Bitter hater who was disrespectful to elite atg fighters. I was happy years ago when George foreman checked him during a fight and said he didn't know boxing.
Probably the best non-expert commentator of my lifetime. Always tried to tell it like he saw it, though sometimes how he saw it could be clouded by his biases.
Old school newspaperman who brought that ethic to television when “TV journalism” was a thing. He gave you an unvarnished opinion. The problem for me was that he did not really follow boxing or appreciate skill level. He wanted everything to be Gatti/Ward. I actually preferred Max Kellerman on HBO because he knew the state of the sport so much better. But Larry was a product of a different generation and I wish TV still valued people like him.
When he's sipping on that brew... Merry lurchant! I also see the dazn guys trying to interview in Larry's style. If I'm not wrong its mark kriegal? To put it simply Larry had some good catchphrases, he worked well with everybody especially Roy Jones "don't pull rank Roy" lol plus his interviews kicked ass! "Just because you beat tiger woods doesn't make you tiger woods" after hearing mariachi music "this sucks" how about " he had a six pack in his stomach but not in his chin." Or "the whale has been harpooned." Not to mention "if I was 50 years younger I would kick your ass!" He was a good old man that appreciated the fight game despite never picking up a pair of gloves, but I could tell he always loved the fight game and like I said sometimes he said things that made no sense aka merry lurchant.
His analogies could be cringe and sometimes he had a clear agenda, but he also told it like he saw it and would never bull**** the audience the way some others would. Overall, I'd say his positives outweigh his negatives...barely.
Put Mayweather in his place and told him " IF I WAS 50 YEARS YOUNGER I WOULD KICK YOUR ASS!! PRICELESS!!
Larry Merchant was hit or miss, sometimes he gave fighters the hard truth and it was entertaining to watch, other times he got proved wrong and never admitted his ignorance. It was satisfying to see Hopkins put Merchant in his place
