Ray Mercer indicted for offering Ferguson a bribe - fellow heavyweight boxer Jesse Ferguson

Jet, July 19, 1993

Ray Mercer, the 1988 Olympic gold medalist boxer, will be fighting his battles in court after he was indicted by the Manhattan district attorney's office for allegedly offering his opponent a bribe in the ring.

Videotape of the Feb. 6 bout at Madison Square Garden between Mercer and Jesse Ferguson disclosed that starting in the third round, Mercer repeatedly offered Ferguson $100,000 to throw the match, prosecutors charged.

Mercer, who lost the 10-round fight in a unanimous decision, was indicted by a grand jury on a charge that he tried to bribe Ferguson, his former sparring partner. Ferguson pleaded innocent to the charges at his arraignment and Judge George Robert released him on his own recognizance.

The 32-year-old Mercer recently was arrested at his residence in Indianapolis. He faces as much as seven years in prison if convicted of the felony. At JET press deadline, his next court appearance was set for July 12.

Mercer received $50,000 for the fight with Ferguson, 36, who got $10,000. But had Mercer won, he would have been paid $2.5 million to fight heavyweight champion Riddick Bowe.

Instead it was Ferguson who went on to challenge Bowe and he received $500,000. He lost a May 22 bout in Washington, D.C., after Bowe dropped him just 17 seconds into the second round (JET, June 7).

Randy Gordon, chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission, mentioned he notified authorities after referee Wayne Kelly told him Mercer may have offered a bribe to Ferguson during the fight.