Journalist Larry Merchant Once Told Floyd Mayweather He'd Kick His Ass If He Was 50 Years Younger

Ahead of his big exhibition fight against YouTuber Logan Paul this weekend, it's worth remembering the time an elderly reporter told Floyd Mayweather that he'd quite happily have spun his jaw if he was a little bit younger.

The man in question was then-80-year-old journalist Larry Merchant, who took umbrage with 'Money' Mayweather's tone during the aftermath of his victory against Victor Ortiz back in 2011.

The legendary boxing journalist was quoted as having told Mayweather: "If I was 50 years younger I'd kick your ass!"

The fight itself was a controversial one, and saw Mayweather take the WBC Welterweight belt and cement his place in boxing history.

However, the two punches that won the fight came after Ortiz had been docked a point for a headbutt.

Obviously embarrassed by the situation, Ortiz came over to his opponent and tried to hug and apologise to him with his gloves down, which was all the encouragement Mayweather needed to land the two shots that left Ortiz on the canvas.

He was unable to beat the count, and Mayweather was given the win and the belts.

The crowd was furious, but Mayweather defended his actions, saying: "In the ring, you have to protect yourself at all times.

"After it happened, we touched gloves and we were back to fighting and then I threw the left hook and right hand after the break. You just gotta protect yourself at all times."

Then, in the post-fight interview, Merchant was interrupted by Mayweather, who said: "You never give me a fair shake. So I'm gonna let you talk to Victor Ortiz, alright? I'm through.

"They can put somebody else up here to give me an interview. HBO need to fire you. You don't know s*** about boxing. You ain't s***."

That's when Larry said: "I wish I was 50 years younger and I'd kick your ass!"

He then walked off with a massive grin on his face.

Merchant's words obviously got under Mayweather's skin, too. In a later interview, he said: "Everybody is tired of Larry Merchant. He said if he was 50 years younger, that he would kick my ass.

"All of these boxing experts - how can you be a boxing expert if you never had a fight before?"

Anyway, the fight never happened, but given that Mayweather seems to be open to a fight against anyone these days, we can never say never, right?

Featured Image Credit: HBO PPV

Topics: SPORT, Logan Paul, Boxing, Funny, US Entertainment, Weird, Floyd Mayweather

Tom Wood

Tom Wood is a LADbible journalist and Twin Peaks enthusiast. Despite having a career in football cut short by a chronic lack of talent, he managed to obtain degrees from both the University of London and Salford. According to his French teacher, at the weekend he mostly likes to play football and go to the park with his brother. Contact Tom on [email protected]

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