Boxing analyst Larry Merchant is saying goodbye to his Santa Monica home of 24 years, listing the contemporary residence in the North of Montana neighborhood for $5.7 million.
Merchant, who worked on the HBO Boxing broadcasts for decades and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2009, paid $1.815 million for the property in 1997.
Built two years before he bought it, the boxy white abode receives light through angled skylights and glass-block windows. At the heart of the home is a two-story living room with custom built-ins flanking a fireplace.
The 5,300-square-foot spot also holds five bedrooms, 4½ bathrooms, an office, indoor-outdoor dining room and chef’s kitchen with an island and tiered breakfast bar.
Drought-tolerant gardens touch up the front of the home, and out back, a turf lawn and patio surround a swimming pool, spa and outdoor kitchen. The property sits about two miles from the ocean.
Merchant, 90, spent 35 years as a boxing commentator, appearing on HBO’s pay-per-view telecasts and covering fighters such as Mike Tyson, Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr. before retiring in 2012.
F. Ron Smith, David Berg and Robert Morton of the Smith & Berg Partners team at Compass hold the listing.