Super Lightweight Israel Mercado Looks Back At Recent Split Decision Loss

Israel Mercado is getting a lot of attention this week, but not for the reasons he hoped.

Mercado lost to unbeaten junior welterweight Carlos Utria via a contentious split decision in a fight that opened last week’s pay-per-view card in Las Vegas. The judges’ scores were Steve Weisfeld had it 96-94 in Mercado’s favor, overruled by Chris Migliore’s 96-94 score and Patricia Morse Jarman’s odd score of 97-93.

Mercado (13-2-2, 7 KOs) jokes that his record reads like a ZIP code, given all the numbers involved. Last June, he upset Branden Pizarro in Philly. His losses come via a majority or split decision, with the other loss to top prospect Arthur Biyarslanov. At 31, Mercado looked to have secured the elusive big win of his career, only for the judges to score it another way.

“I beat him. My timing was crazy,” Mercado told FightsATW. “A lot of people say I should petition to get the fight overturned. It isn’t like I am Devin Haney, where you get smoked and they overturn a fight.”

The junior welterweight Mercado brought up Devin Haney, a three-division world champion who is currently a welterweight champion. Haney’s lone career defeat was overturned to a no-contest after Ryan Garcia failed a drug test. The sentiment is clear: there are haves and have-nots. Haney had money behind him; Mercado didn’t. Mercado has taken hard B-side fights; Haney has taken tough fights, often with A-side advantages, though his win over Brian Norman Jr. should be applauded.

Mercado is a fighter the sport keeps punching in the jaw without the same return on investment he has given in blood, sweat, and tears. It appears he is tired of working hard without moving up to bigger purses and prizes.

“It hurts me financially because these promoters are always looking for a way to pay you less,” Mercado said. “We are going to stay positive, keep working hard, and show that we are here.”

Utria (15-0, 11 KOs) had a monster 2025, vaulting him to one of the most promising prospects. He fought five times, winning the WBC Grand Prix tournament and defeating unbeaten prospects and contenders. Utria recently signed with Premier Boxing Champions and was/is seen as a top contender. Yet red flags arose when Utria came in a little over the 140lbs championship weight at the weigh-in.

“I knew he was going to miss weight,” Mercado said. “He just strikes me as that type of guy. He looks undisciplined, like he doesn’t take shit seriously; he’s just a cocky dude.”

As for the fight?

“I was surprised he fell for everything,” Mercado said. “There wasn’t one time when I said to myself, ‘I couldn’t do this.’ I could do whatever I wanted, and that threw me off a little bit.”

So how does he move forward?

“I just got to win my next fight,” Mercado said. “I got to win in good fashion, because everyone wants to see me win.”

Lucas Ketelle

Lucas Ketelle is a boxing writer and podcaster who has appeared on various platforms throughout his career.

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