Boxer Juan Antonio Mercado Disqualified for Low Blow at Pan-Am Games

The Mexican boxers in the Pan-Am Games continue to disappoint, with Juan Antonio Mercado disqualified for an illegal hit on Salvadoran Jose Bernal in the third round, despite being up 15-8 in the qualifier.

Although the Guadalajara native was the better boxer at all times on the ring, a badly executed hit was enough to eliminate him from the competition, with the sold-out crowd in the Arena Expo in Guadalajara yelling “Fraud! Fraud!”

“It was an accident,” said Mercado, who was dumbfounded by the judges’ decision.

The local easily dominated a Salvadoran boxer who did not have the appropriate technique to avoid the punishment brought on by the Mexican. It seemed Mercado would have an easy path to victory, with the crowd yelling out his name in unison.

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