Larry Kaufman was born on 11 February 1931, in Brooklyn, New York City, USA, and is a retired sports commentator, analyst, and sportswriter, recognized by EPSN as ‘…one of the greatest television boxing analysts of all time…’, having been part of numerous HBO presentations and pay-per-view telecasts. All of his efforts have helped put his net worth to where it is today.
How rich is Larry Merchant? As of late-2016, sources estimate a net worth that is at $7 million, mostly earned through a successful career as a boxing analyst and commentator. Some of the presentations he’s been a part of include “Boxing After Dark”, and “HBO World Championship Boxing”. All of these achievements have ensured the position of his wealth.
Larry Merchant Net Worth $7 million
Larry attended the University of Oklahoma and after graduating went to pursue a career in professional sports broadcasting. His original surname was Kaufman, but after fearing that anti-Semitism in the industry might affect his career, he changed his last name to Merchant which is the literal translation of Kaufman. He joined HBO Sports in 1978, moving from being a columnist with the Philadelphia Daily News, and he also had a job reporting for the New York Post.
Larry became part of the “HBO Boxing” commentary team alongside Jim Lampley and Max Kellerman, they were mainly seen and heard in championship and pay-per-view fights. They also had several changes in their lineup over the years, with Sugar Ray Leonard, and Roy Jones Jr. also becoming a part of the team. Merchant is often seen in post-fight interviews, and became known because of his confrontational style, which proved intriguing for many fans but also offended others.
However, his popularity would help increase his net worth. In 1985, he was awarded the Sam Taub Award for Boxing Broadcast Journalism, which was given by the Boxing Writers Association of America.
In 2002, Larry was inducted to the World Boxing Hall of Fame, and seven years later to the International Boxing Hall of Fame. His contract was also extended for two more years up to 2011 to continue being part of the commentary team of “World Championship Boxing” telecasts. The extension ensured that Larry’s net worth would continue to rise. In 2012, he retired from broadcasting after a “World Championship Boxing” broadcast, ending his 35 year career as a boxing commentator on HBO, but he’s since continued to provide commentary mainly for some Top Rank boxing shows.
Aside from his commentary work, Merchant is also a well-known boxing video game personality, appearing in almost every boxing game for the last decade. His voice and likeness are often used in them, contributing to is net worth.
For his personal life, it is known that Larry is married to former actress Patricia Stich and they have two children; he also has three step-sons. In 2011, Larry had an exchange of words with Floyd Mayweather after Merchant accused Floyd of cheating by taking advantage of Ortiz’ apology to get a knock out. This caused Floyd to demand that HBO fire Merchant, and criticized all boxing commentators. Eventually, the two reconciled and Larry mentioned during an interview that Mayweather had apologized to him.
