We?re used to him coming through our TV screen in measured, rhythmic tones. Hall of Fame commentator Larry Merchant has been part of this generation?s boxing lexicon since HBO began broadcasting fights. Merchant brings a clever, old-school sports columnist?s charm each time he speaks — a rare, august air at ringside that fight fans might never see again.
What no one expected to see was the pugnacious side of Merchant after the mid-September Floyd Mayweather-Victor Ortiz fight. ?Money May? flipped out on Merchant when the HBO analyst challenged him about the controversial ending of the fight, prompting Merchant to respond, ?If I was 50 years younger, I?d kick your ass.?
The remark created a firestorm on the internet and in boxing chat rooms throughout the world. Mayweather never backed off from his stance that ?HBO should fire [Merchant],? nor has Merchant backed away, either.
What Mayweather probably doesn?t know is that the Merchant of 50 years ago could have very well flattened him. Merchant remembers, bemusedly, drawing a 15-yard penalty on his first varsity football play at Ebbets Field, for hitting a little too enthusiastically as a hard-nosed defensive back for Lafayette High School. He grew up on the rough streets in the Bronx, N.Y., and had a few scraps here and there in his youth. What the public witnessed on national TV Sept. 17 was a part of Merchant not many know.
The Ring:We know quite a bit about you, but we don?t know much about your background?
Larry Merchant:I was born in 1931 in New York City, lived in the Bronx and Manhattan, went to Lafayette High School in Brooklyn. I’m the oldest of three, which made me a first child, grandchild, nephew, which resulted in a lot of attention. I was given a lot of freedom to go and see and do. I loved all sports, played football best. I went off to college, half a continent away, before I was 17. I had a kind of oblivious self-confidence that things would always work out.
The Ring:What position did you play?
LM:I was a fullback/cornerback. We were unbeaten in my senior year. I went to Oklahoma, which wasn?t a major power then but was about to become one. I was on the freshmen team and played the bench as a sophomore, including a Sugar Bowl, under Bud Wilkinson. I injured my shoulder in practice — I can still feel it if I fall asleep awkwardly — and started journalism school. I decided the pressbox was more suitable to my talent (laughs).
