Larry Merchant has been a part of HBO Sports since 1978, where he has called some of boxing’s most historic and memorable events. But a couple of years ago it looked like he would be jettisoned by the network in favor of the youthful Max Kellerman, who was anointed his heir apparent by HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg. After a loud, public outcry, Merchant was brought back by the network.
He continued his duties ringside, splitting assignments with Kellerman, with his own trademark, unique style. And he’ll continue to do so for the next few years.
“A year-and-a-half ago, I signed a contract for two years with a two year option on both of our parts and HBO has informed me that they’re picking up my option, so I’ll be with HBO at least until the middle of 2011,” Merchant would tell Maxboxing earlier in the week.
Merchant admits that at age 77, he is much closer to the end of the fourth quarter than halftime (“A lot closer, I may be in overtime,” he quips) but he still has the same zeal for the job as he had in the past. “I’m a freak,” he says in describing himself. “I love it. I still love it. I love every fight, I love the stories of the fighters. I just love it and it amazes me. I was a columnist for 20 years and at the end of 20 years, I could tell that, y’know, I wasn’t as eager to go to the ballpark as I once had been. But in prizefights, I never get tired of it. There are always good stories, all of the hustlers and rustlers around ringside, the fighters and their personalities and their character and what it all means in the big picture. I can’t get enough of it.”
Before his days in front of the camera, Merchant was a distinguished scribe, plying his trade for the Philadelphia Daily News and New York Post before heading west and working for the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner. Through it all, a pair of sports captivated him the most.
“The two things that I had a real passion for are baseball and boxing. I covered the Olympics and just about everything, but writers in particular – and I still consider myself a writer – have always loved boxing because of the stories, because of the characters and because when two fighters are in the ring, they’re virtually naked as to who they are. They can’t conceal themselves and as a stage to observe human behavior, it can’t be beaten.”
And nights like the one he was a part of last weekend at Staples Center, where Shane Mosley knocked out Antonio Margarito in front of a packed house, are the ones he lives for.
“There are small nights that I love and big nights that I love and when you get one like that and given the circumstances of boxing today, yeah, it was a buzz to see 20,000 people in there and two outstanding fighters and have to deal with all the stories that led up to the fight and seeing the passion of the fans,” explained Merchant, who was the recipient of the Sam Taub Memorial Award for Excellence in Boxing Broadcast Journalism in 1985. “That was a big one and there are special moments like that. I mean, to go to a Ricky Hatton fight is not like anything I’ve ever experienced before with his fans. There’s always something a little bit different about it.
“I love boxing people and I love being one of them.”
As the calendar turned towards 2009, thoughts of riding off into the sunset never entered his mind.
“No, because my contract would’ve expired at the end of May, early June. So I knew I was still doing that. But I hadn’t given it much thought because they had been indications from them over the last period of time that they were going to renew it. But there was no official recognition or agreement until recently. So I felt it would be renewed,” said Merchant.
HBO publicist Ray Stallone would release this quote from HBO Sports? executive producer, Rick Bernstein, “As a broadcaster, mentor and friend, we are happy that Larry will continue his association with HBO Sports, as well as providing his unique and engaging perspective to our boxing telecasts.”
WRAP-GATE 2009
The California State Athletic Commission has temporarily suspended the licenses of Antonio Margarito and his trainer Javier Capetillo, as they continue to investigate the contents of his handwraps that were found at Staples Center before his bout with Mosley on January 24th.
Both Margarito and Capetillo have been asked to appear at an initial hearing on February 10th, 2009.
More details as they come.
TREND
Along with fights taking place in fighters? hometowns, another trend that Merchant likes is the dearth of pay-per-view events that dot the upcoming schedule.
“We have to live with the reality that for really big fights, we cannot match what pay-per-view can bring to the dance and if fighters have a chance to make multi-millions, they’re going to go for it,” said Merchant. “Maybe what we?re doing is re-ordering the priorities of what is a big pay-per-view worthy event and have fewer secondary pay-per-view events and more of those types of events like the one we had on Saturday.”
MID-WEEK FLURRIES
Tickets for Pacquiao-Hatton go on sale this Friday beginning at 10 in the morning. They are available at all Ticketmaster locations in Las Vegas (you can call 702-474-4000) or log onto to mgmgrand.com or Ticketmaster.com…..Those tickets will be priced for $1,000 to $150. But act quickly, you know there won?t be a whole lot of tickets made available for you guys….Thompson Boxing Promotions kicks off its 2009 on February 27th at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario with ‘New Blood III’ as undefeated featherweight Juan Carlos Burgos (20-0, 12 KO’s) takes on veteran Omar Lizarraga( 16-6-1, 12 KO’s)…..Houston, Hello!!! Yes, I’ve booked my flight and hotel and I’m off to H-town for Juan Diaz-Juan Manuel Marquez on February 28th at the Toyota Center. Hey, wouldn’t I be a bit of a hypocrite if all I did was attend fights in Las Vegas or Los Angeles with all I’ve talked about hometown events?….Is it just me, or do the Arizona Cardinals have a shot against the Steelers?….
