Raymond Anthony Mercer (born April 4, 1961) is a retired American professional boxer, kickboxer, and mixed martial artist who competed from 1989 to 2009. Best known for his boxing career, Mercer won a heavyweight gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics as an amateur, and later held the WBO heavyweight title from 1991 to 1992 as a professional. Boxrec ranks him as the world's No.9 heavyweight of 1990. As a mixed martial artist, he scored a notable first-round knockout win over former two-time UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia in 2009.
Mercer, being the son of retired Army NCO Raymond Mercer Sr., grew up as a military brat in Fort Benning, Georgia, and later in Hanau, West Germany. He later recalled:
Mercer played linebacker at high school in Hanau, didn't plan to go for a college education. After graduating from Richmond County Military Academy in Augusta, Georgia, he coasted for a year before enlisting in the Army.

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