Former heavyweight world champion Ray Mercer will be the special VIP guest for the boxing event headlined by the 12-round battle between Alberto "Explosivo" Machado (21-0, 17 KOs) and Andrew "El Chango" Cancio (19-4-2, 14 KOs) for the WBA Super Featherweight World Title. The event will take place on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019 at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, Calif. and will be streamed live on DAZN. (Photos by Tom Hogan/Hoganphotos).

Mercer is a native of Jacksonville, Florida who earned a gold medal at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea. The following year Mercer began his professional career by fighting an impressive 12 times. Eventually, Mercer earned a world title opportunity and defeated Francesco Damiani for the WBO Heavyweight World Title.

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Mercer defended his title once against Tommy "The Duke" Morrison but lost the title in a tough fight against Larry "The Easton Assasin" Holmes. Mercer continued participating in fights against the likes of Lennox "The Lion" Lewis, Evander "The Real Deal" Holyfield, Wladimir "Dr. Steelhammer" Klitschko and Shannon "The Cannon" Briggs in a professional career that lasted 20 years.

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Mercer will be in attendance for this event to meet fans, sign autographs and take pictures inside the Fantasy Springs Special Events Center. The meet-and-greet is open to the public with the purchase of a ticket to the event.

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In the night's co-feature, Rey Vargas (32-0, 22 KOs) will put his WBC Super Bantamweight World Championship on the line against Franklin Manzanilla (18-4, 17 KOs) in a 12-round battle.

Joseph "JoJo" Diaz Jr. (27-1, 14 KOs) of South El Monte, Calif. will return in a 10-round super featherweight battle against Charles Huerta (20-5, 12 KOs) of Paramount, Calif.

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