Larry Merchant: "Mayweather Is a Prima Donna" (Video)

by Scott Christ on Sep 18, 2011 6:47 PM EDT in Boxing Interviews & Quotes

This is a bizarre clash of, I don't know, eras, or something. This is a strange video to watch. Here we have 80-year-old Larry Merchant of HBO Sports being stopped and questioned by TMZ. Larry Merchant on TMZ. This is what happens when Floyd Mayweather Jr comes around.

I already thought it was weird enough that Merchant was trending long into the night on Twitter, but now this.

Merchant: "(Last night) was kind of exhilarating, in its own way. ... (Floyd) hit him with a legal sucker punch. ... It worked. He was in charge of the fight. But a lot of fans saw it and didn't like what they saw. ... It was a very explosive, volatile feeling in the audience, and I think that might have influenced how (Floyd) felt after the fight. ... He's a prima donna, he's an outstanding fighter, he needs to be in control of everything. He is a modern reality show in progress."

Larry Merchant on TMZ. It's 2011, y'all.

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holy shit how awesome is this

by Rob Young on Sep 18, 2011 7:23 PM EDT reply actions

Seriously, can't we put muzzles on the elderly?

by Clove_art on Sep 18, 2011 7:29 PM EDT reply actions

Say what?

"Luck is when preparation meets opportunity." - Mike Quarry

by Boss Man on Sep 18, 2011 9:08 PM EDT up reply actions

ha!

Anyone here is welcome to TRY and muzzle you, my friend. I’ll put money down on that one.

Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."

by Scott Christ on Sep 18, 2011 9:11 PM EDT up reply actions

I like how TRY is the operative word.

by Clove_art on Sep 18, 2011 9:59 PM EDT up reply actions

Excuse me, sonny. Watch your own mouth.

There is no safety in numbers, or in anything else--James Thurber, 1939

by BoxAnne on Sep 19, 2011 6:36 AM EDT up reply actions

I don’t disagree with one thing in this statement from Merchant.

Boxing writer: "Iran, what are you going to do when you retire?"
Iran Barkley: "Rob your house"

by Matt Miller on Sep 18, 2011 7:35 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs

I don’t either. Again, I’m a Merchant critic. But he’s spot-on with Floyd.

Bad Left Hook
"To the town of Agua Fria rode a stranger one fine day..."

by Scott Christ on Sep 18, 2011 9:11 PM EDT up reply actions

Who's ego is bigger

Mayweather or Merchant

Seriously?

I call it a draw.

Both guys believe that ANYTHING they say or believe in should be set in stone.

"Winning is Everything"
Failure is not an Option

If you're not first, you're last

by Zfan on Sep 18, 2011 7:53 PM EDT reply actions

I intensely dislike Merchant, but I think he is right. Mayweather is a prima donna, he is an outstanding boxer (and I detest him as well; I seem to be collecting a slew of people I don’t like, here in my dotage), and he threw a “legal sucker punch.”

by DrRck on Sep 18, 2011 8:08 PM EDT reply actions

Merchant did impress there though

That TMZ guy was like a little teenage girl trying to start mess by getting Larry to say something nasty about Floyd, but he didn’t take the bait.

"Winning is Everything"
Failure is not an Option

If you're not first, you're last

by Zfan on Sep 18, 2011 9:34 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs

Yeah i agree, Larry does come across well here and i do tend to side with him more in this dispute, even though he annoys me in his ( usually knowledgable) HBO analysis at times.We should respect our elders after all, even though some don’t always deserve it. I don’t think Floyd cares much for that though.
What did make me smile in the Mayweather after fight interview was Larry’s mock look of shock when Floyd started insulting him.
He turned to the camera, and the look on his face i just found quite amusing. :)

by Matt Mosley on Sep 19, 2011 12:41 PM EDT reply actions