Floyd Mayweather vs. Larry Merchant: Announcer Has More Fight Than Mayweather

There is a part of me that wishes Victor Ortiz would have fought Larry Merchant instead of Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Perhaps we would have gotten to see a good fight.

Instead we were left with what turned out to be one of the most disappointing, unsportsmanlike and appalling finishes that I have ever seen in sports.

The sad part is that there were so many things that went wrong it’s hard to firmly place the blame on just one person.

First there was Victor Ortiz, who by all accounts started the whole mess.

Late in the fourth round, Ortiz had Mayweather backed up against the ropes and was doing a good job pummeling him and being aggressive. He must have felt the need to really show his dominance though, as he lurched forward and upward in an apparent head butt.

The play was stopped and Ortiz was docked. The two fighters got together and exchanged a few pleasantries, including a kiss on the cheek from Ortiz, and it looked like the match was about to re-start.

Ortiz seemed to think that play hadn’t resumed though as he stood defenseless waiting for the referee to officially start them up. Mayweather took advantage of the defenseless moment and took the ultimate cheap shot, which knocked Ortiz out and won him the match.

There is no doubt in my mind that Mayweather took a cheap shot, and to say that he is deserving of the win is just plain wrong.

The worst part of the whole ordeal is that Mayweather essentially stole what was a good fight away from the fans.

There wasn’t anybody watching who couldn’t tell that Ortiz was getting to Mayweather, and had the fight continued I’m sure it would have been epic.

None the less, Mayweather won the fight, albeit a cheap win, and the drama seemed to be over with.

Sadly enough though, the most fight any of us saw came in the post-fight interview with HBO announcer Larry Merchant. Robert Klemko of USA Today writes about the events that transpired:

"

After a controversial finish in which he knocked out Victor Ortiz while he appeared to be apologizing for a head butt, Mayweather told HBO's Larry Merchant in a post-fight interview that he knew (expletive) about boxing and should be fired.

"You don't never give me a fair shake," Mayweather said. "So I'm gonna let you talk to Victor Ortiz, alright? I'm through. Put somebody else up here to give me an interview. HBO need to fire you because you don't know (expletive) about boxing. You ain't (expletive)."

After Mayweather's comments, the 80-year-old commentator said, "I wish I was 50 years younger and I would kick your ass."

"

Honestly, I would have much rather seen Merchant in the ring than Mayweather, at least he wants to fight!

Mayweather has become famous for all the things he has done out of the ring, which includes not fighting, and the cheap shot he took on Ortiz will just add fuel to the fire.

He knew that Ortiz had the advantage over him and was slowly gaining the edge, so he took whatever he could get.

It came at the cost of robbing boxing fans of what was sure to be a great fight.

The obvious question now is whether or not Mayweather will go on to fight Manny Pacquiao.

After this cowardly performance, I wouldn’t hold your breath.

I bet Larry Merchant would fight him though!

If only he were 50 years younger…