Last Saturday, HBO played host to a boxing pay-per-view extravaganza, pitting the now former WBC champion Victor Ortiz against pound-for-pound great Floyd Mayweather.
What ensued during said match was a series of mishaps, beginning when Ortiz intentionally head-butted Mayweather in the early goings of the fourth round. Veteran referee Joe Cortez—who was recently inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame—separated the two momentarily before reengaging the action. Mayweather then knocked out an unassuming Ortiz with just one-second remaining in the round.
All three have since caught flak for their careless actions, though none drew the ire of UFC president Dana White more than longtime commentator Larry Merchant.
The mixed martial arts promoter has long been a boxing fan, though it was easy to tell today during an interview with MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani that White remains livid with the match that failed to live up to the hype.
“It’s easy to hate Floyd, but Floyd didn’t do anything wrong in that fight,” began the UFC exec.
“Then, after the fight, Merchant gets in there—this babbling, senile, insane idiot. This guy has been around for way too long, he gets on there again and just embarrasses HBO.”
The Las Vegas transplant is referring to the altercation that occurred between Mayweather and Merchant, who were face-to-face in the ring, slewing obscenities at one another.
The candid commentator ended the heated encounter by saying, “If I was 50 years younger, I would kick your ass,” after Floyd accused Merchant of never giving him a “fair shake” and deeming the television journalist unfit to work for the prestigious HBO.
Apparently White agrees.
“These fighters fight and he just goes in there and starts ripping them apart. Every time this guy does an interview, if he’s not babbling some incoherent babble that means nothing and had nothing to do with the fight, he’s in there talking [expletive] about the guys.
“And then, he turns around and says, ‘If I was 50 years younger, I’d kick your ass.’ Hey, Larry, if you were 70 years younger, you’re not kicking Floyd’s ass, okay? You babbling, senile moron.
“Dude, you’re 107 years old. You have no business being on television anymore.”
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com