Floyd Mayweather vs Larry Merchant: Breaking Down the Fight Everyone Wants

In boxing, there are very few fights and fighters left that get a mainstream audience excited. But on Saturday night, following Floyd Mayweather's cheap victory over Victor Ortiz, we saw a confrontation of epic proportions that got casual boxing fans excited.

It was the brief shouting match between Mayweather and 80-year-old announcer Larry Merchant.

Merchant was in the ring after the fight trying to get an interview with Mayweather, but before he could get the question out, "Pretty Boy" cut him off and said that he wanted someone else in the ring to interview him.

It was the latest pathetic display of arrogance, ego and instability from a man whose career has been filled with those kinds of moments.

Obviously, these two men would never step in the ring with each other to trade blows for 12 rounds, though at the rate Mayweather is going, there aren't going to be a lot of fighters lining up to take more cheap shots from him, so he may not have any choice.

Merchant is not the easiest person to get along with, as he has clashed with a number of fighters and co-workers throughout his career. But he is also one of the most respected and revered boxing analysts of all time.

To his credit, Merchant was not afraid. He stood and traded verbal jabs with Mayweather better than most people would have. It was a hilarious moment for the viewing audience to watch, as Merchant said that he wished he was 50 years younger so he could kick Mayweather's ass.

If the two men were to ever square off, you would have to give Mayweather the slight edge thanks to his combination of youth and speed. But Merchant has him beat in experience and mental toughness.

Merchant would have to withstand an early onslaught, but if he could make it into the later rounds, he could shake Mayweather's confidence and drop him with a solid left-jab-right hook combo in the 10th round.

It is a shame that Merchant isn't 50 years younger because there would be more publicity and anticipation for that fight than anything else Mayweather can do, with one obvious exception.

Perhaps Mayweather knew that he had to do something to take the focus off of his disgraceful actions against Ortiz, and Merchant just happened to be the first person that he talked to who wasn't a part of his entourage.

Regardless of why Mayweather did what he did, I applaud Merchant for not backing down. Mayweather thinks that he is the best in the world, but his actions show him as nothing more than a scared, insecure, whiny man-child who needs to be put in his place.

Mayweather has done more to tarnish the sport of boxing than any modern athlete has done to tarnish any other sport. He needs to keep his mouth shut and let his in-ring skills do the talking, because when he isn't hitting opponents with cheap shots, he is one of the best fighters in the world.

He just isn't capable of getting out of his own way, which has in turn put a black mark on his reputation and his legacy in the sport.

Merchant may not be able to match Mayweather punch for punch in a boxing match, but he can stand toe-to-toe with him in a verbal sparring session.

Maybe that could be Mayweather's next big pay-per-view: 36 minutes in a verbal debate with Larry Merchant.

I know I would pay $60 to watch that in HD. Even in a worst-case scenario, that will still be better than what we saw happen on Saturday night between Mayweather and Ortiz.