“Tuxedoed Stooge” Larry Merchant Wants the New York Times to Pay Attention to Irrelevant Boxing
Boxing, Media Gossip/Musings, Video October 29th. 2009, 11:45am
Boxing has been fading “into bolivian” for years. The sport’s demise has been written about extensively. MMA has clearly lapped it. Boxing lacks transcendent Americans who can cross into the mainstream and hook the average fan. Boxing purists may try and make a case for Pavlik, Pacquiao, Márquez or Cotto. They just aren’t very compelling. The result: The NY Times has virtually ignored the sport in recent years. This angers Larry “Vodka Breath” Merchant, the aggressive HBO announcer who emailed his thoughts to the paper..
… the Times ignored the comeback of Floyd Mayweather, Jr., the top American fighter, vs. Juan Manuel Lopez, the lightweight champion regarded as one of the best fighters in the world, which was bought in over a million homes. And it ignored the top American heavyweight prospect, Chris Arreola, attempting to become the first heavyweight of Mexican descent to win a heavyweight title vs. Vitali Klitschko, one of the famous Klitschko brothers who have dominated the division in the 2000s, which pulled the highest rating on HBO this year.
Earlier, The Times ignored Shane Mosley, one of the best fighters of his time, challenging welterweight champion Antonio Margarito before the largest crowd of any event ever at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, and the subsequent suspension of Margarito for trying to load his gloves before the fight. And at Madison Square Garden, the paper ignored Miguel Cotto, a very popular fighter in New York, vs. titlist Joshua Clottey of the Bronx.
He goes on and on and on … and to anyone who follows the sport closely, Merchant’s thoughts may resonate. His best point – how can the paper cover horse racing more than boxing? And now, in defense of the Times … who was the last great American heavyweight boxer?
Right.
This may be the greatest takedown of Merchant anywhere on the web. And without question, “Vodka Breath” as a nickname makes us laugh uncontrollably everytime we hear it.
Is The Times Ignoring the Boxing Ring? (NY Times Public Editor’s Blog)
107 Responses to ““Tuxedoed Stooge” Larry Merchant Wants the New York Times to Pay Attention to Irrelevant Boxing”
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October 29th, 2009 at 11:49 AM
years ago i think there was a chance for a great rivalry with corrales/castillo, but castillo was a fat ass and didn’t make weight for the rematch, then corrales died so…
there’s good fights out there if you’re looking for them, but there’s no reason to watch if you aren’t a die hard boxing enthusiast.
October 29th, 2009 at 11:51 AM
They should probably just get Max Kellerman to write something for them. I’m sure he’s sleeping in front of the building and could use something to eat.
October 29th, 2009 at 11:51 AM
In response to yesterday, there is still no better Meth production than in the south.
Good lord, an integra??
October 29th, 2009 at 11:54 AM
Um, wrong Juan.
October 29th, 2009 at 11:54 AM
Other than the Ali thing on ESPN this week, I haven’t paid attention to boxing in eons. And, I’m quite sure I’m not alone. Boxing needs a charismatic character or two to make me care again.
And, no, I’m not watching the homoerotic spectacle that is MMA either.
/NTTATWT
October 29th, 2009 at 11:55 AM
it would be better if they didn’t have like 6 months to train before a fight, and then pull out at the end for the worst possible reasons.
October 29th, 2009 at 11:56 AM
It still boggles my mind how horse racing gets any mainstream coverage at all. Should we cover air shows too? Seriously, I know there are some of you that enjoy it, but why do you? Take out the gambling, and what’s left is the equivalent of fishing. Who gives a shit and why does it get 8 hours of coverage on NBC for the Kentucky Derby, when the UFC (which actually has a fan base) gets ignored by the networks year round.
October 29th, 2009 at 11:57 AM
Parking lot paws got the beating that was coming to him Can’t wait to watch Cotto work Pacman and get his redemption.
October 29th, 2009 at 11:57 AM
Something that’s intrigued me over the last few years about boxing. I see their biggest fights get over a million buys, yet I never here anyone talk about getting boxing pay per views or anyone who’s talking boxing ever. Those numbers have to be inflated right? There’s far more UFC talk than boxing talk these days.
October 29th, 2009 at 11:58 AM
The use of the term “Tuxedoed Stooge” makes me giggle.
October 29th, 2009 at 11:58 AM
Mayweather/Marquez had more PPV buys than a UFC event that went the same night.
October 29th, 2009 at 11:59 AM
Whether the average fan cares or not, 24/7 is probably the best show on TV. Makes The Ultimate Fighter look like Teletubbies.
/Has nothing against MMA
//Don’t release the hounds, please
October 29th, 2009 at 11:59 AM
because everyone wanted to see him and pacqiua. people are tired of fighters handpicking easy fights
good thing it got ignored or everyone would have seen the top hw prospect get his ass handed to him.
i like the “t least write about the negative stuff! we have cheaters just liek baseball!”cry. find a badass american have him fight all comers . until then fuck boxing.
October 29th, 2009 at 11:59 AM
I love pac-man in almost a Chesney-ian way. But I am def rooting for Cotto. He got so fucked by Cement Mixerito. All the hispanics in the tri-state area would go fucking nuts if Cotto beat Pac-man.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:00 PM
That was a bottom feeder UFC event. There’s still a great deal of overlap between the two sports by the way. My guess is that Mayweather/Marquez wouldn’t have wanted to go up against UFC 100, and vice versa.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:00 PM
Did you take a look at the “most viewed stories” that was on that page? Good God, the headlines sound they should all end with the phrase “You Might Be a Redneck.”
October 29th, 2009 at 12:01 PM
Shh, you’re ruining this carefully-crafted storyline.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:02 PM
I still think this is the best nickname in sports.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:02 PM
Bars, lots of them. Plus, there have been a couple of really big mega fights the past 3 years. De La Hoya, Mayweather, Pac-Man, and Hatton have all had fights with each other that everyone has wanted to see.
And I don;t care what anyone says. If it was put to a vote, a real vote… people would rather watch Pac-man vs Mayweather then Lesnar-Fedor. Wouldn’t be close.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:03 PM
The card was Vitor Belfort and Rich Franklin (would have been a big fight in 1998). Had it been Lesner, Couture, Silva, Liddell, GSP, those numbers would been a lot more interesting.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:03 PM
You don’t talk to many hispanics.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:04 PM
All this boxing talk is getting me so amped up right now. Has anyone see the the new 24/7. Cotto is a fucking beast.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:04 PM
I am of the opinion that television can make any sport popular if it wants to. And boxing itself is a major culprit there. I’ll watch a major bout on a Sunday night if it’s on a major network and it’s hyped appropriately.
/but I’m not paying $49 to watch
October 29th, 2009 at 12:04 PM
I think there’s a bit of a generation gap. Boxing fans are probably older and more likely to watch it at home after putting the kids to bed. MMA fans are more likely to gather at their friend’s house or go to a bar.
/Got all the stereotypes in, I think
October 29th, 2009 at 12:05 PM
I seriously wouldn’t pay 55 bucks for anything that comes on the television. When I was in junior high and high school, though, we used to pool our $$ and rent motel rooms that had Showtime, or buy pay per views to see good fights.
Then there stopped being good fights, or serious bullshit happened (like Chavez /Taylor the first time) and you realize you’re wasting your time and money.
Or worse yet, the good fights don’t happen. Or there’s nobody to test Roy Jones at all.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:05 PM
Can something be racist and fact at the same time? Good job.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:05 PM
What Merchant did is no different than the Ed Hardy-wearing MMA fan bitching on the internet that his sport gets no mainstream coverage.
Does “mainstream” media coverage even matter anymore?
/You do know those Ed Hardy and Affliction shirts look stupid, right?
October 29th, 2009 at 12:06 PM
That last scene where Cotto and his camp were out by the pool was hilarious. When they showed those slow-mo shots of his cut man and the other old dude holding up their wine glasses I was dying. And that’s before Jabba jumped off the diving board.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:06 PM
Well yeah, but UFC has a stranglehold on bars these days as well. Also, Fedor is still bigger overseas than he is here. But remember that UFC 100 did over 1.5 million buys and Lesner is going to continue to draw huge interest.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:06 PM
Faggot.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:06 PM
They do indeed, but Don Ed is himself is an American genius. No problem with him making a buck off the trogs.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:07 PM
Against a non-title boxing match featuring a guy moving up two weight classes and another guy coming out of retirement.
HBO and Showtime are part of publicly-held companies. There are legal ramifications if they lie about their sales figures. If anyone has anything to gain by manipulating the numbers, it’s Dana.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:07 PM
Guh, editor plz
October 29th, 2009 at 12:07 PM
Can something be racist and fact at the same time? Good job.
demographic numbers can be racist now? At least the heat will be off Griese.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:07 PM
Actually, I’ve had people over twice for PPV fights. As I recall, Hopkins-DeLaHoya and Mayweather-Hatton. Both were entertaining.
My point is that MMA fans did not invent controlled violence or gathering at a friend’s house to watch it.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:07 PM
Somewhere, Nick Swisher is crying (then striking out).
October 29th, 2009 at 12:08 PM
Clown retweets me, does that count?
October 29th, 2009 at 12:09 PM
i dont think anyone said they did.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:09 PM
i think the phrase “tuxedoed stooge” and “vodka breath” make larry merchant somebody i want to blog about more. i rarely get emails from boxing fans … but those of you who follow the sport, if larry merchant does anything, kindly email me.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:09 PM
mma blows.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:09 PM
Clown, but what’s your point? All you’re saying is that the biggest draws in boxing outdo the biggest in UFC (for now…let’s talk in five years).
Do you want to add up all the PPV buys for the year? UFC has crushed boxing (and now WWE for that matter).
October 29th, 2009 at 12:10 PM
Popped collars on pink polos is nowhere near as douchey as those damn t-shirts.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:10 PM
You know what I mean.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:10 PM
Are you… are you Dana White?
October 29th, 2009 at 12:11 PM
Boxing > MMA
/always and forever’d
October 29th, 2009 at 12:11 PM
“PPV buys” … yes, clearly, that indicator is enough to say boxing > mma
October 29th, 2009 at 12:12 PM
Only if ACORN was involved maybe. I know I get a big fucking boner for 2 guys who weigh less than my dog, going to a decision.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:13 PM
I’ve actually seen Larry Merchant out at a couple of bars in Atlantic City and Brigantine, NJ. Nice guy.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:13 PM
/breathes sigh of relief
October 29th, 2009 at 12:13 PM
i love ufc, but there is nothing like a big time boxing match. i would rather watch average ufc than average boxing, but ill take a boxing superfight over pretty much anything else.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:13 PM
Fail.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:13 PM
No, it’s enough to say that boxing isn’t irrelevant.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:14 PM
when did it become law that you cant like boxing and mma? the only thing boxing is missing is monster hw. when it gets one and it will. boxing will be popular again and mma will be the ugly stepsister. that being said i prefer mma. i have been watching since i was like 12.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:14 PM
Amen.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:14 PM
Bulldog – I’d watch Lesnar fight anyone over any boxing fight right now.
hell, gun-to-head, i’d sooner watch a compilation of mike tyson winning his first 25 (or whatever fights) before i watched any 2 current boxers slug it out.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:15 PM
Skill? Fuck it, get me some meat!
October 29th, 2009 at 12:16 PM
They’re sports about macho guy fighting. Who would have suspected their fanbases wouldn’t get along?
/agree though, fan of both, wish boxing had more guys the media would trick me into being interested in.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:16 PM
Well no. Read up on David Meltzer TBL, the UFC is the biggest PPV draw (has been for three years). Where are you getting your info? Two years ago, UFC outdid Boxing (8 of the top 12 ppv’s were UFC, 4 were boxing). The disparity is growing further considering this has been the biggest UFC year.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:17 PM
I think the arguments here are which are more relevant. I like MMA, I like it a lot. But I still don’t think it is as entertaining as boxing. As a business model, MMA, mainly UFC, is destroying boxing in what it needs to do to grab market share. But boxing is still such a good sport with enough good athletes and stories that I feel it trumps mma every time.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:17 PM
That’s because you can recite the five most recent 90210 guest stars before you could name five top-level fighters.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:17 PM
I’d rather watch anyone in my gym fight over any boxing “fight”. Lesnar, Spider, Penn(in shape and hungry), GSP, Bas Rutten, Marco Ruas, Couture, could go on for days.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:17 PM
we’ll just have to agree to disagree.
always fun ‘anecdata’
- last time someone said to me ‘where are you guys watching the fight’ and they meant boxing was in the 90s
- no sports fan i talk to on a regular basis mentions boxing
- i can’t remember the last time i got a boxing email that didn’t involve the death of a fighter
- can’t remember the last time i saw a profile of a boxer on TV
- can’t remember the last time i saw a feature in a mainstream magazine on an American boxer
October 29th, 2009 at 12:18 PM
cursed, please turn on your sarcasm detector.
you’ll want to direct your question at Clown, the guy who mentioned “PPV buys”
October 29th, 2009 at 12:18 PM
id rather watch gay sex than mma…oh wait. they’re the same thing and i don’t watch either.
you don’t have to have a gun to your head to watch taht over any fight today. those fights were the fucking shit. entertaining as hell.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:19 PM
By the way, I do like Boxing. I just like MMA more (and the fact that when I watch a PPV, I know and take interest in at the very least 4-6 fighters). Boxing I’ll only two two of the fighters (most fall in that category). Yes, in MMA the fights are far shorter. But sometimes that a good thing. Who wants to watch 12 rounds of “out-pointing” and running?
October 29th, 2009 at 12:19 PM
fan of both, wish boxing had more guys the media would trick me into being interested in.
me too. Both.
- can’t remember the last time i saw a profile of a boxer on TV
Change the channel from the CW, dude.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:19 PM
Ding-Fucking-Ding.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:19 PM
I’m not a funny person.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:20 PM
floyd mayweather was all over SI and ESPN magazine before the marquez fight.
you have HBO right? ever seen 24/7?
oh, come on now.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:21 PM
Sounds like spence has a video tripod/mirrors in his bedroom.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:21 PM
Boxing does a terrible job of creating new stars, leaving to rely on has-been names to sell fights. They also have so much opposition to creating certain fights that fans want to see. MMA is much better at both of these things. I prefer boxing, but MMA can be entertaining and it’s much better run at this point in time.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:22 PM
This matters because?
October 29th, 2009 at 12:23 PM
I believe James Frey’s anecdata more than any of this BS.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:23 PM
He cut it the day after the Entourage season finale.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:24 PM
Hangin with the wrong people. You know how young I am. Me and my friends, the one that actually give a shit about sports, talk boxing ALL THE TIME. I have only played fight night when I do play video games. We are obssessed. I think there is becoming a cultural divide when it comes to boxing. I love B.A.D. MSG still airs Golden Gloves. Friday Night Fights is still my thing to watch if baseball and basketball games suck (mainly my man crush on Tessitore).
October 29th, 2009 at 12:24 PM
Boxing does a terrible job of creating new stars,
You have to be 20-0, or have an Olympic gold medal before a big time promoter grabs you up. And even then, you’ve got to wait your turn.
In MMA, you seem to get more turns, because any given minute, you can get the shit kicked out of you. There have been at least four guys I can think of in MMA who I thought were utterly and completely unbeatable, who were beaten senseless not long after.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:24 PM
It’s the same logic that LeBron has to play in NY to build his “brand”. If it doesn’t happen here, it doesn’t matter.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:24 PM
I think it would come back if the Heavyweight division was even remotely compelling.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:25 PM
very good point here.
*slaps forhead* really?
October 29th, 2009 at 12:25 PM
Yes, a better metric is “emails sent to TBL”
October 29th, 2009 at 12:26 PM
I think that’s a bit of an over simplification, combined with the easiest/laziest argument against boxing. The number one fight MMA fans want to see isn’t happening any time soon.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:26 PM
If he says he has never seen 24/7, I lose all respect for him as a person. And I have tons.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:26 PM
Really? Who?
October 29th, 2009 at 12:26 PM
That’s the thing, boxing will spend years building a guy up slowly, whereas in MMA they’re headlining almost overnight. It’s like comparing how the WWF used to build up title contenders back in the four PPVs a year to nowadays when who knows who even has the belt.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:26 PM
actually, i called to cut it and they extended the free 3 months until mid-Jan 2010.
i will find the show right now and DVR it.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:27 PM
fuck all this noise. let’s talk about how chase utley slammed two homers off of cc sabbathia. why isnt that a ‘UGER story? if any yankee homered off of lee last night they would be naming streets after him and shit
October 29th, 2009 at 12:27 PM
/Mouth agape
October 29th, 2009 at 12:28 PM
The production staff of 24/7 are insanely good at what they do, especially the music supervisor.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:29 PM
I agree. and those weren’t even bad pitches. They even ran the stat. One of only two left handers to hit 2 hrs off of a left handed pitcher. The other was Babe Ruth. Utley is a fucking beast.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:30 PM
The editing is top notch. The way they tell the stories is top notch. Some scenes are clearly set up, but still, they do a very good job of getting into these guys lives. They have done 3 24/7’s involving Mayweather, and they have all been great.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:31 PM
I agree. and those weren’t even bad pitches.
one of them was very straight
October 29th, 2009 at 12:31 PM
If by this you mean repeatedly giving him opponents such as Glass Joe and Von Kaiser then yes.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:32 PM
Really? Who?
I’m not a big watcher, but obviously Matt Hughes. I bought the hype about that little guy from california after a few fights that fights on Versus, one of the guys named Thiago, and Brock Lesnar.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:33 PM
I wish they’d done them back when Roy Jones was on top, I thought he was pretty fascinating during the Jones-Calzaghe one. Shame about the fight, though. The De La Hoya ones aren’t too interesting to me because every ounce of him that isn’t pre-programmed left years ago.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:35 PM
Hughes refused to evolve with the sport, stand up was/is severly lacking.
Faber-too wild, takes/took too many chances.
Thiago? No clue, there are several none would qualify for this convo.
Lesnar-oh my. I like him but he is far from beatable.
I thought the logical list would be Silva, GSP, Fedor.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:35 PM
You mean back when he was wearing fishnet stockings?
October 29th, 2009 at 12:36 PM
Entourage Sucks and Joe Rogan knows it.
- Funny
- Loves to sail
- Gourmet chef
- Has sex with little boys
- A terrific dancer
Did you notice how number 4 kind of out-weighed everything else? It would be the same if he wrote “loves Entourage”. Except the things the pedophile watched would probably have better jokes.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:38 PM
i qualified that post as ‘anecdata.’
you tried to present “PPV buys” as a hard and fast truth and CC shot it to hell. what else ya got?
October 29th, 2009 at 12:39 PM
Well, I can’t say Silva looked unbeatable and then got beat, because nobody beat him. I’ve also never seen Fedor.
When I first started watching these cage fights, there was one of these guys, a Thiago somebody, who was fighting Jon Fitch, I think, or some other bearded midwesterner. He beat the holy fuck out of the white guy, and I liked that pretty good. So I figured this guy was a badass. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him again. He was Thiago somebody though.
I don’t pay the money, and I seldom watch. The wife can’t stand the sound of people getting beaten on, and I have poor hearing, so I have to have it loud to hear the crunches.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:42 PM
Finest sentence ever commented.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:44 PM
What did he shoot to hell? That UFC runs 14 PPVs a year so obvi boxing is irrelevant? That’s merely a Dana fanboi talking point.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:44 PM
Thiago Alves. Just most recently lost to Georges St. Pierre.
FWIW Silva does have 4 losses. Granted they were before he came to the UFC-therefore before more people knew him. But point taken.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:45 PM
Fedor’s loss shouldn’t even be considered a loss. They had to stop the fight because of a cut. That said, no discussion of Fedor can be brought up without a highlight video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoi1wLHPWLI
October 29th, 2009 at 12:50 PM
Finest sentence ever commented.
I’m in Mensa.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:50 PM
fuck fedor. the only time i want to hear his name is if it followed by “is fighting brock lesnar.”. i hope rogers knocks himn out. i know it is unlikely but i hope it happens.
October 29th, 2009 at 12:51 PM
Facts are facts.
October 29th, 2009 at 5:00 PM
I like both. Why do I care that the Times doesn’t write about it? I can still like it. Over a million people paid for the Mayweather fight and close to 600K paid for a UFC fight the same night. It is a decent metric since it measures the people willing to follow the sport on the same night. Both sports make money. Both are entertaining and the sooner it stops being one is better than the other the happier I will be. They could both learn things about each other and how to promote fights and create stars. If I am a UFC fighter I look longingly to the Boxers that bring home $5-$10 million a pay-per-view which will happen to the megastars one day. It is fairly obvious that De La Hoya and HBO are trying to emulate UFC in regards to star building and league formation with Ring Magazine being it’s cover.