMA contest, Sylvia (24-5 MMA, 0-0 Boxing) will instead turn in his open-******** gloves for a pair of boxing mitts.

"I was doing Tim Sylvia against Ray Mercer as a headliner," [Adrenaline MMA promoter Monte] Cox said. "First I was doing it in MMA. We changed and thought it would be a lot more interesting in boxing."

Interesting? I guess that's one way to put it. Sylvia sure has come a long way from his days fighting Couture and Nogueira, hasn't he?

"In boxing, who knows who is going to win," Cox said. "Mercer just beat a guy who is 30-2. He was ranked fifth in Europe and Mercer just beat him."

As opposed to in MMA where EVERYONE knows who is going to win. Who IS this guy? He goes on...

"You just have no idea who is going to win," Cox said. "I don't care if he's 47 (years old). He's been boxing his whole life, won an Olympic gold medal, went to split decision with Lennox Lewis. Believe me, he's going to hit hard. Tim's going to have a hard time."

Uh, that fight with Lennox Lewis was in 1996. His gold medal was in 1988. So yeah, this should be 'interesting'.

[MJ406]

very interested in this.

First Arlovski going pro ... then Sylvia does it.

interesting indeed (my take at least.)

[Cutthroat]

very interested in this.

First Arlovski going pro ... then Sylvia does it.

interesting indeed (my take at least.)

Who do you think will win between Tim and Ray?

Ray is far from the fighter he used to be and Boxing is a lot different than MMA.

[Darkstar]

Sylvia by UD.

[FreshPrince]

What can Sylvia gain by beating this 97 year old, shell of himself boxer? If I had to put money I'd bet on Mercer, because Sylvia has next to no athletic ability, but this fight is just nonsense.

[MJ406]

Who do you think will win between Tim and Ray?

Ray is far from the fighter he used to be and Boxing is a lot different than MMA.

well the bolded is what gives Sylvia a great chance of winning as Mercer is far out of his prime and at 47 years old is like you say "far from what he used to be"

Sylvia on the other hand, while coming off back to back losses, may not be in the Prime of his career, but he's still an Elite, upper-level fighter in his own sport.

so factoring in Mercer's age with Sylvia's very large reach and I'd give Tim decent shot at winning.

however with Mercer being the much more experienced Boxer and Sylvia coming off 2 MMA loses .. one has to question why does an Upper ability MMA fighter go into Boxing? (I guess the same could be asked of Arlovski)

realistically i could see either man winning this fight, I stated reasons for it

and at the moment I'm 60-40 in favor of Mercer.

[Low Blow Armo]

I wouldn't watch this fight if someone put a gun to my head.

[Terry A]

I always liked Mercer. He had a titanium chin back in the day. And heart.
I was shocked, really shocked, when he lost to Kimbo.

Even if he beats Sylvia, what's it for? He'll never get another title shot, and it seems like he's just hanging on now for some quickie paydays. He's stacking his record with losses that shouldn't be there.

I feel he should have retired and maybe have gone into training, like Eddie Mustapha Muhammad, Murray Southerland, Freddie Roach, etc did. He has the knowledge to do well as a trainer. He's been everywhere in boxing.

[KJB]

Who do you think will win between Tim and Ray?

Ray is far from the fighter he used to be and Boxing is a lot different than MMA.

Sylvia probably will win a UD, but thats mostly just due to Mercer being a senior citizen. It would have been ******ed to make it an MMA match, I dont understand why Mercer is doing this to himself. I remember back in 04 and 05 he had those K-1 fights and got embarrassed, I thought he was going too far back then. This is just sad.

[KJB]

so factoring in Mercer's age with Sylvia's very large reach and I'd give Tim decent shot at winning.

however with Mercer being the much more experienced Boxer and Sylvia coming off 2 MMA loses .. one has to question why does an Upper ability MMA fighter go into Boxing? (I guess the same could be asked of Arlovski)

He was always better cut out as a striker than an overall MMA fighter. He developed good takedown defense and average ish submission defense, but he could never grappler offensively and has usually relied on size and reach. If he had starting boxing at a young age he might have been a really good boxer, I think the transition makes sense for him right now as far as staying relevant in general goes.