Ernesto Mercado laments ‘unprofessional’ boxers coming in overweight

Junior welterweight Ernesto “Tito” Mercado was preparing for his Matchroom Boxing debut on the Jaron Ennis-Karen Chukhadzhian undercard on November 9 in Philadelphia. 

However, his opponent, Jesus Saracho, derailed those plans by arriving at the weigh-in seven pounds overweight, dissolving the planned bout and leaving Mercado without a fight.

“Yeah, man, it’s happened to me before,” Mercado told BoxingScene. “I thought, with this being such a big opportunity, people would come prepared. But, obviously, I’m still a dangerous fighter, so these guys think they’re going to come in overweight to weight-bully me. Hopefully, these fighters start coming in on weight. If not, we might need to start having backups.”

The 23-year-old Mercado, 16-0 (15 KOs), believes professionalism is becoming a lost art in boxing, with fighters increasingly showing up overweight. He referenced the Ryan Garcia-Devin Haney fight as part of the trend, where Garcia initially won but saw the result overturned after failing a drug test.

“A lot of these fighters are not being professional anymore,” Mercado said. “We saw it in the Keyshawn Davis-Gustavo Lemos fight. That was a big fight, main-event fight. It’s becoming trendy, and fighters and promoters need to watch out for these guys [coming in overweight].”

Mercado, the 2023 BoxingScene Prospect of the Year, had hoped to make a statement and enter 2025 with momentum. Instead, he’ll have to wait for his Matchroom debut.

“Yeah, man, I was tempted to take the fight,” Mercado said. “But he wasn’t even trying to make weight. The guy was just walking around, not doing anything. You got to show me some type of professionalism. Coming in seven pounds over? That’s not an accident. He knew what he was doing.”

During the weigh-in live stream, it was revealed that Saracho’s team attempted to stir controversy at the press conference, but Mercado, from Pomona, California, wasn’t fazed.

“Man, they never said anything directly to me,” Mercado said. “I was looking at Saracho’s eyes, and he looked super-unsure of himself. His team was trying to hype him up because they knew he wasn’t confident. I think he came in overweight on purpose. It was his way out, because I was going to knock him out – real bad, too.”

Looking ahead, Mercado is determined to capitalize on his five-fight knockout streak. He plans to return to the ring in January against an opponent he declined to name but described as “a really big name.”

“I’m just looking for big fights,” Mercado said. “Matchroom has a great stable at 135 and 140, and I want guys like Shakur [Stevenson] and Devin [Haney]. They have titles and big platforms. I need the casual fans to know who I am, not just the hardcore boxing crowd.”

For Mercado, the goal is clear: professionalism, preparation and proving he belongs on the biggest stages. His next fight, expected in January, will hinge on one critical condition:

“Not until the contract is signed,” Mercado said, “and the guy makes weight.”