Longtime boxing commentator Larry Merchant was rushed to a hospital in Los Angeles last night and is in the critical care unit, according to a report.
The 92-year-old broadcaster, best known for his long stint with HBO, was taken to a Los Angeles hospital around 6 p.m./PT Thursday, according to TMZ, which sites sources with direct knowledge of the situation.
Merchant was a staple of HBO’s boxing coverage from 1978 until his retirement in 2012. He provided commentary for such HBO programs as HBO World Championship Boxing, HBO Boxing After Dark and various HBO pay-per-view boxing telecasts.
After HBO discontinued its regular boxing coverage in 2018, ESPN boxing analyst Dan Rafael, who considered Merchant among the all-time great boxing broadcasters, quoted Merchant as saying about HBO’s boxing coverage, “Once upon a time we were a promising kid. Then a challenger. Then a champion. A great champion. A long-time champion & then a has-been who finally retired. So long, champ.”
Merchant’s tenure with HBO included commentary teamwork with Max Kellerman, Sugar Ray Leonard, George Foreman, Roy Jones Jr., Lennox Lewis and many others.
No stranger to controversy, Merchant clashed in 2011 with boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr., who, during an infamous on-air interview, accused Merchant of never giving the boxer “a fair shake” and said, in an angry expletive-filled tirade, that HBO should fire Merchant. The commentator responded, “I wish I was 50 years younger and I would kick your ass.”
