What Is Larry Merchant's Net Worth?
Larry Merchant is an American boxing analyst, writer, and ringside commentator who has a net worth of $8 million. Larry Merchant joined HBO Sports in 1978 and remained there for the majority of his career, retiring in 2012. Before venturing into broadcasting, Merchant began his career as a writer, honing his skills in sports journalism. He wrote for several publications, including the "Philadelphia Daily News," where his coverage of sports, particularly boxing, showcased his deep understanding of the sport and its nuances. Just like John Madden did with EA Sports' Madden NFL, over the years, Larry struck a number of large deals with video game makers to use his likeness and voice for pretty much every boxing game of the last 10 years.
Early Life
Larry Merchant was born Larry Kaufman on February 11, 1931, in the borough of Brooklyn in New York City. His parents were Ukrainian-Jewish immigrants. After completing high school, Merchant attended the University of Oklahoma. Once he graduated, he was interested in pursuing a career in professional sports broadcasting. In order to avoid antisemitism within the broadcasting industry, Larry changed his legal last name from Kaufman to its literal translation of Merchant.
Larry Merchant, Lennox Lewis, and Jim Lampley (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc)
Career
Merchant began his career by writing a column for the "Philadelphia Daily News" and then the "New York Post." In 1978, he joined HBO Sports as an analyst. He joined 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.
Merchant remained with HBO throughout the majority of his career. He has presented "HBO World Championship Boxing," "Boxing After Dark," and various other HBO pay-per-view telecasts. In 2007, his contract was due to be up but HBO renewed his contract for a few more years. It was announced by HBO in December 2012 that Larry would retire from broadcasting. The final match that he commented on was HBO's "World Championship Boxing" from Houston, Texas, after 35 years of being a boxing commentator on HBO. Since leaving HBO, Merchant has provided commentary for the international English language feed of some Top Rank-promoted boxing shows.
In addition to his career on air, Merchant has also authored a book entitled "The National Football Lottery." In the book, Larry attempts to discover what would happen if he were to bet on National Football League games for an entire season. He was given $30,000 by his publisher to make bets throughout the season. By the end of the book, Merchant ended up gaining $17,000 despite having bet fewer than $1,000 on most games.
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Over the years, Merchant has clashed with a number of the boxers that he has provided commentary on during their matches. Some of these fighters include Mike Tyson, Oscar De La Hoya, and Floyd Mayweather Jr. Larry developed a reputation for his post-fight interviews in which he asked hard-hitting, blunt questions and often adopted a confrontational style. Fans of his style have said that they like how candid Merchant is in his questioning and appreciate his honesty and ability to ask challenging questions. However, others have said they find his style to be purposely agitating and insensitive.
Specifically, in 2011, a fight that Merchant covered between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Victor Ortiz ended in conflict when Mayweather grew irritated by Merchant's questions and said that HBO needed to fire Larry for his poor interviewing style. He stated that Merchant did not actually know anything about boxing. Merchant responded by telling Mayweather, "I wish I was 50 years younger and I would kick your ass." The controversy was later quashed. In 2012, Merchant again interviewed Mayweather directly after his match against Miguel Cotto and stated that Mayweather had apologized the evening before the bout and Merchant had accepted the apology.
Larry also had a controversial exchange with Hall of Fame boxer Bernard Hopkins after Hopkins won a match over Morrade Hakkar on HBO. Merchant made a statement that implied Hopkins had not done much work in the match for the amount of money that he had been paid. Hopkins responded by saying that Merchant got paid every day for being on TV while not doing much.
During his tenure as a sportscaster on HBO Boxing, Merchant interviewed many notable people. Before the fight between Mike Tyson and Michael Spinks in 1988, he interviewed future President of the United States Donald Trump. He also interviewed former South Africa President Nelson Mandela during the Lennox Lewis match against Hasim Rahman in South Africa in 2001.
Over the course of his career, Merchant has received a number of awards and accolades. In 1985, he received the Sam Taub Award for Boxing Broadcast Journalism, presented by the Boxing Writers Association of America. In October 2002, he was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in Los Angeles. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2009.
Personal Life
Larry is married to former actress Patricia Stich. They have two children, and through his wife, Merchant has three stepsons.
Santa Monica Home
In 1997, Larry paid $1.815 million for a 5,300-square-foot home on one of Santa Monica's most desirable streets. He listed this home for sale in July 2021 for $5.7 million and accepted $5.8 million one month later.
