All Due Respect, but Larry Merchant must Go

There were a few things that Merchant did at the telecast that irked many. 1) Lack of Respect for Berto: He basically called Freddy Hernandez a bumb since he got knocked out in 1 round, implying if you win in that fashion it says "more about the opponent you facing than you", well Michael Spinks was a hall of famer that got knocked out in 1 round by Tyson and same thing with Floyd Patterson who got knocked out by Sonny Liston in 1 round, he is also not a bumb but hall of famer. Merchant' arrogance at times won't give respect or credit where it is due. 2)Giving Thumbs Down to Litzau: If you notice Litzau came over to Merchant to ask about his opinion, but Merchant got pissed and gave him the thumbs down. I can see that Merchant is in the middle of broadcasting and didn't like being interrupted, but still to give any fighter thumbs down after a strong perfomance shows a lack of class. 3) The Whole Marquez Urine Talk: WTF??? He kept talking about the Marquez drinking his own urine thing again, trying to say it actually helps him. Lampley even got annnoyed, and he said it looks you have done alot of research on it. I think Merchant is losing his mind? It was rather off topic, and tasteless. 4)Katsidis Interview: Instead of saying how would your deceased brother feel? He should have said i know it is dissapointing loss but your brother would feel proud of you" instead he makes him cry by bringing up his brother at the end of the conversation. I think Merchant served well for his 30 odd years with HBO, i have fights of him working fights since the 1970's, but he is past his time.

Comments (20)

mariobrotherpr

& replace him with who? until you find someone better, the man stays. Malignaggi.

15y ago

Sin_City

& replace him with who? until you find someone better, the man stays.

15y ago

dde91

But the fact still remains Marquez drinks his own piss.

15y ago

Black_Rose

larry merchant makes his bread and butter off witty (by the standards of 35 years ago) metaphors thats about the only thing he's good at. otherwise he is an emotionless prick who doesn't understand boxing most of the time. i can't tell you how often i've heard him comment on his own scorecard and thought "what a waste of a ringside seat" fire that old pervert

15y ago

LoStranger

i've always hated yes not dislike hated Larry Merchant please just die or go which ever comes first I dnt even watch HBO Commentary anymore it just sucks Merchant is a troll end of

15y ago

JONESJR22

Agree with all points except the Berto point.

15y ago

The_Gambler1981

Freddy Hernandez is kind of a bum. It's like Pavlik beating up Rubio or some shiit like that, doesn't prove a damn thing. Except Pavlik let Rubio hang around while Berto got rid of his bad opponent like yesterdays garbage. Which is what he was suppose to do, if you are in with trash do them like trash. Which not everybody does like Pavlik against Rubio. Or in the previous fight Litzau against Cabellero, which Cabellero obviously did not take as seriously as Litzau did. He doesn't have to lavish praise on Berto for beating up trash but no reason to dog him for doing his job~ and that punch would have hurt a lot of fighters not just scrubby ones.

15y ago

HaglerSteelChin

I guess you would rather him just say what HBO would want him to say which is Berto is the future, it was an amazing win over a very proven fighter with great ko power, and he would be a real test for Pac. Or Merchant can do this this instead: 1)Call up his boss Greenburg and say can you please refuse to air Berto fights when he is in the ring with lousy opponents, as you did when you refuse to show the last Klitschko fights. 2) Or very simply REFUSE to be part of the broadcast, if he can simply be a professional while doing his job and is so against the fight, he can get make an amicable arrangement to get out or modify his contract. Roy Jones could have been there with Steward or Lampley instead.

15y ago

old_cat

Larry is great He asks the questions that nobody else would have the balls to ask that right! People complain about the most foolish crap. Larry is an old school word smith. by the way, his crankiness is endearing.

15y ago

HaglerSteelChin

For One... Hernandez is a BUM. And Secondly, Merchant wasn't giving Litzau the thumbs down he was giving Lou DiBella the thumbs down because DiBella was screaming that Cab got robbed in the scorecards. Merchant was screaming back at him then got tired of yelling and did the thing with his 2 thumbs down. Litzau was talking to Steward and Lampley who was sitting next to Merchant. Stop making up your own facts. He was giving thumbs down to the figther's face, the man has been behind Cameras for nearly 40 years, and should have better judgment than that. Dibella in after thought said that Cab lack of conditioning and losing to an inferior opponent cost him the fight, after i told him it was a draw.

15y ago

markfrombrookly

15y ago

Kev

Larry is great He asks the questions that nobody else would have the balls to ask Yeah like "How would your brother feel about this loss" He was trying to ask Katsidis like, look you couldn't even win for your dead brother. That's how Merchant came off to me. That's an asshole move right there.

15y ago

zero188

F*ck all those HBO D*ckriders

15y ago

HaglerSteelChin

nitpicking are we? Merchant has been around since the Civil War, i think he knows what he's doing out there better than you do pal, sorry There's no such thing as a perfect commentator, interviewer Now, you do have a gripe if you think he needs to be put out to pasture. Honestly I think Kellerman should be slowly transitioning into Merchant's role, Larry looks weak and old now. Nitpicking? Well Merchant is too old to even remember things than he is compromising the quality of the broadcast and seems slow to remember things. As a consumer we are entitled to make opinions, especially when i am paying out of my earned salary to pay for HBO and Showtime as premium channels. Yet often i find that i enjoy watching Bob Sheridan streams than hearing the HBO telecast. I can honestly say i have had disagreements with Al Bernstien but even at his age, the guy can run circles around Merchant with his ability to carry a fight. Dr. Ferdie Pacheco has also been around since the civil war do we need to see him back? Gil Clancy at his dinosaur age might actually still be better than merchant, do you want him back? Merchant's good friendship with Ross Greenburg has kept him in his HBO job, even when people have criticized Greenburg, Merchant has ducked saying anything against his boss, but shows no such reservations when being critical of others in the industry.

15y ago

DarchinyFAN

Wasn't Lampley the one who kept bringing up the urine issue? I know the first time Merchant humored him, but Lampley tried to bring it up again later, and it was Merchant that got annoyed by the mention. Either way the whole issue was unnecessary during the fight, as there was more than enough action taking place that they didn't have to resort to talking about it. I agree with the theme of the thread, Merchant needs to go (or be limited to snippets like Lederman is).

15y ago

Ether

All true except the Berto one.

15y ago

Bastian_Loc

I wish HBO would get rid of Larry, Max, and Jim bring in Roy Jones Jr full time Roy Jones and Foreman doing color. I'm down with that.

15y ago

El_Prieto

Merchant has always been extremely disrespectful to fighters as well as his co-broadcasters. He's called a ton of fights but that by no means makes him the expert he believes himself to be. You can tell he's never laced them up or he would have some more respect for these guys. In my opinion HBO's commentary is not very good these days, mostly in part to Larry. I won't miss him once he's gone.

15y ago

Canelo_Phresh

watching the replay with merchant interviewing kats right now. f@ck that guy.

15y ago

Frogs

Larry is great He asks the questions that nobody else would have the balls to ask 'you think your brother would have been proud of your performance tonight?' seriously, do you think that was a proper question to ask katz after the fight?

15y ago