Ernesto Mercado says Shakur Stevenson has been avoiding him since he called him out. The Matchroom-promoted light welterweight contender Mercado (17-0, 16 KOs) believes Shakur is “scared” of him. He says Stevenson blocked him on social media.
The 24-year-old Mercado has been trying to get Shakur (24-0, 11 KOs) to face him, but without success. He’s chosen instead to ignore him and fight the likes of Josh Padley, Artem Harutyunyan, and William Zepeda to keep his record unbeaten.
What was surprising was that Eddie Hearn didn’t try to match Shakur with Mercado while he was still under contract to Matchroom. Instead, Hearn gave Shakur Josh Padley, an electrician and part-time boxer, a mismatch earlier this year on February 22nd in Riyadh.
Hearn had been trying to match Stevenson against former IBF super featherweight champion Joe Cordina, who was coming off a bad eighth-round knockout against Anthony Cacace.
“I think Shakur already has an idea. So, he doesn’t really want to [fight]. When I called him out, he really didn’t want to say nothing. He was trying to avoid me the whole time,” said Ernesto Mercado to Fighthype about how Shakur Stevenson didn’t acknowledge him when he called him out.
The 24-year-old Mercado would be a problem for Stevenson due to his punching power, aggression, and pedigree. It wouldn’t be a fight in which Shakur could cover up on the ropes as he did in his last bout against William Zepeda on July 12th, or move around for 12 rounds. He would have to mix it up with Tito Mercado to win.
“He even blocked me on all social media. The boy is scared. It’s going to be a tactical fight at the beginning, but I ultimately break him down and knock him out,” said Mercado about Shakur. “I see him for what he really is. He’s a good boxer, but you also have to see who he’s fighting.”
Mercado’s punching power and pressure style of fighting would make him a threat to Stevenson. He’s an entirely different type of fighter than the 24 guys that Shakur has built his pro resume fighting. Size-wise, Shakur and Mercado are similar, but the power and the seek-and-destroy style are what set Ernesto apart.
“Top Rank at the beginning of his career, when he was with them, they matched him up really perfectly, fighting guys like [Oscar] Valdez who fit into his style. All these guys that fit into his style perfectly. I don’t think he matches up really well with me,” said Mercado.
When Shakur was with Top Rank, they didn’t match him tough. He was given the Edgar Berlanga treatment. They gave earlier fighters that weren’t a threat, as he’d been beaten in the 2016 Olympics by Cuba’s Robeisy Ramirez and exposed in that fight. So, in the 22 fights that Shakur was with Top Rank, they matched him against opposition that weren’t a threat to beating him.
Mercado is coming off an injury layoff. He knocked out Jose Pedraza in the fourth round earlier this year on January 25th. Next month, Mercado will be fighting Antonio Moran (31-7-1, 21 KOs) in a 10-round fight on a Matchroom card on December 10th at the Stockton Arena in Stockton, California. Mercado vs. Moran will be on the undercard of Diego Pacheco vs. Kevin Lele Sadjo.
Last Updated on 11/29/2025
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