It has been announced that legendary HBO boxing commentator Larry Merchant is leaving HBO. While the story is still developing, it is not clear as to what happened but he has claimed that he has no plans to retire. Other reports indicate that he may still appear on HBO on an occasional basis, but that seems highly unlikely. Regardless, Saturday night may be the last time we ever get the chance to hear the voice of Larry Merchant covering a professional prized fight.

For decades Larry Merchant has been ringside for the biggest fights in boxing. Some people hate him, but most people love him. Sure, he had a tendency to ramble on a little too long and sometimes the things he said just didn't make any sense at all. However, most of the time he was the most entertaining and informative commentators that the sport has ever seen. Saturday's fight will truly mark an end of an era.

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Without Larry Merchant ringside, that means HBO will showcase more of Max Kellerman. The younger audience may relate more to Kellerman than they ever did to Larry Merchant, but others find Kellerman just downright annoying. He is not anywhere near the aggressive interviewer that Merchant was and at times it is obvious that he lacks the knowledge that Merchant possesses.

Whether he was telling Floyd Mayweather that he wishes he was younger because he'd whoop his ass or whether he was entertaining us during a boring fight, Larry Merchant has given us many memories that boxing fans will remember forever. He will truly be missed if Saturday is indeed the last time he will ever be ringside providing color commentary for a boxing match.

As for Max Kellerman, it remains to be seen if he will be a success as a fulltime commentator. Some people love him, some people hate him, but he definitely does not have anywhere near the amount of fans or respect that Larry Merchant had.