Ernesto “Tito” Mercado faces Emmanuel Tagoe on Saturday, August 15, at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. The super lightweight contest serves as the co-feature to Claressa Shields vs Kaye Scott.
- Unbeaten 24-year-old Mercado (19-0, 18 KOs) of Upland, California, comes off a second-round knockout victory over Juan Carlos Burgos in June on the undercard of Sylve vs Diaz.
- Ghana’s 37-year-old Tagoe (34-2, 16 KOs) defeated Modibo Keita by unanimous decision last August to record his second straight win since dropping a decision to Ryan Garcia in April 2022.
Salita Promotions announced the matchup, along with the signing of Mercado, on Thursday.
“There were other opportunities, but this one felt different,” Mercado said. “Salita stays active, puts on quality shows and keeps his fighters busy. I’m an active fighter, and I want to fight the best as often as possible. I believe this partnership puts me in the best position to become a world champion.”
“The goal is simple: become a world champion. That’s what we’ve been working toward my entire life. Every fight is another step closer, and I want to put myself in a position where the biggest fights can’t be avoided.”
“There wasn’t a lot of time to find an opponent, but I think they picked the right guy. He went the distance with Ryan Garcia, so this is an opportunity for me to make a statement. I want to go in there, get him out of there and continue climbing the rankings.”
- In the main event, three-division undisputed champion Claressa Shields (18-0, 3 KOs) of Flint, Michigan, challenges Australia’s Kaye Scott (5-1-1) for her unified WBA and WBC middleweight titles.
Other Shields vs Scott undercard bouts are expected to be announced shortly.
Tickets for the event are on sale via Ticketmaster.