September 18, 2011

An 80-year-old stands his ground impressively.

Watch HBO's Larry Merchant not flinch as Floyd Mayweather Jr. tries to intimidate him.

ADDED: The WSJ has a spiffy description of the controversial end of the fight:
Deep into the fourth round, Ortiz, already in a hole against his more experienced opponent, tried to work on the inside. He drove Mayweather into a corner and sent his head into Mayweather's chin. Referee Joe Cortez jumped into the fray, stopped the action, and signaled for a point deduction on Ortiz. 
They tapped gloves. An embarrassed Ortiz stepped forward to hug Mayweather – a move quite common after a foul in boxing. Mayweather leaned forward, as if to acknowledge the apology, and then plastered Ortiz with a short left hook. Ortiz flew back and glanced toward the referee in protest. As Ortiz looked away, Mayweather drove a straight right to Ortiz's chin and he crumpled to the canvas and was counted out.

Asked about hitting Ortiz as Ortiz went to embrace him, Mayweather commented, "First he does me dirty, and then he wants to be nice, then he wants to do me in again. You have to protect yourself at all times." 
Most of the crowd erupted in boos after the knockout, and a great debate began. Everyone agreed that Mayweather's final punches were legal. Boxers are indeed instructed always to protect themselves....

32 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love the fact that Merchant is smiling and laughing as they part ways.

Carol_Herman said...

Nope Black guy won his fight!

And, the interviewer was looking to goad the fighter ... So then this guy says "if he wasn't 80 years old" ... he'd (fight?) You're shitting me.

Nobody ... even 50 years younger ... would have survived the licking!

Fighter won.

And, it should be a RULE!

If you climb into the ring ... You're there to win.

You heard the BELL?

What? You've got ringing in your ears?

Good for the video, it talks for itself.

Wince said...

Merchant's smiling and dead pan for the camera when Mayweather said HBO should fire him made me think they know each other pretty well, he knew he was not in any danger, and that both know a little controversy for their sport is like scratching each other's back.

Lyle said...

Looks WWF to me.

bagoh20 said...

Nobody respects this win, because the way he ended it failed to prove that he could beat the guy fair and square. He blew it as a man, but now he'll make extra money from a rematch.

Mayweather likely would have won anyway, but he ruined his win, because he has no class, and that was his choice.

Wince said...

Speaking of courageous posturing, Greta Van Susteren's incoherent blog post supposedly calling-out Tucker Carlson for "violence against women" in response to the Daily Caller reporting on tasteless comments Mike Tyson made during a radio interview solidifies my impression of Van Susteren as a attention-starved, yammering idiot.

A. Shmendrik said...

If the NFL/NHL neuter the sport in response to emerging research on concussions and brain damage/stroke/Alzheimer's/you-name-it, how does boxing stay clear? Just askin'.

dreams said...

Fifty years younger and he would kick his ass, well, no one else has been able to do that. Talk is cheap.

Michael said...

Merchant will be alive and rich when Mayweather is broke. And so it goes.

edutcher said...

Larry Merchant wrote for years on the old Philadelphia Daily News, back when it was a real paper.

I don't doubt he learned how to keep his cool.

ndspinelli said...

Great clip! Larry Merchant has worked boxing going back decades. For those not old enough to remember, there used to be a real distinction between boxing and pro wrestling. There's a great flick, Requiem For a Heavyweight, that portrays that. So, Merchant comes from an era where there was some honor in the sport. Oh..don't get me wrong, the sport was always controlled by the mob[watch Raging Bull] and boxers were nasty warriors, but it WASN'T WRESTLING.

The ref states it was a clean hit. He is the authority in the ring. The punches were preceeded by a head butt by the challenger. This is boxing, although I don't like the champ, he is correct, "Protect Yourself At All Times" is the mantra every boxer hears from his manager before EVERY fight. Remember Million Dollar Baby.

Finally, Carol "Ditzy" Herman, Merchant was doing his job. With all the coddling, circle jerk interviews conducted by well coiffed idiots, you probably forgot what a real journalist looks like. It's obvious the first signs of dementia[short term memory loss] have set in, evidenced by your writing. I'm sad to inform you long term memory is now fading.

Toad Trend said...

Many disputes in life revolve around style - this is no exception.

Merchant is probably right, in saying that Mayweather was about to win this fight via decision, despite the head butt and then the punch combo.

Ortiz should know better. He butted Mayweather. I laughed when I heard Ortiz whine about the finish. It was still live boxing when it happened.

Defend yourself at all times.

Merchant's finish at the end of the interview was a classic for sure, made for great theater. No surprise that a comparison was made to wrestling.

Heck, much of 'reality TV' is wrestling without the ropes.

Anonymous said...

Maywussy still won't fight Pac-man or Khan.

Not too hard to stay undefeated if you don't fight the best opponents.

Mick said...

Totally fixed fight. There is no honor in the sweet science anymore.

Jose_K said...

Once Sugar Ray Leonard retired , boxing die. Since then it is free wrestling.
Only look at the kising between Mayweather and the other guy. I did not see the match. The last bout i saw was one with that supposed boxer called the golden boy by 1993
how does boxing stay clear? Just askin' because there are almost no american in the bussiness.

sakredkow said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Fred4Pres said...

I did not see the fight, but the shots in the clip did not seem unfair to me. So I can see why Mayweather was starting to get pissed off. As for Merchant, he held his own too. Truth is guys talk like this more often than you might imagine and such altercations do not escallate beyond words.

Fred4Pres said...

Maybe Carol Herman should take over Larry Merchant's job.

Dad Bones said...

Reminded me of Cassius Clay and Howard Cosell.

Fred4Pres said...

Meanwhile, old washed and convicted sex offender Mike Tyson has a few choice observations for Sarah Palin.

Fred4Pres said...

Regarding old washed out boxers getting graphic on Sarah Palin, Gretta is not so happy with Tucker Carlson.

dreams said...

Does anyone see the irony in an 80 year sports reporter saying that if he was 30 years younger, he would kick an undefeated boxer's ass?

madAsHell said...

Scripted!!

The fight, and the interview!!

Cody Jarrett said...

What was impressive about it? He knew he wasn't in any danger. That's why so many people--but especially old people--run their mouths these days.

God. I'm agreeing with C. Herman. It's the end of times.

The end. Of. Times.

Fred4Pres said...

Merchant is a sports writer and he should not have reacted so as to be part of the story. But beyond that I find the actual event only mildly interesting. It is more interesting to see reactions to it.

DADvocate said...

Mayweather definitely took a cheap shot after they touched gloves. Dirty fighter. Mayweather should apologize to God for crediting Him for the victory.

JBC said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
JBC said...

Merchant admitted later, on air to Jim Lampley, that he probably couldn't have kicked Mayweather's ass 50 years ago, but that he "sure would have tried." Anyone who saw Merchant defend his booth during the riot following Bowe-Golota would not disagree. Big George wasn't half so intimidating. Merchant was also a standout college football player, so he has some cred as an athlete during his salad days.

With respect to the fight:
1) Victor Ortiz is a very immature young man. Maybe that's to be expected given his background. He legitimately lost, under the rules.
2) Mayweather has even less class and honor than I believed prior to the fight, and I credited him with very little then.
3) Mayweather totally benefits from this fiasco as his "fans" are comprised almost entirely of people who tune in hoping he'll lose; now they have even more incentive. And his record stays unblemished.
4) The sport of boxing in general and those who paid $60 to see the PPV were the real losers Saturday night.
5) Anyone, meaning Carol Herman, who thinks that Merchant was "goading" Mayweather is an idiot. This is a major controversy, given the high-profile of this fight and the bizarre ending. For Merchant not to have inquired about it would have been unthinkable. Also, there is a pertinent "RULE!". It's called defend yourself at all times. I think Joe Cotez' incompetence helped bring about this catastrophe, but there's no doubt Mayweather won, under the existing rules.

PaulV said...

Merchant would have cleaned Mayweather's clock when Mayweather was 10 years old

Robert said...

Merchant knows as much about boxing as Cosell did.

Bender said...

This is not all that hard. When the ref steps in, it is time-out, no one can hit the other.

When they touch gloves, the fight is back on.

Craig said...

Saw a variation of this on 1st Avenue in Seattle not quite forty years ago when the Pike Place market was all sailor bars and porn emporiums haunted by drunken Indians. After a dustup the ploy was to offer to shake hands. Once you've got a grip on the other guy's right hand there's no way he can block a left hook, but you've got to land yours before he lands his. You can't really do it wearing boxing gloves, but that didn't stop Mayweather.