[D-MARV]

Im not gonna say he should be fired, per se, but its true - unless its a blood bath, he's hating. He has absolutely ZERO regard for the subtle nuances of the sweet science. Its a shame, because he is colorful and can be funny, etc, but if Im HBO, and I am trying to attract a following, it's REALLY counter productive to have your analyst sitting there and shitting on your production all night.

+1


I get a kick out of Larry Merchant... But he does shit on guys who choose not to engage in war. If your skillful enough to just spank someone for 12 rounds, then by all means... Not everyone has to be a Knockout artist.


I really enjoy watching guys like Hopkins and Mayweather dissect and breakdown there opponents. It takes a helluva lot more skill to do that then to close your eyes and throw bombs!

[The CEO]

Im not gonna say he should be fired, per se, but its true - unless its a blood bath, he's hating. He has absolutely ZERO regard for the subtle nuances of the sweet science. Its a shame, because he is colorful and can be funny, etc, but if Im HBO, and I am trying to attract a following, it's REALLY counter productive to have your analyst sitting there and shitting on your production all night.

Now THERE's a valid reason to call for Merchant's termination....from a professional standpoint....being in the spotlight, you shouldn't draw attention to how shitty your product is...

So yeah...one can go after Merchant's competence for a few things...like his dragged out, drunken rhythm or his counter productive to HBO rants...but I don't think the guy should be fired just over his strong and often blunt opinion of fighters...

He's forgotten more than most of us know, and I've seen fighters he's bashed in the past win him over....the old man is a Fair Hater, and you have to respect that.

[Tjrjr]

Larry's old school. He's used to 'real' boxing, where the fighters actually slug it out. Floyd is good on paper only. He doesn't want to face sluggers. This is one reason we'll never see a fight between him and the Pacman. So-called 'technical' fights are what they are: BORING!

Of course... we couldn't have a forum without some dummy bringing up Floyd vs. Pac ... get over it!!!

[PColeman28]

Now THERE's a valid reason to call for Merchant's termination....from a professional standpoint....being in the spotlight, you shouldn't draw attention to how shitty your product is...

So yeah...one can go after Merchant's competence for a few things...like his dragged out, drunken rhythm or his counter productive to HBO rants...but I don't think the guy should be fired just over his strong and often blunt opinion of fighters...

He's forgotten more than most of us know, and I've seen fighters he's bashed in the past win him over....the old man is a Fair Hater, and you have to respect that.

this is true i have seen some fighters win him over before, that he's given a hard time

[Col Reb]

Larry is awesome and my favorite commentator. He and Jim are the best 1-2 team in boxing. HBO would be foolish to replace either of them, just like they were foolish to replace their intro music to World Championship Boxing.

[jlupi]

I like larry. I dont always agree w him but he is paid to give opinions and thats what he does.

[KookedKrack]

.the old man is a Fair Hater, and you have to respect that.

Pretty much all that needs to be said; now Lampley that dickrider needs to go.

[BGv2.0]

That's crap about him being "racist"....I've seen him give plenty of black fighters their respect and due.

He's simply in the same boat we all are in as fans....he's tired of the BS...only difference between Larry and the rest of us....he has a broadcast outlet that allows him to be heard.

[Jack 1000]

I would keep Larry, because there is no one else who could come close to duplicating his insight. He's not a 'Yes Man", bashes boring fights that deserve to be bashed, and is not a fan boy like Kellerman. However, he is not as good as he once was because of the effects of aging and this is most noted with his slurred-speech in post-fight interviews. He still has the old school experience. Critics say he's a Cosell wanna-be. But if they let Merchant go, that moves Max up to full-time, or , they bring in Teddy Atlas. Well, they wouldn't do that, because he would "bump heads" too much at HBO because Atlas is much too conceited to be a team player.

I think bringing Foreman back would be interesting and fun.

Jack

[Jack 1000]

Pretty much all that needs to be said; now Lampley that dickrider needs to go.

Agree about Lamply being a dick-rider,

But when a fight is exciting there is No one better than Lamps! He brings the color and intensity to a broadcast in an exciting fight that compliments and coordinates Merchant asking the tough-questions. Lamps USED to not be a dick-rider. Go from about the time he began at HBO to about the first Ward-Gatti fight. Ward-Gatti I may be his greatest call of all time! Lamps faltered badly when Douglas upset Tyson, not showing his landmark excitability. And he talked too much when Tarver shockingly KO'd Jones, ruining that magical moment.

After Ward-Gatti I and when Delahoya and Mayweather started being staples at the network, that's when Lamps became a pom-pom fan boy for the fighters that HBO had under contract. When Dibella left, the network lost it's guidance and leadership, looking to cheer-lead for the house-fighters and Olympians, against sub-par competition rather than buying the best two-sided fights boxing had to offer under Dibella and the ORIGINAL Boxing After Dark.

Kerry Davis and Ross Greenberg got Lamps to drink the "Cheer for our star" Kool-Aide, and HBO boxing has not been the same, since.

Jack