Álvaro Mercado: Colombian Olympic Flyweight Boxer
Álvaro Mercado is a Colombian former flyweight boxer from Barranquilla. He represented Colombia at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics before turning professional in 1986.
Mercado challenged WBA flyweight champion David Grimán in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela, on October 4, 1993. Grimán retained his title by unanimous decision over 12 rounds. Mercado’s professional record ended at 29 wins, five losses and one draw, according to BoxRec.
Colombia’s flyweight representative in Los Angeles
Mercado was born in Barranquilla on October 18, 1964, making him nineteen during the 1984 Olympics. He competed in the men’s 51-kilogram flyweight category and began with a 4–1 decision victory over Spain’s Julio Gómez.
His next opponent was Kenya’s Ibrahim Bilali, who won their round-of-16 contest by the same 4–1 margin. Mercado consequently finished tied for ninth in the Olympic standings. The result marked a campaign with one victory before elimination, short of the medal rounds.
From Olympic boxing to a world title challenge
His later professional career brought a different championship setting. The 1993 meeting with Grimán was a twelve-round WBA world title contest in Venezuela, several years after Mercado’s Olympic appearance for Colombia.
Grimán’s unanimous decision meant Mercado completed championship distance without taking the belt. The Olympic and professional results should be followed as separate stages: one records his national representation in an amateur tournament, while the other records an unsuccessful attempt to win a professional world championship. Together with the final career totals, they give the main documented milestones of his boxing record.
Sources
Sources: Olympedia Olympic profile; BoxRec professional record; Boxing Title Fights: Mercado vs. Grimán.
Tags
Boxing, Boxing History
