Larry Merchant was right

I think that Ortiz (and probably his corner) realised that he was in way over his head & though that maybe that perception was mitigated by the nature of the ending.
Ortiz was going down like PBF said, & totally bitched out. He flagrantly fouled, tried to suck up to PBF in a way that would make SSM embarrased, & was happy to fall when/ how he did in the hope as I said that the loss would somehow be mitigated.

Having said that PBF acted exactly as I would expect PBF to act and showed why he will NEVER get the respect & admiration he obviously craves.
It was classless, unnecessary, & true boxing fans should not approve of it.

However, I'm also surprised by the lack of frustration that so called boxing fans have with PBF in general, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised when I read some of the comments here.

 

Well you sound just as agenda driven against Merchant as you claim he is against Floyd. I'm with Outlander in that I think Merchant had a right to ask the question just like he asked Ortiz about his foul. Ortiz handled the question with class, Floyd didn't, end of story.

I mean guys cry 24/7 about Lampley, Stewert, and Kellerman being company men, yet Merchant is usually the guy who I always thought told it like it is. He's not going to get it perfect every time out.

Plus Floyd is supposed to be the professional boxer here but this is the second time he gets rattled during an interview, curses out the interviewer and runs off. And you know what's really rattling Floyd? It's not the interviewers questions, it's the fact that he has to hear for the thousandth time something negative about himself and that not everyone outside his inner circle is ready to kiss his ass. That is what is pissing him off in those interviews.

 

I like Larry because he doesn't tow the company line and doesn't kiss fighters asses.I think he was doing his job and answered the questions people actually GAVE A SHIT ABOUT!!

Floyds living in a bubble where nobody is keeping it hunnid with him(inner circle and his fans),so when people outside his circle keep it hunnid with him he feels insulted and starts :Wah:

 

Come on breh,he gave Larry too much ammo that night

But for real,he could of taken Ortiz out in a more sportsmanlike manner,because the concensus feel what he did was a sucker punch.

 

Seriously. Some of you guys are being ridiculous - no matter what he has done in the past here, MERCHANT DID NOTHING WRONG! He is right with everything he has said here at the fight, and in that interview someone posted post-fight from TMZ.

You have to ask Floyd that question and it's not agenda-driven, i'm sorry that was a controversial ending DESPITE THE FACT THAT IT WAS LEGAL.

You can't just say, yeah Mayweather KO4 Ortiz and that's the summary of the fight. Floyd sucker punched him, there is no fucking denying that regardless of it being legal, that action needed to be addressed in the interview.

And it shouldn't matter but since you guys are so pathetic and label everyone as either a Floyd hater or a Pac hater, I am a huge Floyd fan... not so much of his domestic abuse charges/allegations but the guy's persona cracks me up and i love watching him fight will still root for him over pacquiao but i thought it was way outta line what he did saturday night.

 

I would be 100% OK with Merchant's interview if he had done one other thing:

When interviewing Ortiz and hearing Ortiz call the headbutt accidental, why did Merchant not hold his feet to the flame like he did with Floyd?

Where was the condescending "Come on Victor, the replay clearly shows you launched your head into Floyd. In my 852 year of broadcasting, it was the most blatantly intentional headbutt I've ever seen."

If Merchant did NOT have any agenda with Floyd, then why not apply the same methodology to interviewing Ortiz. That's what makes his tact with Mayweather seem so biased in my opinion.

 

That's a fair comment. My only response is that from the fans point of view, we all know it was intentional (it's the most blatant thing I may have seen in my whole life watching boxing as well) and we all can probably guess why he did it.

It is more unclear to me and i would think for fans in general why Floyd, the best fighter in the world in his own estimation, would need to sucker punch the guy. To be honest the intentional headbutt wasn't a point of interest to me at all after the sucker punches that followed.

I also think that Merchant might have still been thinking about his yelling match with Floyd and his mind./interests/thoughts were elsewhere when he interviewed Ortiz. Certainly don't think he was rearing to get in Ortiz' face as well right after that altercation with Floyd.

 

Agreed, pretty weird post from old Jakey boy.

It was the highlight of the fight, of course he's going to talk about it. The fuck else is he supposed to talk about, Floyd's trunks?

It was a pretty out of the ordinary end to a fight, especially a fight involving one of the superstars, of course it's a worthy topic of discussion.

It's also the main topic of discussion since the fight amongst fans, I guess we've all been influenced by HBO's big agenda? ::

 

Are you suggesting that Jake may be shot?

 

Holmes came out of retirement to get a nice payday against Tyson... he wasn't in a position to "Duck" as he was no longer A) an active fighter or B) a champion

As for "ducked no one", This is simply not true

Dokes, Coetzee, Page and Thomas were all CHAMPIONS, and Larry never fought any of them

You seem to be forgetting the likes of David Bey, Ossie Ocassio, Alfredo Evangelista, Renaldo Snipes, Scott LeDoux, Lorenzo Zanon, Leon Spinks, Lucien Rodriguez and Scott Frank... that is a HIDEOUS list of title challengers... every single one fo them would ahve lost to Dokes, Page, Coetzee and Thomas... all of them

You are chastising Mayweather for being wasteful and failing to fight big fights while saying his resume fails to compete with THAT CRAP^ ... Gimme a fucking break... Mayweather's resume is simply SUPERIOR to Larry's and again, I was a fan and I dislike Floyd immensely

But you are either blind or you know nothing about anything that occured in Boxing between 1978 and 1985

 

he'll take him back 10 years and kick his ass

 

Pretty much.

 

Again, I'm well aware that the main topic was the ending. Of course it's going to be asked. My beef - once again - is that it's the only question he asked with either fighter. Worse, he had his mind made up about how it all played out well before he stepped into the ring.

THAT is being unprofessional.

And you have to be friggin' kidding me in stating that Ortiz "handled the question with class." Larry couldn't have grooved 'em in any softer, and Ortiz offered a blatant lie as a response. As Trplsec noted, Larry didn't have shit to say in return.

Once again, Larry's mind was already made up. That's what I take issue with.

I already stated earlier that Floyd should've just walked out rather than doing what he did, and that Ellerbe had no business instigating the way he did. I'm not defending him at all, other than saying I don't blame him for getting annoyed. But he was dead wrong for getting in Larry's face like that.

My point is that they are both assholes. Neither one should be viewed as a hero on Saturday, yet Larry is enjoying that status as we speak, and already beginning his one-man press tour, one where not a soul is calling him on his actions.

 

"if I lived 5,000 miles closer to you, I'd kick your ass!"

 

Are you going to be in England any time in the next month or so? Fightbeat has a bout that requires an undercard. ::

 

Yep. Early on his in his title reign Holmes didn't have much to pick from by way of challengers as the division was in a transition period due the top 70's fighters being retired or hanging on and becoming stepping stones and the new crop of 80's contenders still making their bones. But as the 80's unfolded, it did happen as you mentioned...Holmes had no interest in fighting opponents like Coetzee, Thomas, Page and Dokes but did manage to find the time to take on lesser opposition like Frazier, Frank, Rodriguez. And even when he was presented with a stern test, it was often a fighter who was underestimated and/or inexperienced and ended up being more difficult than most, including Holmes, expected...such as Weaver, Witherspoon or Williams.

 

::

I'd have to say my only criticism is that Larry didn't grill Ortiz more.

Whatever answer he came up with to deny it was the most intentional headbutt ever, I didn't even understand, I don't think he even understood what he was lying about either. MOre patheticness from Ortiz.

Incidentally I can't stand that Ellerbe guy. At least Floyd Sr and Roger can be highly entertaining, that Ellerbe just seems like a smarmy prick.

Great job Ellerchode, make sure you have your boy's back in trying to intimate an 80 year old man ::

Man I'd love to sink a thudding left hook into Ellerchode's jaw.

 

I'm not an undercard fighter. Will have to be like last weekend, split-site PPV.

 

can I persuade you to travel to Waterbury for 40%?:fightme:

 

I wouldn't go near there until the city of Waterbury gets together and updates this kitchen on 5 Sunfield cir.



Look at outdated that is! Get your shit together Waterbury!

 

That's a lovely kitchen by Waterbury standards:laughing:

 

Mex could meet you halfway, in Colorado Springs

 

How did he compliment Floyd? His fifth and final question was an extension of the previous question:

"You were in control, you were in charge. You were aggressive in a situation where..."

That's when Floyd cut him off.

It was more of the same, though in all fairness I don't even think Floyd heard the question. As noted elsewhere, he already looked at Schaefer, who nodded at whatever was said, and then proceeded to end the interview w/ Larry the way he did (and again, Floyd was dead wrong for getting in Larry's face)."

Every question Larry asked was surrounding the fight-ending sequence.

Furthermore, how exactly was Floyd in control? The flurry before the headbutt was Ortiz' best moment of the fight. Floyd got hit and then blatantly fouled. If anything, Ortiz was in control at that moment, before mentally cashing out.

 

he was in control for most of the fight. But not at that moment, as Merchant made it seem.

How about the compliments being paid?

 

Man, it tickles me how Ortiz throwing a barrage of punches somehow automatically equates with Floyd getting hit.

I've watched the replay of that last sequence against the ropes a dozen times. The only thing that lands CLEANLY is the headbutt.

To me nothing demonstrated the level of control Floyd was enjoying more than that last sequence against the ropes. And it is echoed by Ortiz, who, at the end of a barrage that mostly misses, headbutts out of pure frustration.

 

Actually Floyd did that by knocking him out in the way he did. I don't think anyone gives Ortiz a pass for the headbutt or the hugging and kissing fuckery. It was stupid and excessive on all counts. The legal yet unsportsmanlike conduct that Floyd showed took it to that next level.

Personally, I think Merchant and the whole crew on HBO suck. They sell a product instead of just reporting the facts or providing commentary. I'd get rid of the lot of them. With that being said, Floyd does not ingratiate himself with others, he's used to having his ass kissed by yes men and if you don't do that, you are the enemy. It's been proven time and time again that Floyd does not play well with others.