LARRY MERCHANT APPEARED ON ?RING TALK? WORLDWIDE SUNDAY
Ring Talk- The Godfather of the HBO crew has blessed us with his presence folks, none other than Larry Merchant, six days away from Mosley and Mayweather of course live on HBO pay-per-view. Godfather, a very good Sunday evening to you sir. Larry Merchant? Hey good evening Pedro, I?m also one day away from Arreola and Adamek, so this is a pretty good time for boxing.
RT? Yeah let?s talk about the Chris Arreola-Tomasz Adamek fight I thought it was going to be dullsville. I thought the bull would corner Adamek and the fight would be over inside four or five rounds, I didn?t see Adamek boxing as nicely as he did, and he did box nicely, and he did punch when he had to, and he did set down on his punches when he had to, and he at the end of twelve rounds he had a close close majority decision, more power to him. LM? I thought he fought an excellent fight, you know for a guy who has spent his career as a light heavyweight and briefly as a cruiserweight. He knew how to handle a bigger guy with movement and occasionally throwing combinations sort of a different version of what Martinez did to Pavlik a week ago.
RT? Of course Sergio Martinez, the junior middleweight and now middleweight champion of the world having captured that title with a unanimous nod over a very gutty Kelly Pavlik. Again you bought up Pavlik a good topic of conversation right now, one week removed. Larry he seems to lack any basic footwork, and he?s so one dimensional, he camtv go to a plan b ever. There wasn?t a plan B against Hopkins and there wasn?t a plan B against Martinez. Not even trying to make contact, where does that leave Pavlik in the world of fighters and can he make middleweight anymore? LM? Um, I don?t know, you know look there are plenty of big strong fighters who didn?t have alot of movement and have been very successful. There are a lot of fighters at 168 lbs that maybe he can do better against because they?re not going to be as quick as fighting a 154 pounder as he did last week. It?s a question of whether he can shrug off two defeats and buckle down and go after it, I mean he?s still only 28 years old.
RT? Speaking of super middleweights (168 lbs) last night Carl Froch lost to Mikkel Kessler, who Andre Ward beat in that ?Super Six? tournament that?s going on so it looks like Ward and Kessler, there?s a good chance they might meet again at the end for all the marbles of this thing. LM? Yeah anything is possible, Froch has another fight, I think he fights Arthur Abraham, I?m not sure and Ward will have to fight Andre Dirrell after fighting Alan Green so stuff happens. Right now all the hometown guys have won and they?re not even at the semi-finals yet.
RT? Going back to Arreola and Adamek last night, you and I talked earlier and you didn?t think Arreola?s lack of cosmetic conditioning or whether the fact he looked better than he did, he came in looking a little loose would?ve improved his performance. Why not? LM? Look, he is what he is and he?s not going to change. He?s not going to look like an Adonis even if he took off ten more pounds. a few years ago we saw him at 235 and he looked a little lumpy even then he?d be better off right now coming in at the low 240?s I assume cause that would mean he had trained hard but I didn?t see that it affected his stamina. He still was fighting as hard as could at the end of the fight, he just fought a guy who was a little to quick and smart for him. A different version of Vitali Klitschko, Klitschko was big but he was also boxing him from the outside, that?s not the kind of guy he?s going to best against. I still think that just as I thought Wladimir Klitschko had a future after he was stopped a couple times. I still think Arreola can have a future if he really wants it and is willing to dig down and get it done.
RT? Why is it the heavyweight division is the exception when it comes to seemingly almost excellently conditioned athletes in other words once they get to heavyweight. You know when you have to make weight 140, 135, 160, 168 there is a certain amount of discipline involved. But the discipline isn?t there with the heavyweights, is that why we are seeing these sort of fat heavyweights. LM? Well look at the Klitschko?s, these guys have never wavered more than a few pounds and that?s one of the reasons they?ve been so successful because they?re dedicated. There have been a few heavyweights over time Hasim Rachman maybe David Tua, guys that blew up. It?s a serious business and if you want to give yourself your best chance you get into the best shape you can but unlike most fighters in the lower weight divisions who at east in the early stages of their careers are trying to fight at the lowest weight where they can be effective in order to win titles and then if they are really good start moving back up. But those guys are usually walking around 20 or 30 pounds heavier than the weight divisions they?re fighting in. There are a myriad of reasons heavyweights fool themselves sometimes and think that I?m a heavyweight and I can eat all I want and do anything I want and I?m still a heavyweight. The best ones are generally going to stay in shape.
RT? Let?s try to break this down quickly, if Mosley was to win nest week, if Shane Mosley was to beat Floyd Mayweather how would he do so? LM? Well even though he?s 38, he still is the biggest, quickest, strongest fighter Mayweather ever fought. Um, Mayweather has a tendency to go the ropes maybe he can dig into the body or bang him on the arms and wear him down in that way, maybe Naz Richardson who trained him for the fight with Margarito will have him jabbing more than he?s used to and try to force Mayweather into fighting him instead of boxing him.
RT? OK, Floyd Mayweather, 40 and zip, 25 by knockout, unbeaten 1996 Olympic bronze medalist how does he win? LM? Mosley?s defeated have generally come from from guys who are very very good boxers and took advantage of the fact Mosley isn?t a pure boxer a guy who jabs alot a so on. They outquicked him and they were good fighters but when I think of Vernon Forrest and Winky Wright beating Mosley twice each, those are the kind of guys Mayweather wouldn?t have gotten into the ring with. So we?re gonna see Mayweather had trouble with Oscar De La Hoya who was past his prime, he won a split decision and even though he is 38, Mosley is a marvel because he still fights the way he did when he was younger and he?s regarded only behind Manny Pacquaio and Mayweather on the ?pound for pound? list so maybe he?s something that can still give a fighter in his prime a top defensive fighter like Mayweather some problems.
RT ? OK Larry Merchant, now you?ve told us how each guy can win, who is gonna win? LM? Look Mayweather is a big favorite OK at three to one for obvious reasons, he?s a very skillful boxer and he?s in his prime where Mosley isn?t and he?s regarded as the top American fighter in the absence of any American heavyweights. That?s the conventional wisdom and I think most boxing people?s heads tell them how it?s supposed to turn out but a lot of us wouldn?t be angry if we were wrong.
RT ? OK Larry, we look forward to the HBO pay-per-view next Saturday night, 9 PM ET & 6 PM PT live from Las Vegas. Godfather, have a great show, I wish you well. LM? Thank you, thank you a lot Pedro.
Taken from the April 25, 2010 edition of ?Ring Talk Worldwide,? the longest running fight show in history. You can listen to the show on ITunes, here at Ring Talk.com or watch the show, complete with video fight highlights and results at Ring Talk Justin.tv Channel
