The junior welterweight division is without doubt one of the deepest and most gifted within the sport of boxing.
Unbeaten Ernesto ‘Tito’ Mercado may quickly be in that blend.
Mercado will face Hector Sarmiento Saturday evening at Little Ceasars Enviornment in Detroit, Michigan. The ten-round bout will stream reside on the DAZN YouTube web page (6 p.m. ET/ 3 p.m. PT), continuing the Massive Time Boxing USA card (DAZN, 9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m PT), headlined by Ring tremendous middleweight champion Claressa Shields going through WBC ladies’s heavyweight titleholder Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse.
After combating on membership reveals in and round Southern California and in Tijuana, Mexico, Mercado will probably be combating on the primary vital card in his younger profession. Promoter Dmitriy Salita believes Mercado may have the potential to develop into a contender at 140 kilos.
“Ernesto is without doubt one of the finest younger junior welterweights on the planet,” Salita advised The Ring Tuesday. “It made sense to have him on this card as a result of two of the opposite top-rated fighters in that division are on the cardboard as nicely. Ernesto is getting a number of consideration and I consider he has a vibrant future within the sport.”
Salita was referring to junior welterweight contenders Michel Rivera and Shohjahon Ergashev, each of whom are signed to Salita Promotions. Rivera and Ergashev face Hugo Roldan and Julian Smith, respectively.
Mercado is at present a promotional free agent, however Salita said there could possibly be an curiosity in signing Mercado at a later date.
“He isn’t signed to me at this level,” stated Salita. “As you realize, we at all times look to signal the most effective expertise.”
“We’re rebuilding Detroit as one of many hubs for world-class skilled boxing.”
The 22-year-old Mercado (15-0, 14 knockouts), who resides in Pomona, California, final fought on April 5, stopping Deiner Berrio within the fourth spherical. In his earlier battle on February 24, Mercado knocked out Cristian Bielma within the second spherical. That battle passed off in Tijuana.
Mercado was very lively in 2023, combating a complete of 5 instances. His most spectacular win so far was a knockout victory over fringe contender Jeremia Nakathila on November 11. Different wins on his document had been in opposition to former world title challenger Henry ‘Hank’ Lundy and Xolisani Ndongeni.
Sarmiento (21-2, 14 KOs), who resides in Cordoba, Argentina, has not fought since February 2020, dropping by unanimous determination to Denys Berinchyk, the present WBO world light-weight titleholder. The battle passed off in Brovari, Ukraine.
The 31-year-old has cut up his final 4 fights. The Mercado bout will probably be Sarmiento’s first battle in the USA.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has coated boxing in Southern California and overseas since 2000. Francisco additionally covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He could be reached at [email protected]
