“Shakur hit him, but he didn’t hit his ass,” Mercado said. “You know, there were a lot of times he just punched him in the face. It’s cool, bro, but when you beat a guy mentally. That’s when you take advantage and let your hands go. We didn’t see that from Shakur again. There’s a lot of holes in his game, hopefully one day … I’ll get the opportunity with him.”
The line about “spiritually defeated” is the one that lingers. Mercado’s argument is not that Stevenson lost to Lopez. It’s that once Lopez conceded the chess match, Stevenson never stepped on the gas. He stayed behind. He took laps. He kept it tidy. He won cleanly. He never crossed anything more harmful.
It followed Stevenson before. He controls distance. He just dictates. He limits risk. He wins rounds. The criticism, fair or not, is that he rarely pursues the kind of finish that closes the door to debate. Against a former undisputed champion like Lopez, on a heavily marketed pay-per-view card in New York, some fans expected a statement. Instead, they saw efficiency.
Mercado positions itself as the antidote. He spent more than a year calling out Stevenson. So far he has been ignored. From Mercado’s point of view, the reluctance to involve him only reinforces the idea that Stevenson prefers control over danger.
Stevenson has belts and wins over top names. Mercado has knockouts and pressure. Styles like these eventually clash if the division forces it. Right now, Mercado is trying to make sure his voice stays loud enough that it can’t be pushed aside.
The truth is simple. Stevenson is winning, but fighters like Mercado are betting that winning safely isn’t the same as knocking someone down. This distinction could decide whether Shakur remains untouchable or ends up being tested as critics have called for.
