Mayweather vs. Ortiz: Larry Merchant Disgraces HBO in Post-Fight Interview

Despite drawing some laughter from the heavily anti-Floyd Mayweather crowd, HBO commentator Larry Merchant disgraced his profession with his inflammatory remarks.

After repeatedly prodding Mayweather about his knockout of Victor Ortiz, Merchant's words quickly escalated from questionable to utterly indefensible. 

He interrupted Mayweather, as he was thanking the fans no less, and clearly displayed he disapproved of Mayweather's knockout. Mayweather exclaimed, quite correctly I might add, that he will never get a "fair shake" because of his polarizing persona.

Then, after a couple back-and-forths, Mayweather told Merchant, "You ain't s--t."

Obviously, I'm not going to defend Mayweather for shouting this at Merchant, but his anger was completely justifiable. He just won the welterweight title—his first fight in 16 months—and this 80-year-old guy is trying to ruin his moment by getting in his face and saying that his knockout was a cheap move.

Instead of downplaying the situation, as any good, objective reporter should do, Merchant proceeded to tell Mayweather that he wished he was 50 years younger so he could "kick [Mayweather's] ass."

First of all, that is one of the most ridiculous statements I have ever heard. Merchant, at any age, could not take Floyd Mayweather. That is inarguable. He's just lucky that he's a senior citizen and can say things like that without getting beat up.

Second, to exclaim that on the job, into a microphone, in front of millions of viewers, is the most disgraceful thing you can do to your credibility.

Maybe Merchant just thought "screw it, I'm not gonna be around much longer, might as well go out with a bang," because that's exactly what he did. Merchant's remarks will be the subject of countless headlines and water cooler talk across the country over the next few days, for better or worse.

No matter how you feel about Floyd Mayweather, you can't defend Merchant's words if you truly believe in commentating or reporting ethics.

Merchant didn't just cross the line between appropriate and inappropriate, he crapped all over it.

The world will be a better place if Larry Merchant never conducts another interview.