Eleoncio Mercedes (September 12, 1957 – December 22, 1985) was a Dominican

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

, who was world champion in the

Flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing up to and including 51 kg (112 lb) for a title fight. Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of boxin ...

division.

Amateur career

As an amateur he competed for his native country at the

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, Canada. He was stopped in the first round of his opening round bout to Aleksandr Tkachenko of the

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. Mercedes was the flag bearer for the Dominican Republic in the 1976 opening ceremony.

Pro career

Born in La Romana, Mercedes campaigned most of his career in the western

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and in

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. He debuted as a professional boxer on July 2 of 1978 with a win over

Darryl Jones Darryl Jones (born December 11, 1961) is an American bassist. He has been recording and touring with the Rolling Stones since 1993. He has also played in bands with Miles Davis and Sting, among others. Career Darryl Jones was born on Decemb ...

in Stockton. He suffered his first defeat when he lost by a decision in

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to future world champion Joey Olivo, in Mercedes' third bout as a paid fighter. Mercedes' first of 11 fights in a row in Mexico came in 1979, when he lost by a

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, ...

in seven rounds to Juan Díaz. During that span of 11 fights in Mexico, he went 6-3-2, fighting in such places as

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

and

Reynosa Reynosa () is a border city in the northern part of the state of Tamaulipas, in Mexico which also holds the municipal seat of Reynosa Municipality. The city is located on the southern bank of the Rio Grande in the international Reynosa–McAlle ...

. He lost to Candido Tellez but also beat former world champion

Guty Espadas Guty Espadas (born December 20, 1954) is a Mexican former professional boxer who won the WBA flyweight title. He is also the father of former World Champion Guty Espadas Jr. Early life He was born to Hernan Espadas Cruz and Isabel Cruz Espadas. ...

, by a knockout in nine during that span. His first fight in the Dominican Republic was a 1982 rematch with Diaz, held in

Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

. He won the fight by a decision in twelve rounds, to avenge his defeat at the hands of Diaz. Up until that moment, Mercedes' record was of 10 wins, 6 losses and 2 draws, reason why it was a little surprising to his fans when the WBC announced it would give Mercedes a chance at becoming a world champion, against two time world champion Freddie Castillo, who was in his second reign. The two boxers met on November 6 of 1982, at

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. Mercedes caused another surprise among many

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

fans by defeating Castillo by a decision in 15 rounds and becoming WBC and Lineal Flyweight champion. In his first defense, Mercedes put the titles on the line against the

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boxer

Charlie Magri Carmel Magri (born 20 July 1956), who boxed under the name Charlie Magri, is a British former professional boxer. He is from a Tunisian family that settled in Limehouse, London, where he grew up. During his professional career he held the WBC ...

. In round seven, the fight had to be stopped because of a cut suffered by Mercedes, which had been determined to be from a punch by Magri. Mercedes then lost his world Flyweight championships by a technical knockout in that round. After that, Mercedes kept on boxing, but had mixed fortunes. He managed to beat future world title challenger Alonzo Gonzalez by a decision, but lost to future world champion, Mexican

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by a knockout in the ninth round. Mercedes also lost a twelve-round decision to future world champion Raul Jibaro Perez, as well as being knocked out in the sixth round by former world Bantamweight champion Alberto Davila.

Death

A few days before

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in 1985, Mercedes was shot and killed by a policeman in his native La Romana, aged 28, after allegedly pulling a gun on the policeman. Mercedes had been drinking in a bar when he was shot to death. Confusion exists as to how this incident took place as some sources state the altercation happened after a car accident.

Professional boxing record

Honors

The Polideportivo Eleoncio Mercedes Coliseum in La Romana, which opened in 1983, is named after him.

References

External links

*
Eleoncio Mercedes - CBZ Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mercedes, Eleoncio 1957 births 1985 deaths Dominican Republic male boxers Sportspeople from La Romana, Dominican Republic Flyweight boxers Boxers at the 1975 Pan American Games Pan American Games silver medalists in boxing Medalists at the 1975 Pan American Games Pan American Games silver medalists for the Dominican Republic Pan American Games boxers for the Dominican Republic Olympic boxers for the Dominican Republic Boxers at the 1976 Summer Olympics World flyweight boxing champions World Boxing Council champions The Ring (magazine) champions People shot dead by law enforcement officers in the Dominican Republic 20th-century Dominican Republic sportsmen