Larry is indeed a legend. I like Ian Darke too, mixes his comments with the action pretty well. Anybody know who is the other scottish (?) guy who usually is with Darke during fights?
Merchant is an unprofessional drunken imbecile. I loved the way Money put his old wrinkled ass in place for the world to see after the Baldomir fight.
I don't know if he truly shows up intoxicated to analyze fights, in fact I doubt it.. I think what's really happening, is that he's just getting a bit too old to be constantly on top of the action while keeping up the commentary with his partners.. Watching every second of a bout that takes place in a loud arena, at the late hours of the night, and contributing meaningful analysis, takes a great deal of long term focus and mental stamina.. Larry is probably still capable of handling perhaps one or two bouts per evening, but an entire card may be too much for him at this stage..
There's NO one like Merchant..... no one. The man is 81 years old, has been drunk on broadcasts for over a decade now, and they still can't get rid of him! One of the funniest moments was during Wlad-Brock in 2007. Lampley had to explicitly tell him during broadcast to pick up his microphone, and after the first sentence, Merchant seemed to fall in some kind of a senile, delayed laughter mode, with Lampley nervously trying to cover it up by bringing up something random, irrelevant. Again, there's NO ONE like Larry Merchant. That's Barry McGuigan (spelling). I also like Ian Darke, but am not a big fan of Barry.
There are at least two useless shithawks in that crew, and some of you want to get rid of the one guy who's good? atsch
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oK2BLeYprfg[/ame] Merchant is a true pro whose experience has shone through on numerous occasions over the years. If his replacement wasnt so **** then maybe it would be time for him to move on, but as it is he is still da man!! TUBAR!