Ernesto Mercado goals to make junior welterweight assertion towards Jayson Velez

Ernesto Mercado hopes a convincing win over Jayson Velez will result in larger alternatives and to place the remainder of the 140-pound division on discover.

Mercado will face Velez tonight on the LumColor Middle in Ontario, California. The ten-round bout will precede the primary occasion bout between middleweight prospect Raul Lizarraga and Tyi Edmonds.

Each fights will headline a ‘Brut Boxing’ card that can stream reside on vivalivetv.com (PPV $9.95, 9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. PT).

Mercado (7-0, 7 knockouts), who resides in close by Pomona, has annihilated opposition so far with none of his fights going previous the second spherical. Mercado has fought modest competitors, however he is ready to bully and break down his opponents.

In his final bout on August 25, Mercado knocked out Argentina’s Alfredo Blanco within the second spherical. The win over Blanco marked Mercado’s fifth struggle this yr.

The 20-year-old will face a stern take a look at towards Velez, who has struggled as of late, however shall be Mercado’s hardest take a look at so far. Velez (30-9-1, 21 KOs), who resides in Juncos, Puerto Rico, misplaced an in depth split-decision to Wesley Ferrer by majority determination.  

Velez might have misplaced 4 of his final 5 fights, however Mercado is anticipating a tricky problem tonight. 

“It is a massive alternative for me to point out the world how I evaluate to all the opposite elite prospects in (the) light-weight and junior welterweight divisions,” mentioned Mercado at an open exercise earlier this week. “I really feel a strong win over a fighter like Velez, who has been within the ring with some notable fighters, will garner me the popularity with the boxing media and followers that I need. All my wins have are available in (California) and never Mexico, like a few of these different fighters who went down there to construct up their data.”

The 34-year-old Velez misplaced by split-decision to Jaime Arboleda in February 2020. He would comply with up the loss to Arboleda by dropping to each Oscar Valdez and Gabriel Flores, Jr.

On December 3, Velez fought and defeated prospect Jean Carlos Quintana by unanimous determination.

Mercado is cautious of what Velez brings to the desk, however he strongly believes preventing the likes of Velez is what is going to make him a greater fighter. A one-sided victory or a knockout victory will ship a message to the remainder of the 140-pound division {that a} star is within the making and will turn into a legit contender earlier than they realize it.

“Preventing for a (regional) title this early in my profession is an enormous deal for me,” mentioned Mercado. “I’m hoping to be catapulted up the WBA rankings with the victory. This shall be my first 10-round struggle and I’m going to make the perfect of this chance.”

Lizarraga (9-0, 9 KOs), who resides in Murrieta, California, and Edmonds (14-4 1 No Resolution, 9 KOs), a resident of Meridian, Mississippi, will sq. off in an eight-round bout.

The LumColor Middle is positioned at 11255 South Central Avenue in Ontario. Doorways will open at 5 p.m., with first bell scheduled for six p.m. PT.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has lined boxing in Southern California and overseas since 2000. Francisco additionally covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He will be reached by e-mail at [email protected] or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing