updated April 05, 2006

Larry Merchant, who has covered some of the world's top boxing events on television, serves as special analyst for HBO Sports' presentations of "World Championship Boxing," and "HBO Pay-Per-View."

Merchant, a former sports columnist with the Philadelphia Daily News and the New York Post, and a general columnist with the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, joined HBO Sports in 1978 as an expert analyst. Well-regarded for his no-hype style and his dramatic overviews of the fight scene, Merchant has covered a majority of the top boxing events of recent decades, including Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Thomas Hearns, Alexis Arguello vs. Aaron Pryor, Michael Spinks vs. Larry Holmes, Marvin Hagler vs. Sugar Ray Leonard, Mike Tyson vs. Michael Spinks, Oscar De La Hoya vs. Felix Trinidad and Trinidad vs. Bernard Hopkins. Merchant's primary role is to offer pre- and post-fight analysis and between-round commentary, as well as conduct post-fight interviews.

In May 1985, Merchant received the prestigious Sam Taub Memorial Award for Excellence in Boxing Broadcast Journalism, presented by the Boxing Writers Association of America, for his commentary and analysis on HBO's "World Championship Boxing" presentations. He is the author of three books -- "The National Football Lottery," "Ringside Seat at the Circus" and ". . . Everyday You Take Another" -- and wrote the scripts for a number of HBO Sports specials, including "The Not-So-Great Moments in Sports" and "Son of the Not-So-Great Moments in Sports." He also served as writer for the Emmy® Award winning HBO documentary series "Legendary Nights." Brooklyn born, he is a product of Oklahoma University.