#Boxing commentator professional

After Merchant pressured Mayweather to respond to fans who thought that he had taken advantage of Ortiz's apology (resulting in his win by knockout), Mayweather grew irritated by Merchant's questioning and interrupted Merchant by saying 'You never give me a fair shake.They can put somebody else up here to give me an interview. and Victor Ortiz, Mayweather angrily called for Merchant to be fired. In September 2011, following the controversial ending to the fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. Merchant continued to alternate 'World Championship Boxing' telecasts and HBO PPV cards with Kellerman.Īmong the many people that Merchant interviewed during his tenure as sportscaster on HBO Boxing was the future President of the United States Donald Trump before the fight between Mike Tyson and Michael Spinks in 1988, and former South African President Nelson Mandela, the latter during a side-trip to Mozambique off an HBO Boxing program of the first Lennox Lewis- Hasim Rahman contest, which was held in South Africa in 2001. On January 23, 2009, HBO picked up Merchant's two-year option at the end of his 2007 contract. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2009. In October 2002, he was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in Los Angeles. In 1985, Merchant received the Sam Taub Award for Boxing Broadcast Journalism presented by the Boxing Writers Association of America. When Forrest thanked those close to him, Merchant quipped, 'Would you also like to thank the judges?' An example of this occurred when Vernon Forrest won a controversial decision in 2006 over Ike Quartey. Fans have claimed them to be candid and honest while detractors consider them to be purposely biased or agitating and insensitive at times. These have drawn both praise and ire in the past. Merchant is well known for his post fight interviews which feature his hard-hitting, blunt questions and confrontational interview style. Merchant would later apologize on the air after De La Hoya tried to have him removed from HBO. When De la Hoya entered the ring to Mariachi music, Merchant stated that while he loved Mariachi music, he felt that it 'stunk' in this particular situation. The De La Hoya incident came during his fight with Pernell Whitaker. Merchant was part of the HBO Boxing commentary team along with Barry Tompkins, Jim Lampley, Max Kellerman, Gil Clancy, Sugar Ray Leonard, George Foreman, Roy Jones Jr., Emanuel Steward, Lennox Lewis and Harold Lederman for championship and pay-per-view fights.Īmong the fighters who have clashed with Merchant include Mike Tyson, Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr. Prior to joining HBO Sports, Merchant was a well-regarded sports columnist with the Philadelphia Daily News and the New York Post. In 1978, Merchant joined HBO Sports as an analyst. However, due to the fear of antisemitism within the industry possibly halting any chances he had of succeeding, Merchant changed his legal surname 'Kaufman' to its literal translation 'Merchant'.

#Boxing commentator professional

After graduating from the University of Oklahoma, Merchant was interested in entering professional sports broadcasting. Merchant was born in the New York City borough of Brooklyn on February 11, 1931, to Ukrainian-Jewish immigrants. Larry Merchant (born Larry Kaufman February 11, 1931) is an American sportswriter, a longtime commentator for HBO sports presentations of HBO World Championship Boxing, Boxing After Dark and HBO pay-per-view telecasts, called 'the greatest television boxing analyst of all time' by some, including ESPN Boxing analyst Dan Rafael. HBO World Championship Boxing commentator (1978–2012)