ATLANTIC CITY — A local pugilist remains undefeated in his budding professional boxing career.
In what appeared to be his toughest challenge to date, Cape May’s Josh Mercado won a mixed decision over Lancaster, Pa. boxer Epifanio Cosme Rodriguez in a four-round bout at Bally’s Atlantic City on Nov. 7. Two judges gave Mercado the edge with scores of 40-36, while a third judge scored the match even 38-38, giving the Lower Cape May Regional graduate a perfect 3-0 record.
Mercado won his professional debut in a unanimous four-round decision Aug. 8 over Philadelphia’s Terrell Boggs and scored a technical knock out Sept. 19 in the third round of a four-round bout over Joel Nieves, of Allentown, Pa.
“Josh boxed beautifully,” Mercado’s trainer Conn McMullan told the Herald. “His counter punches and combinations were very effective.”
McMullan said Rodriguez was very strong, very aggressive and could really take a punch. Rodriguez, fighting in his pro debut, came to win, McMullan said.
“Once the first round was over and Josh had figured him (Rodriguez) out, he (Josh) was able to land some strong shots but Rodriguez wouldn’t go down,” McMullan said. “He was very big up top and Josh couldn’t land many body shots.”
“Josh fought strategically. He moved very well,” McMullan said. “If he (Rodriguez) landed a dozen clean shots, I’d be surprised.”
McMullan was surprised that one judge called the fight so close when the other two had Mercado winning every round.
“I watched the fight objectively and the worst you could have called was a first-round draw,” McMullan said. “They were close to stopping it in the third round when Josh was landing punches at will, but the round ended before he could finish it off.”
Mercado admitted that this was his toughest pro fight yet.
“But that’s what I want to do,” Mercado said. “Each fight, I want to face tougher and tougher opponents so that I keep seeing new things and getting better. If your 20-0 and you fought 20 bums, it doesn’t mean anything.”
Mercado said his excellent conditioning helped put him over the top in this fight. Running miles, training in the gym and getting sparring matches with other boxers keeps him in great shape.
“He (Rodriguez) was breathing heavy and I was ready to go four more (rounds),” Mercado said.
Mercado also credited the scores of fans who cheered him on at the fight.
“They were really loud and that makes all the difference,” he said. “It gives you goose bumps. It was electric.”
Mercado and McMullan, however, try not to get overly confident.
“Even though I won, we’re pretty hard on ourselves. We still look at the fight with constructive criticism, trying to learn from my mistakes,” Mercado said. “If you saw us after the fight, you would have thought I lost.”
When the Herald talked to them for this story on Monday, fighter and trainer were back to work getting ready for the next fight. Mercado is scheduled to be on the Dec. 5 card at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City featuring Paul Williams, former Welterweight and Jr. Middleweight champion, versus WBC Jr. Middleweight champion Sergio Martinez.
Anyone interested in obtaining tickets for the Dec. 5 fight night should visit Owens Pub on 18th Street in North Wildwood, where McMullan works as a bartender.
Follow Hart at www.Twitter.com/HeraldJoe
Contact Hart at (609) 886-8600 Ext 35 or at: jhart@cmcherald.com
Wildwood Crest – Several of Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks have created quite a bit of controversy over the last few weeks. But surprisingly, his pick to become the next director of the FBI hasn’t experienced as much…
