Comments Thread For: Merchant Talks Donaire, Broner, Matthysse, PEDs, More

[BIGPOPPAPUMP]

It had been a little while since I had touched base with longtime HBO analyst Larry Merchant to discuss the sweet science in depth.

No longer announcing fights for HBO and having recently celebrated his 82nd birthday, Merchant has been enjoying his newfound free time very well it seems. As one would guess, Merchant still has great enthusiasm for the boxing game and is always open to discussing anything related to the sport.

Calling up Merchant recently, we discussed some recent storylines, including WBC lightweight champion Adrien Broner’s bout with Gavin Rees tonight in Atlantic City, his thoughts on junior welterweight brute Lucas Matthysse, the issues with performance-enhancing drugs in the sport of boxing, and why he would have preferred to see junior featherweight titlist Nonito Donaire face Abner Mares instead of Guillermo Rigondeaux. [Click Here To Read More]

[Cinci Champ]

why does everyone think rigo donaire is going to be a boring fight. i just dont get it that fight is going to be a highly skilled chess match every landed punch will be a big deal i love fights like that as long as the fighters are highly skilled and not just scarred. i just dont get it

[jri9d0]

Damn I miss Larry Merchant. He's the only dude who calls **** how he sees it without all of the "PC."

[Dr Rumack]

why does everyone think rigo donaire is going to be a boring fight. i just dont get it that fight is going to be a highly skilled chess match every landed punch will be a big deal i love fights like that as long as the fighters are highly skilled and not just scarred. i just dont get it

Boring = Not a fight casual fans are likely to enjoy.

[New England]

Damn I miss Larry Merchant. He's the only dude who calls **** how he sees it without all of the "PC."

that man is probably 25 years past being too old for anybody to be able to tell him what to do.

now that he is retired he's really got free reign


it's hard to believe that the man is in his mid 80's...

[ShoulderRoll]

I agree with Merchant in that I too wanted to see Donaire vs. Mares.

[New England]

why does everyone think rigo donaire is going to be a boring fight. i just dont get it that fight is going to be a highly skilled chess match every landed punch will be a big deal i love fights like that as long as the fighters are highly skilled and not just scarred. i just dont get it

you can appreciate that there are skilled fighters in the ring while still witnessing a boring fight. you can appreciate the stakes, competitiveness, and their class, while still understanding that the fight is lacking action. that's what merchant is talking about in this case. donaire doesn't throw a ton of punches, especially for so small a guy. rigondeaux style and level of counterpunching difuses a power puncher.

i've been saying for months that these two will just stare at each other all night. tommy hearns and ray leonard are much more skilled fighters than these two. they threw the hell down.

alexander and bradley is a good recent example of that. basically nothing happened.


some boxing matches are boring, certainly more than others. that doesn't mean you turn the damn tv off, but you've got to recognize a fight for what it is. rigondeaux has been in some very boring fights. when donaire isn't flying around the ring throwing left hooks he gets booed in virtually every fight at some point.

it's a fact recognized by merchant in this case, and by virtually any other writer or expert on the sport


it's great to see two of the division's best fighting. arum saw the demand for the fight among hardcore fans, and it looks like he's making it.

the fight will still likely be boring. i can see their level of skills, donaire's power, and rigo's ability and need to take it away, leading to a dull fight, where very few punches are thrown and land cleanly.

two counterpunchers. two guys that fight in spots and don't institute a jab. they're going to stare at eachother.

[New England]

I agree with Merchant in that I too wanted to see Donaire vs. Mares.

now that is a good looking fight on paper.

mares is a brawler. that's how he's made up. they tried to turn him into something he's not.

he would make for a great fight against donaire.
i was picking mares on points, i've switched to donaire via knockout. i went through some of mares recent fights, and i don't think he's got the legs or the defense to stay away from donaire. the legs are what i'd worry about the most.

[Dr Rumack]

Damn I miss Larry Merchant. He's the only dude who calls **** how he sees it without all of the "PC."

It's 'PR'. not 'PC'.

People tend to get the two mixed up. Calling Broner a nigger would be disregarding PC. Saying Donaire-Rigo might be boring is disregarding PR.

So PC is something that we want, PR bullshit isn't. And there's a pretty fucking big difference between the two.

[flint]

i can't believe that i agree with everything larry merchant said.