Ruddock was fun to watch but massively limited (though you'd never credit it watching him vs Mike Weaver, before he fell in love with his power: he was an up-on-his-toes jabber with almost frenetic movement, though still with basically no defence). Mercer on the other hand had fantastically solid fundamentals but was fat & lazy & unpredictable (getting outworked by Marion Wilson & next fight going to Hell & back with Holyfield).
Difficult one to pick but if I had to bet I'd say that Ruddock would eventually find a way to lose, as he often managed to against top-drawer guys, before Mercer ran out of steam/ideas. Mercer often seemed to pull out his best performances versus genuinely dangerous foes (Holyfield, Lewis, Morrison).
Probably be fun to watch, too.
PS: I think the best Mercer "what if" is from the aborted Bruno fight that would've been on the Hong Kong card that never happened (Billy Schwer vs Rafa Ruelas headlining & Herbie Hide vs Tommy Morrison on the card, too!). I can't help thinking Mercer would've done him, late on.
). I think its a pretty darn close fight
