Mercer Charged With Bribing Foe : Boxing: Heavyweight allegedly offered Ferguson $100,000 to throw fight.

L.A. Times Archives

June 30, 1993 12 AM PT

From Associated Press

NEW YORK — Ray Mercer, knocked out of a rich heavyweight title fight by Jesse Ferguson, was charged Tuesday with offering Ferguson $100,000 to lose during their fight Feb. 6 at Madison Square Garden.

Mercer, a 1988 Olympic gold medalist, was arraigned in Criminal Court of New York and released on his own recognizance after pleading not guilty.

District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau announced at a news conference that Mercer was arrested Sunday in Indianapolis after being indicted by a grand jury in the County of New York on a charge of trying to bribe Ferguson.

Mercer lost a 10-round unanimous decision to Ferguson, his former sparring partner, that cost him a possible $2.5-million payday against heavyweight champion Riddick Bowe.

Ferguson got $500,000 to challenge Bowe, and was stopped 17 seconds into the second round May 22 at Washington.

Mercer, 32, got about $50,000 to fight the 36-year-old Ferguson, who got $10,000.

A tape of the fight revealed the Mercer first offered the bribe in the third round, according to Morgenthau, who also said “it was repeated numerous times after the third round.”

HBO taped the fight, but did not televise it.

“They were practicing for the bigger (Bowe-Michael Dokes) fight,” said Daniel J. Castleman, chief of the Investigation Division of the New York Frauds Bureau. “They used four tracking systems, and we were able to get into those systems.”

Said Morgenthau: “The tapes confirmed that Mercer repeatedly attempted to persuade Ferguson to let Mercer win. I don’t think I want to comment on what Ferguson said.”

When asked if Ferguson would be charged for not reporting a bribe, Morgenthau said: “We’re not considering charging him with anything.”

Ferguson, reached at his home in Philadelphia, referred all questions to his attorney, James Binns, who was not immediately available for comment.

“He has categorically denied his guilt,” attorney Dominick Amorosa of New York said at Mercer’s arraignment. “I am shocked and dismayed he has even been indicted.”

Mercer’s next court appearance is scheduled for July 12. He is charged with a class-D felony that carries a prison term of up to seven years.