Larry Merchant Says Cotto vs. Golovkin Is a Fantasy Fight

    7
    1366

    article-2249516-1688DF80000005DC-183_634x475Larry Merchant has been commentating over notable fights under the HBO banner for nearly four decades now and his voice has been one of the few constants for regular viewers of the tumultuous fight game. Tha Boxing Voice’s Nestor Gibbs (@nesgto) recently conducted a telephone interview with Merchant, and the conversation turned to newly elevated WBA ‘Super’ Middleweight Champion Gennady ‘GGG’ Golovkin, and his options moving forward now that his next bout has been scheduled.

    On October 18th in Carson, California “GGG” will go up against Marco Antonio Rubio, and whilst it is inevitable that some fans will be disappointed that a bigger ‘name’ hasn’t been chosen. There are some reasons to be very excited about this match. Aside from the fact that Rubio is extremely experienced with a record of 59-6, he has also been campaigning in the middleweight division for nearly a decade and hasn’t only recently been moved up like some of Golovkin’s recent opponents. More intriguing though, is that he is the  WBC Interim Middleweight Champion. Should Golokin dispatch Rubio and take that belt as most expect him to, the possibility of a tantalizing clash of champions against WBC Middleweight Champion Miguel Cotto, becomes a real possibility.

    With this in mind, Nestor asked Merchant whether he thought Cotto would take the Golovkin fight or vacate the belt to pursue a bout with Mexican superstar Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, a fight that would make more financial sense and be set in the context of the national rivalry between Puerto Rico and Mexico. Merchant replied; “I think he could fight Canelo at a catch-weight and vacate the title. I don’t think a fighter who has had the type of career that Cotto has had should be dictated to. I think he should be able to make the fight he wants to make, and that usually means the biggest money fights.”

    Merchant’s implied lambasting of the WBC for trying to strong-arm the match between Golovkin and Cotto, reveals his respect for one of the fighters that he has been watching for many years.  He clearly rates Golovkin high also. “I do think Golovkin is a fighter who performs at the highest level of the game, which to me means he boxes and bangs. He doesn’t exclusively do either one, and that is the highest form of the game to me.”

    High praise from a man who has seen as many great pugs in action as Merchant, but the veteran commentator gave us an insight as to how likely he feels a match between Golovkin and Cotto actually is, when asked how he saw a fight between the pair playing out he answered, “I’m not good at fantasy fights. I haven’t given it one second of thought.”