Does Anyone Miss Larry Merchant?

I miss the old guy

 

He needed to retire, when he speaks there is no energy and enthusiasm in his voice. When Jim Lampley speaks, his voice is full of energy and youth you wouldn't think this guy is as old as he is if you haven't seen him. His post-fight interviews were good I think.

 

i liked larry but it was time to go he had got too negative and slow lately still some of his one liners were great
http://www.boxingforum24.com/showthread.php?t=23526

"Jameel McCline acts as if attacking Wladimir Klitschko is akin to attacking Russia during winter"--Larry Merchant
judah says he is a brand name, cotto is branding his name
''i love you derreck jefferson''

''where are you joe louis a lonely nation turns to you''

''he fights as naturally as a fish swims'' and sometimes the fish is a shark''
Hopkins/Taylor

"One time, Hopkins was a lion who chased down his prey. Now, he's a lion who waits in the weeds for his prey to come to him"

 

\

I've never blindly been a camp follower, IB, 'n never been accused of it. But ya gotta give props to an over 80-year-old man who wouldn't back down from the best fighter in the world (45 years younger) shouting in his face.

Whether he could do it or not -- on his best day -- is immaterial, it took huge stones.

 

Thanks for the replies, John. :yep

 

I've been sick of Larry Merchant since the mid 90s. I don't miss him at all, he was painful to listen to. He is old and he is constantly full of ****... and thats before you get to the part where he talks so god damn slowly. Max Kellerman has his faults but he is a sharp student of the game and makes me feel like he observes well and actually knows his ****.

All that being said, Al Bernstein is the ****ing KING of boxing color commentary. I've been hearing Al Bernstein my entire life and I can honestly say that I've never heard him say anything I thought was over the top or that made me scratch my head. Showtime scored when they got him for their boxing broadcasts.

 

:good

I don't get these muppets saying that analysis doesn't mean anything if you already KSAB and that a talking head's aim should instead be to entertain.

First of all, that's bull****. I'd rather listen to people who know the sport they're calling than people who don't, simple as that. Anyone should. To say otherwise is ******ed. It isn't about needing "someone to say what you should think" - so don't even bring up this silly argument that you don't need to hear technically savvy pugilistic academics on the mic because you 'aren't a casual fan'. So ****ing what? If anything, it's the casuals who are going to be quicker to eschew boring analysis in favor of snark, quips, and so-called entertainment. Furthermore, Merchant wasn't even particularly entertaining and his snarks and quips were stale decades ago. Yes, he spoke his mind - but there wasn't a whole lot going on up there. Yes, he shook things up and made people uncomfortable for the sake of doing so - but so does Jim Gray and we all agree he's a ****. (he just isn't a cuddly old curmudgeon that reminds people of a drunken grandpa like Merchant, and so he doesn't get the free pass)


I'd rather listen along with the calm businesslike delivery of someone like Bernstein and either agree/disagree with his opinions and breakdowns of what's happening in the ring (and it does vary back and forth, all the time...by no means are we always in sync) than to a Jim Lampley going over the top with "BANG BANG BANG" or a Gus Johnson rattling off catch phrases like "NUTS AND GUTS".

I don't need to be amused or entertained by someone's voice to appreciate watching boxing. The artistry, heart, and savagery of the sport itself is enough to entertain me.

I'm not a ****ing child. I want intelligent adult commentary.

 

Larry may be a lot of things, IB, but "cuddly" he aint.

 

Oh god, Jim Grey needs a whole thread to himself for the hatred I have stored up for him. He is a snarky smartass who just sounds like a dick every time he takes the mic.

Jim Lampley, to me, gets a bit of a pass for some of his cringe-worthy moments over the years. He is the classic HBO Boxing voice to me. He's made so many legendary calls that I end up forgiving his aweful "BANG, BANG, BANG..... BANG BANGBANG BANG BANG...BANG," and "Thats how you spell Allah" or whatever it was.. He was trying something creative and it failed. He is usually pretty damn good. But even Lampley has a good technical knowledge of the sport. Enough knowledge to ask intelligent questions for his expert commentators to analyze in an interesting way during the fights. It's not all perfect, but usually pretty good.

 

I agree to an extent, as my diehard boxing fandom happened to solidify during his "prime" as the HBO play-by-play man (late 90's into the turn of the decade/century/millennium - when the super bantam & featherweight stars began to align) and do have some feelings of nostalgic protectiveness toward him because of that period, in which he was indeed a reliable fixture who improved the atmosphere without making a spectacle of himself - but he's really lost me these last several years.

The Pacquiao vs. Bradley special he did was beyond cringe-worthy. His "smoking gun" 6th round (which actually upon review turned out to be a damn fine Bradley round) - ugh. :-(

 

I must have missed that... was it a "Fight Game" episode?

 

Yeah, early on, maybe episode 2? It was a week or so after Bradley vs. Pacquiao aired. It was actually the 7th round, not the 6th. Still - he introduces it as the "smoking gun" to prove the supposedly egregious ineptitude of the judges, since all three gave it to Bradley. Then all three minutes are shown w/o commentary to prove his point and dismiss arguments that he and the rest of the HBO team were influencing fans & each other with their spoken bias - and lo and behold, it's a close and highly competitive round you could easily give to Bradley, even watching in total silence. Then it cuts back to Lampley with this smug expression as though Pacquiao had dominated nonstop for 180 seconds.

 

Oh dude I do remember that and I remember seeing it and thinking the same exact thing. It's the same episode when he had Duane Ford on to defend himself. Ford sounded stupid too with the whole "boxing lesson" comment...

All that being said. Pacquiao won the damn fight :fire

 

:nod

Yes, barely, by the skin of his teeth. (115-113 on my card - shutout cards are even more ridiculous than pro-Bradley cards, IMO) - and he looked **** in the process.

 

I do