Jake Paul’s Coach in Disagreement With Boxing Journalist While Calling Out Larry Merchant for “Belittling” Pro Boxers on Live TV

Do you remember the iconic in-ring interview Larry Merchant had with Floyd Mayweather after the boxer defeated Victor Ortiz in 2011? “I wish I was 50 years younger, and I’d kick your a*s,” Merchant told Mayweather. This was just one of the feuds that Merchant was embroiled in. Spending decades in the world of boxing, he formed a love-hate relationship with many boxers. Was he disrespectful to the athletes?

Jake Paul’s trainer, BJ Flores, would say so. ‘Sky Sports Boxing’ made a post that included a clip where Merchant can be heard asking some difficult questions to legendary boxers, including Naseem Hamed, Lennox Lewis, and Floyd Mayweather. The caption on the post read, “LARRY’S MIC BATTLES.. HBO’s Larry Merchant was never scared to tell a fighter EXACTLY what he thought…” But Flores disagrees!

He responded to the post, “Larry forgets he is a writer/reporter and not the know alll end all of boxing. Fighters get tired of his disrespect.” 

However, Dan Rafael, the revered boxing journalist and someone who looked up to Merchant, retorted to Flores’ post, writing, “It wasn’t disrespect. It was cutting through the bullsh*t.”

Clarifying his stance in the argument, Flores further explained why he didn’t like Merchant’s approach. He wrote, “Agree to disagree. Larry has a way of “belittling” champions on live Tv. It’s a very fine line of calling a spade a spade and being Disrespectful to a boxer who puts his life on the line to entertain and being disrespected by a reporter immedietly when the fight is finished.”

Larry Merchant started his career as a columnist and later established himself as a popular and controversial analyst, who worked for HBO Sports for 35 years. However, the latest news about him is that he has been admitted to the hospital. What happened to Larry Merchant?

Is Larry Merchant in critical care?

A few days ago, longtime boxing commentator Larry Merchant was rushed to a hospital in Los Angeles, as reported by ‘TMZ’. An ambulance was seen under his building around 6 PM and he was rushed to the hospital, where he was admitted to the critical care unit.

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Not many details are available regarding the 92-year-old’s medical emergency.

Merchant, who has been referred to as ‘the greatest television boxing analyst of all time’ by longtime ringside reporter, Dan Rafael, was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York in 2009. We wish the legendary reporter a speedy recovery.

Also Read: Who Is Larry Merchant, HBO Boxing Broadcaster? What Happened to Him and Why Is He in Hospital?