Light welterweight contender Ernesto Mercado (17-0, 16 KOs) made a statement tonight, stopping former world champion Jose ‘Sniper’ Pedraza (29-7-1, 14 KOs) by a fourth-round knockout in a scheduled 10-round fight on Saturday night at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Chelsea Ballroom, Las Vegas.
Mercado, 23, stunned Pedraza with a left hook and a pinpoint right hand behind the ear to send him down on the canvas. Pedraza was slow to get up and staggered a little when he finally did. The referee, Robert Hoyle, took one look at him and stopped the fight. The time was 2:08 of the fourth.
Callout Time
Mercado’s size and power difference were too much for Pedraza, who couldn’t match him. Pedraza was afraid to get clipped the entire fight and let Mercado throw most of the shots in the one-sided contest.
After the fight, Mercado called out Shakur Stevenson, saying he wanted him next. Shakur didn’t look eager in the crowd to want to mess with this young talent.
“No, because he’s 140 lbs, and he was a 142 tonight,” said Eddie Hearn to iFL TV, when asked if he likes the idea of Shakur Stevenson fighting Ernesto Mercado. “I love Tito Mercado. I love his smoke. Shakur was sitting there, ‘Get on my d***,’ and I’m like, ‘What is going on here? He’s 135 lbs, fighting Floyd Schofield. You’re 140 lbs.’
“It’s fine. You’ve got to make noise, and that’s what Tito Mercado is doing. He battered Pedraza. I think that’s his lot, Pedraza. It’s a nice step up. He’s exciting. Look at the fighters at 140. You know what I would like to see? Tito Mercado against Adam Azim. Let’s make that fight. He’s off it now because he turned down too many opponents, but we’d love to do that,’ said Hearn.
Ernesto Mercado calls out Shakur👀👀👀#PachecoNelson | live now on DAZN pic.twitter.com/4gNsnBULqX
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) January 26, 2025
