If he were 50 years younger, he said he’d kick Floyd Mayweather, Jr.’s behind.
But he’s not.
What veteran HBO boxing analyst Larry Marchant has been in the past 50 years, however, is one of boxing’s most astute gawkers, and true walking encyclopedias.
Merchant was the first mainstream boxing personality in the US media who truly supported 8-division World Champion Manny Pacqiuiao upon first laying eyes on him against Lehlo Ledwaba in 2003. “Pak-yoo,” was how he initially pronounced Pacquiao, until veteran Filipino sportswriter Joaquin Henson taught him the correct way of saying a name that is today synonymous to the sport itself.
But Pacquiao was not the first Filipino prizefighter that caught Merchant’s attention. That distinction belongs to Gabriel “Flash” Elorde, whom Merchant regards as a truly great fighter.
“I actually saw Flash Elorde. I saw him fight at the Madison Square Garden (referring to Elorde?s rematch against Miguel Berrios back in Nov. 9, 1956),? Merchant told me when we discussed Philippine boxing on my radio show recently, as he recalled Elorde?s bloody battles, and wins against names like Sandy Saddler.
“Could he be another Flash Elorde?” was one of the first questions Merchant asked upon first seeing signs of Pacquiao?s greatness. Of course, the world now knows the answer to that.
As far as another talented Filipino boxer nicknamed ?Flash? is concerned, Merchant is still holding his breath. WBO super bantamweight king, and highly ranked pound-for-pound fighter Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire, Jr. still has a lot of questions to answer in the grizzly boxing historian’s eyes.
“Nonito is in his prime,” Merchant said, and added, “I think he’s got to get into the featherweight mix as soon as it’s reasonable, to see if he has the strength and ability to deal with the best featherweights, because I think those are fights […] there are potential fights there that can generate interest, and generate the most money.”
“I can’t name any individual at the moment that I want to see him fight,” Merchant admitted to me, but also said that a big name like Jorge Arce may be the fight that pushes Donaire’s name to the next level.
“There’s talk right now about him fighting the Mexican Arce, hey, that’s a big fight. That’s a good fight,” he stated, and continued, “That would give him a chance to really breakout, maybe. And let’s see what happens then. Let’s see if he becomes big enough that the top guys in the featherweight division are willing to fight him.”
Pacquiao’s rise to superstardom is like lightning striking twice on Merchant when it comes to Filipino boxers. Can Donaire make it a third?
