By Lem Satterfield
HBO ringside commentator, Larry Merchant, like many of us, occasionally grows weary of the issues that can prevent big fights from happening. To that end, BoxingScene.com asked Merchant to list, in order, the top six bouts that he would like to see take place.
Floyd Mayweather (41-0, 25 knockouts) vs. Manny Pacquiao (51-3-2, 38 KOs), for Pacquiao's WBO welterweight (147 pounds) title.
"This is obviously the No. 1 fight that I would like to see," said Merchant. "I don't know what's keeping Mayweather and Pacquiao apart any more. This fight should simply be made."
Wladmir Klitschko (54-3, 48 KOs) vs. David Haye (24-1, 22 KOs), for Klitschko's WBO, IBF and IBO, and Haye's WBA heavyweight crowns.
"Wladimir Klitschko-David Haye would definitely be No. 2," said Merchant.
Paul Williams (39-1, 27 KOs) vs. Sergio Martinez (45-2-2, 24 KOs), for Martinez's WBC junior middleweight (154 pounds), and/or WBC middleweight (160 pounds) titles.
"No. 3 would probably be, for me, the rematch between Paul Williams and Sergio Martinez," said Merchant.
Tim Bradley (25-0, 11 KOs) vs. Devon Alexander (20-0, 13 KOs), for Bradley's
"Certainly Bradley and Alexander would be high on that list. But I would say that the Bradley and Alexander fight needs to cook for a while," said Merchant. "I'd like to see a couple of more fights against other opponents for each of the fighters before their fight becomes the kind of primetime fight that it should be."
During an interview in March, HBO's Senior Vice President of Sports Programming, Kery Davis, said that he believes that Alexander-Bradley is huge.
But like Merchant, Davis said that he also does not think that it has to be made immediately.
"I would love see Bradley versus Alexander happen, but the key is to do it at the right time -- when the fight's big enough so that the winner comes out and gets the elevated status he deserves for winning a fight like that," said Davis.
"But the sport's public has to know how big and great of a fight that is, so therefore, we have to build it a little bit," said Davis. "If it doesn't happen this fall, maybe it happens during the early part of next year. That's still good to me."
Yuriorkis Gamboa (18-0, 15 KOs) vs. Juan Manuel Lopez (28-0, 25 KOs), for Gamboa's WBA and Lopez's WBO featherweight (126 pounds) titles.
"I'd like to also see Gamboa and Lopez perhaps fight a couple of more fights before they face each other," said Merchant. "Then, that fight could really be the big fight that it should be."
Andre Berto (26-0, 20 KOs) vs. Miguel Cotto (35-2, 28 KOs), at a catchweight for Cotto's WBA junior middleweight (154 pounds) title.
"Berto is the WBC welterweight (147 pounds) champion, said Merchant, "So unless Cotto would be willing to drop back down to welterweight, then Berto's title would not be at stake."
"Cotto against Berto would be, I think, a terrific fight for the second half of the year. I think that Berto is trying to step up and see if he is a fighter with the makings of an A-level boxer who could eventually challenge either Mayweather and Pacquiao."
"I think that Cotto is a proven fighter who showed against Yuri Foreman that he still has some life and juice left. I think that Cotto has indicated that he would be willing to go back and fight at 147. But if they wanted to fight at a catch weight, I would see no problem with that."
"Maybe the fight's at 150, at which case, Berto's titles wouldn't be on the line. I think that a victory for either one would be significant. It would put Cotto into the highest level of the game and give Berto a chance to get there. A good match up between two guys still in their primes and a fight I'd like to see."
Lem Satterfield is the boxing editor at AOL FanHouse and the news editor at BoxingScene.com. To read more from Lem Satterfield, go to AOL FanHouse by Clicking Here.
