Bernardo Mercado
Bernardo Mercado is a former heavyweight boxer briefly ranked as the top contender for the title of champion in 1980 by the WBC.
Born in Montería, Colombia, Mercado won a bronze medal in the light-heavyweight category at the 1974 Central American and Caribbean Games.
Mercado was once a sparring partner for Argentine heavyweight Oscar Bonavena, before turning professional on November 15, 1975.
Of his first 20 bouts, the power puncher won 17 by knockout, nine in the first round. Mercado's first loss as a pro came in 1978, at the hands of future champion "Big" John Tate.
He went on to fight other future champions Mike Weaver and Trevor Berbick, knocking Berbick out in the first round of their meeting on April 3, 1979. In 1980, he earned a seventh round technical knockout over dangerous contender and multiple-time world title challenger Earnie Shavers and was ranked as the number one contender to Larry Holmes' WBC belt. He was defeated in an elimination bout with former champion Leon Spinks by 9 round technical knockout. He would go on to fight such name fighters as Randall "Tex" Cobb and Jimmy Thunder.
