Ernesto ‘Tito’ Mercado makes his return against Antonio Moran this Saturday, December 13, on a Matchroom card at the Stockton Arena in Stockton, California.
Why Antonio Moran now
The Eddie Hearn-promoted Mercardo (17-0, 16 KOs) will fight veteran Moran (31-7-1, 21 KOs) in a 10-round matchup on DAZN.
Eleven months out
This is 24-year-old phenom Mercado’s first fight in 11 months, so it’s understandable why he’s taking on Moran. He was out with a training camp injury he suffered last June. He is finally ready to turn. Mercado vs. Moran will go for the WBO International light welterweight title.
It makes sense for Ernesto to fight for the WBO International belt, as his best bet for a nice payday is to move up in the WBO rankings to 140. Teofimo Lopez is the current champion, but that could change if he loses to Shakur Stevenson on January 31st.
Mercado give predictions of how long these warriors would last against him:
- Teofimo Lopez: “I give him five rounds.”
- Shakur Stevenson: “He’s going to run a lot. Nine rounds.”
- Richardson Hitchins: “Six rounds.”
- Dalton Smith: “One round.”
- Subriel Matias: “Four rounds.”
- Isaac Cruz: “Three rounds.”
- Keyshawn Davis: “Three rounds.”
- Antonio Moran: “Three rounds.”
Mercado looked outstanding in his last fight, knocking out former two-division world champion Jose Zepeda in four rounds in January 2025. No one has ever stopped Pedraza that quickly, not even Gervonta Davis or Keyshawn Davis. It says a lot that Mercado was able to get out faster than those two.
Matchroom’s problem
Hearn has not said what his plans are for Mercado. He has plenty of talented fighters in and around the 140-lb weight class to match him up with. However, it is doubtful that Hearn wants to keep Mercado away from his top fighters, such as Richardson Hitchins and Dalton Smith, knowing that their value would drop if they lost to him.
Last updated on 12/11/2025
