you gotta admit, Larry Merchant left boxing in shame...

[Eff Pandas]

If this was true, why was Merchant doing little YouTube interviews with fighters, and then doing commentating with Top Rank and Sky Sports? You think Merchant would leave HBO to go work for Top Rank and Sky Sports, and do little YouTube videos like Sechback?

Merchant was FIRED. Parting in good terms means they just fired him quietly. Problem was Merchant factored into the decision that Mayweather made going to Showtime. It wasn't that Merchant made the difference, just that even the slightest or minor reason like that could have tipped the cup. That was too much for HBO.

Because Mayweather went to Showtime, HBO lost out on hosting Mayweather vs. Pacquiao exclusively. HUGE amount of money. Merchant happened to be one of the various reasons, so they let him go. Also, when Floyd made his debut All-Access for Showtime, this was one of the very first things he talked about.

More or less what probably went down. No one just quits HBO to do international feeds of fights cmon guys lol. When people have been in a working relationship as long as HBO & Merchant have you just don't fire a guy unless he goes into that "blacks are better at sports cuz of slavery" Jimmy the Greek kinda tirade on air. You talk to them & say if you don't resign we will be forced to fire you or we don't plan on renewing your contract so you know whats up. Thats the respectable, less dramatic way to handle that. It looks bad for everyone to fire a guy. An amicable split is always the way to go in these situations if possible.

[New England]

dana white is a real dude. never once have i finished wtaching a dana white interveiw, or a discussion that he's in on a radioshow or what have you, and come away with anything but more respect for the guy.

i'e have loved to see a UFC kind of promotion make its way into boxing. yes, you can;t have the entire talent pool in competition with an organization like that, but at least you have some kind of accountability when something goes wrong other than being able to say "well that's just boxing."


you think dana white goes 6 years before he makes floyd and manny ?

[Weltschmerz]

what a POS disrespecting a highly regarded elder of the sport like Merchant.

[JTfloyd]

More or less what probably went down. No one just quits HBO to do international feeds of fights cmon guys lol. When people have been in a working relationship as long as HBO & Merchant have you just don't fire a guy unless he goes into that "blacks are better at sports cuz of slavery" Jimmy the Greek kinda tirade on air. You talk to them & say if you don't resign we will be forced to fire you or we don't plan on renewing your contract so you know whats up. Thats the respectable, less dramatic way to handle that. It looks bad for everyone to fire a guy. An amicable split is always the way to go in these situations if possible.

Merchant's bias for action fighters is just as strong as his hatred of defensive fighters. If you claim to be a fan of the sport of boxing, and cant respect what guys like Roy, Hopkins, Mayweather and Byrd were able to accomplish, then you deserve whatever criticism you get. Also, that Jimmy the Greek thing was funny as hell. Not only because it was pretty much true, but because he said every line without missing a beat.

[TJ highway]

1
Any way you look at it, it was a ***** ass cheap shot. Froid fans already decided it was ok because they are ***** ass to!



The crowd did not seem to happy! Larry Merchant never told Froid it was a cheap shot! His exact words were "Do you hear the crowd? At least a good part of it is in an uproar because they felt that you took shoots at him (Ortiz) unfairly after you went together in the ring. Made up for the head butt and then you poked him!"

Froid knew he was punk ass for what he did! Going off on Larry Merchant is what kids do when they are not taught respect!

Froid fan blame Merchant all you want! He could have easily beat Ortiz without cashing in his Man Card!

[Lester Tutor]

Steve Kim, the ghetto version of Merchant.

[Zaroku]

Not even sure what the **** they were fighting about. Merchant just asked why Floyd was cherry picking bums, and suckered punched a vulnerable fighter. A spade, is a spade. He's also on record saying Floyd would beat Manny prior to their fight, too. So.....??

Floyd maybe thought/imagined some crap Larry didn't say???

Floyd beat manny for sure, but I believe Floyd lost to Castillo. First fight.

[The Comic DON]

Larry Merchant kept it real and didn't bend over backward for any fighter. HBO should hire Steve Kim and let him take the over for MaX Kellerman. Kim asks the right questions and digs for the answers fans want to hear.

Of course he would have to be more professional and not post tweets like the one about Verdejo, the culture is too PC for jokes like that today.