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Post by davemurphy on Aug 16, 2010 15:23:46 GMT -5
I turned off the broadcast the other night before Larry Merchant's final summation, mostly because they've proven to be more and more useless as the years have worn on, so I didn't catch this until today, but when Merchant finishes by saying "if Bute and Pascal the two Canadians are going to fight, then lets see Bad Chad Dawson and Cloud fight" and he laughs like he's said something really clever, and Lampley apparently hasn't even been listening to a word he said and launches into the Hard Knocks Promo...... to which Merchant's smile turns into a frown, unhappy disgust with his Partner.
I don't like either of these two a**holes and enjoy it immensely when both look bad.
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Post by billyc on Aug 16, 2010 16:16:33 GMT -5
What about when Merchant did his "dream thing"...Lampley gave him a "look" followed by a snide remark as he passed it to Manny...
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Post by davemurphy on Aug 16, 2010 16:38:50 GMT -5
Actually, I didn't think that was all that bad, BC. I just backed it up and looked at it and he says "and the first one was a good one" and I think he was refering to how good the Dream of Moore-Durrelle 1 was. If you recorded it, check it again. I think Lampley and Manny were just happy that Merchant snapped out of it and didn't stay in 1958  Lampley's always been a smart ass though, and in his early days with Foreman when he was so condescending to ex-Champ with little petty comments(before Foreman saved his Life in the Bowe-Golota riot, something I regreted him doing) that I used to secretly hope GF would take a shot at him |
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Post by mh2365 on Aug 17, 2010 11:36:26 GMT -5
My wife commented that Merchant looked like he had a lot of work done
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Post by macman on Aug 18, 2010 13:13:45 GMT -5
Am I the only one here who actually kinda likes Larry Merchant..?
He brings a certain maturity to the commentators that I find interesting.
Yeah, he's gettin' long in the tooth and all, and tends to talk in an enigmatic fashion, but all in all, I like having someone on board who has
some pedigree behind him, commentator-wise. Call me nuts...
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Post by tontb on Aug 18, 2010 15:57:47 GMT -5
Am I the only one here who actually kinda likes Larry Merchant..? He brings a certain maturity to the commentators that I find interesting. Yeah, he's gettin' long in the tooth and all, and tends to talk in an enigmatic fashion, but all in all, I like having someone on board who has some pedigree behind him, commentator-wise. Call me nuts... I guess one positive about him is he aint shy to ask about a touchy subject. No boxer intimidates him enough for him not to ask a specific question. The only issue is those questions sometimes take him 10 minutes to say! |
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Post by davemurphy on Aug 18, 2010 17:21:38 GMT -5
Am I the only one here who actually kinda likes Larry Merchant..? He brings a certain maturity to the commentators that I find interesting. Yeah, he's gettin' long in the tooth and all, and tends to talk in an enigmatic fashion, but all in all, I like having someone on board who has some pedigree behind him, commentator-wise. Call me nuts... Mac- His post fight summations, USED to be one of the highlights of the broadcast for me as he summed things up pretty well and put it in proper perspective. But anymore it seems like they're rehearsed, sometimes not really all connected to what we actually just watched, and seem to alway have a venemous touch to them. For him to take this and say it wasn't a "fight", like he did after Saturday Night, it's disrespectful to the fighters. I can see the qualities you like about him, the one where he's not afraid to say whatever he feels is a good quality, but other than with Manny Pacquaio, I can't think of too many positive things he's had to say about the Sport in the last seven or eight years. I think maybe he's just been there too long. |
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Post by macman on Aug 18, 2010 18:13:37 GMT -5
Mac-
His post fight summations, USED to be one of the highlights of the broadcast for me as he summed things up pretty well and put it in proper perspective. But anymore it seems like they're rehearsed, sometimes not really all connected to what we actually just watched, and seem to alway have a venemous touch to them.
I can see the qualities you like about him, the one where he's not afraid to say whatever he feels is a good quality, but other than with Manny Pacquaio, I can't think of too many positive things he's had to say about the Sport in the last seven or eight years.
############
Well, the thing about Merchant is that he's become, over the years, a very cerebral boxing analyst; but there IS substance to much of what he says. No, he's not a cheerleader - which i personally appreciate - but rather someone who talks sort of in riddles, and one has to, I think, be kind of savvy to how he approaches commentary and analysis. And as regards his supposed 'negativity'.....hell, there's a LOT to be negative about in todays boxing environment. Guys fighting once or twice a year, the mumbo-jumbo of belts and organizing bodies - a lot of it is a MESS.
I think he calls it like he sees it. He's old-school -- and he was THERE for much of it. He KNOWS what boxing used to be like, and what a pathetic shadow of its former glory it is now. My guess is that his views on today's boxing and boxers is much closer to a lot of people here than they think. -macman/
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Post by Daxx on Aug 19, 2010 12:15:18 GMT -5
Am I the only one here who actually kinda likes Larry Merchant..? He brings a certain maturity to the commentators that I find interesting. Yeah, he's gettin' long in the tooth and all, and tends to talk in an enigmatic fashion, but all in all, I like having someone on board who has some pedigree behind him, commentator-wise. Call me nuts... No I am a big Merchant fan ever since at minimum I have been a Merchant fan....But Larry is a pretty cool guy...He is beyond the average commentator now he is reaching the retirement stage and he is a legend for sure.... Though Al Bernstein in my opinion is the best commentator going today |
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Post by davemurphy on Aug 19, 2010 13:11:30 GMT -5
Mac-
I will give him credit that he's not a cheerleader, which is what drives me up a wall about Max and Lampley. But I do have to question some of the negativity. Hey, it's apparent to everyone who follows the Sport even casually that it's simply Not What it Once Was. There's no kidding anybody, and Larry Merchant knows it. But is it not obvious enough that you don't have accentuate it all the time? I mean, if he went into Saturday Nights fight expecting Archie Moore-Yvonne Durrell that he got 52 years ago, then NO FIGHT was going to satisfy him.
I agree with Daxx that Al Bernstein is the best today, and the difference between Al and Larry is that Al can still have a good time calling the fight. Larry seems to be constantly looking for something. He's almost like an Art Critic who's seen the Louvre and now wanders around the Street Art of New York City and can't enjoy it for what it is, because it's not the Masters.
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Post by davemurphy on Aug 19, 2010 13:27:22 GMT -5
LOL, when I think of the Best of Merchant two things come to mind, his strong arming the Fan that didn't like the Zarragoza-McCullough result and attempted to interrupt his interview, and the other is his Tribute to Archie Moore as he signs off following Ivan Robinson-Gatti II, a few days after Archie passed. Not sure if that's on YouTube or not but it's my highlight memory of Larry Merchant as he's moved to tears talking about Archie.
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Post by Daxx on Aug 20, 2010 11:49:39 GMT -5
LOL, when I think of the Best of Merchant two things come to mind, his strong arming the Fan that didn't like the Zarragoza-McCullough result and attempted to interrupt his interview, and the other is his Tribute to Archie Moore as he signs off following Ivan Robinson-Gatti II, a few days after Archie passed. Not sure if that's on YouTube or not but it's my highlight memory of Larry Merchant as he's moved to tears talking about Archie. Yes I rememebr that...It was pretty moving....Just like when I forget the name now but one of the HBO Boxing production team crew dies both Larry and Lampley were choked up...I rememebr Larry speaking about Vernon Forrest being murdered he was upset as well..... Larry is the upper class Atlas in ways when it comes to the analogies at times |
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Lampley's always been a smart ass though, and in his early days with Foreman when he was so condescending to ex-Champ with little petty comments(before Foreman saved his Life in the Bowe-Golota riot, something I regreted him doing) that I used to secretly hope GF would take a shot at him