Ray Mancini

Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini (born Raymond Michael Mancino; March 4, 1961) is a retired American boxer. He held the World Boxing Association lightweight championship from 1982 to 1984.^[1] Mancini inherited his distinctive nickname from his father, veteran boxer Lenny "Boom Boom" Mancini,^[2] who laid the foundation for his son's career.

Mancini became a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame as part of its 2015 class.^[3]

Early life

Mancini, an Italian American, was born Raymond Michael Mancino in Youngstown, Ohio on March 4, 1961. Boxing played a prominent role in the Mancini family history. Mancini's father, Lenny Mancini (the original "Boom Boom"), was a top-ranked contender during the 1940s. Lenny Mancini's dream, however, was dashed when he was wounded during World War II. Although Lenny Mancini returned to boxing, limitations resulting from his injuries prevented him from fulfilling his potential.^[4]

Lenny inspired young Mancini to develop his boxing skills and encouraged him to train at a gym when he was quite young. Starting in 1977, Ray had a stellar amateur career with a record of 43-7 and several Golden Gloves championships. On October 18, 1979 he made his professional debut by defeating Phil Bowen with a first round knockout. His whirlwind punching style caught the attention of network executives at several American television networks, and he became a regular on their sports programming. During this time Ray Mancini defeated some notable boxers including former United States champion Norman Goins in March 1981.^[5]

Lightweight championships

On April 30, 1980, Mancini defeated Bobby Sparks with a knockout at 1:28 in the first round for the regional Ohio State Lightweight title. Over a year later on May 16, 1981, Mancini won his first major title by defeating Jorge Morales for the WBC-affiliated NABF Lightweight championship when the referee determined that Morales could not continue after the 9th round. Two months later, he successfully defended the title against Jose Luis Ramirez after a unanimous decision. Mancini's first attempt at a world title came in his next bout on October 3 when he was pitted against Alexis Argüello for his World Boxing Council lightweight title. The event was selected by many (including The Ring and ESPN) as one of the most spectacular fights of the 1980s. Mancini gave Arguello trouble early and built a lead on the scorecards, but Arguello used his experience to his advantage in the later rounds and stopped Mancini in the 14th round.

Mancini would rebound from the loss to Arguello by winning his next two bouts, including a second (and last) successful defense of his NABF Lightweight title against Julio Valdez (10th round TKO) which would earn him another chance at a world title.

Winning WBA title

On May 8, 1982, in a match held at The Aladdin in Las Vegas, he challenged the new World Boxing Association lightweight champion, Arturo Frias.^[6] Fifteen seconds into the fight, Frias caught Mancini with a left hook to the chin and another combination made Mancini bleed from his eyebrow. Mancini recovered and dropped Frias right in the center of the ring with a combination. Dazed, Frias got back up but Mancini immediately went on the offensive and trapped Frias against the ropes. After many unanswered blows, referee Richard Greene stopped the fight at 2:54 in the first round, and the Mancini family finally had a world champion.^[1]

Match against Duk Koo Kim

Mancini's first defense, against former world champion Ernesto España, went smoothly with a Mancini knockout win in the 6th round.

On November 13, 1982, a 21-year-old Mancini met 27-year-old South Korean challenger Duk Koo Kim. Kim had struggled to make the 135lb weight limit, and had to lose several pounds shortly before the fight. The title bout, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, was televised live at 1pm PST on CBS Sports. It was, according to many observers, a fight filled with action. Mancini finally won by TKO in the 14th round. Moments after the fight ended, Kim collapsed and fell into a coma, having suffered a subdural hematoma on his brain and died four days later.^[7] The week after his death, the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine showed Mancini and Kim battling, under the title "Tragedy in the Ring."^[8]

Mancini went to the funeral in South Korea and he fell into a deep depression afterwards.^[4] He has said that the hardest moments came when people approached him and asked if he was the boxer who "killed" Duk Koo Kim. Mancini went through a period of reflection, as he blamed himself for Kim's death. In addition, Kim's mother committed suicide three months after the fight, and the bout's referee, Richard Green, killed himself in July 1983.^[9]

As a result of this bout, the WBC took steps to shorten its title bouts to a maximum of 12 rounds. The WBA and WBO followed in 1988, and the IBF in 1989.^[9]

Later matches

Mancini began the process of getting his life back together by once again putting on gloves. He went to Italy to face British champion George Feeney. Mancini won a 10-round decision.

He defended his title two more times. In January 1984, in a bout with former world champion Bobby Chacon, which was broadcast on HBO, Mancini defeated Chacon after referee Richard Steele stopped the fight in the third round with blood dripping from Chacon's left eye.^[10]

In June 1984, Mancini, still recovering from the emotional trauma of Kim's death, fought Livingstone Bramble to retain his title in Buffalo, New York. This time however, Mancini came out on the losing end, defeated after 14 intense rounds.^[11] Mancini lost his title, but not before a fierce effort that resulted in an overnight stay at Millard Fillmore Hospital and 71 stitches around one eye.^[12]

Mancini returned to the ring twice to attempt to regain his world title. In a rematch with Bramble, Mancini lost the fight by one point on all three judges' scorecards in a 15-round decision. His next attempt came in March 1989, when he lost to Héctor 'Macho' Camacho in a split decision,^[13] Mancini had one final fight in April 1992, against former lightweight champion Greg Haugen. Mancini lost when the referee stopped the fight in the seventh round.^[14]

Retirement and later work

Mancini retired officially in August 1985 at the age of 24.^[15] However, he returned to the ring to fight Héctor Camacho in 1989 and had one final fight in 1992. A made-for-television movie based on Mancini's life aired in the 1980s.^[16] The former champion was able to keep 75 percent of his $12 million in purse money, which enabled him to pursue a broad range of interests in retirement.^[17]

Mancini has a son also called Ray who appears in the YouTube reality series SummerBreak

Mancini appeared in and produced a handful of films, and became a fight analyst for the Fox reality series Celebrity Boxing. Mancini, who as of 2007 resides in Los Angeles, California, owns the El Campeon Cigar Company and operates two movie production companies.^[17]

Mancini practices Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and holds a purple belt in the martial art.^[18] He appeared in David Mamet's MMA film Redbelt.

Mancini produced Youngstown: Still Standing in 2010, which premiered at the 34th Cleveland International Film Festival on March 24. The documentary film featured his hometown friend, actor Ed O'Neill and included Jim Cummings, Kelly Pavlik, Jay Williams, Andrea Wood and Mancini himself, among many other Youngstown natives and locals. John Chechitelli – another Youngstown native – directed and edited the 89-minute-long film. It recounts the history of Youngstown, Ohio from its founding in 1797 to the present.^[19]

He is a member of UNICO National, an Italian-American service organization.

Mancini is fluent in Italian language. He and Orlando Romero reunited in 2013 at Lima, Peru.^[20]

Cultural reference

Warren Zevon included a biographical song about Mancini called "Boom Boom Mancini" on his 1987 album Sentimental Hygiene.

Sun Kil Moon's 2003 album Ghosts of the Great Highway includes the track "Duk Koo Kim" which references the fight between Mancini and Kim.

In 2013, a documentary about Mancini was released called The Good Son: The Life of Ray Boom Boom Mancini.

In 2015, Mancini spoke to Retro Report about the repercussions of his fight with Kim Duk-Koo, "Blood and Sport."

Professional boxing record

29 Wins (23 knockouts, 6 decisions), 5 Losses (3 knockouts, 2 decisions), 0 Draws[21]
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Rd., Time	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	29–5	Greg Haugen	TKO	7 (12)	1992-04-03	Reno-Sparks Convention Center, Reno, Nevada, U.S.	For the Vacant NABF Light Welterweight Title
Loss	29–4	Hector Camacho	SD	12	1989-03-06	Lawlor Events Center, Reno, Nevada, U.S.	For the Vacant WBO Light Welterweight Title
Loss	29–3	Livingstone Bramble	UD	15	1985-02-16	Lawlor Events Center, Reno, Nevada, U.S.	For the WBA Lightweight Title
Loss	29–2	Livingstone Bramble	TKO	14(15)	1984-06-01	Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, New York, U.S.	Lost WBA Lightweight Title
Win	29–1	Bobby Chacon	TKO	3 (15)	1984-01-14	Lawlor Events Center, Reno, Nevada, U.S.	Retained WBA Lightweight Title
Win	28–1	Johnny Torres	KO	1 (10)	1983-11-25	Caesars Palace, Sports Pavilion, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Win	27–1	Orlando Romero	KO	9 (15)	1983-09-15	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, U.S.	Retained WBA Lightweight title
Win	26–1	George Feeney	UD	10 (10)	1983-02-06	Palazzo Dello Sport, Saint Vincent d'Aoste, Valle d'Aosta, Italy
Win	25–1	Deuk-koo Kim	KO	14 (15)	1982-11-13	Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.	Retained WBA Lightweight title
Win	24–1	Ernesto Espana	TKO	6 (15	1982-07-24	Mollenkopf Stadium, Warren, Ohio, U.S.	Retained WBA Lightweight title
Win	23–1	Arturo Frias	TKO	1 (15)	1982-05-08	The Aladdin, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.	Won WBA Lightweight title
Win	22–1	Julio Valdez	TKO	10 (12)	1982-01-23	Sands Casino Hotel, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S., New Jersey	Retained NABF Lightweight title.
Win	21–1	Manuel Abedoy	TKO	2 (10)	1981-12-26	Ballys Park Place Hotel Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Loss	20–1	Alexis Arguello	TKO	14 (15)	1981-10-03	Ballys Park Place Hotel Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.	For the WBC Lightweight title
Win	20-0	Jose Luis Ramirez	UD	12	1981-07-19	Packard Music Hall, Warren, Ohio, U.S.	Retained NABF Lightweight Title
Win	19-0	Jorge Morales	RTD	9 (12)	1981-05-16	Concord Resort Hotel, Kiamesha Lake, New York, U.S.	Won NABF Lightweight Title
Win	18-0	Al Ford	UD	10 (10)	1981-04-02	Conrad Hilton Hotel, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Win	17-0	Norman Goins	KO	2 (10)	1981-03-12	Felt Forum, New York, New York, U.S.
Win	16-0	Marvin Ladson	KO	1 (10)	1980-12-17	St. John's Arena, Steubenville, Ohio, U.S.
Win	15-0	Kelvin Lampkin	KO	2 (?)	1980-12-09	Packard Music Hall, Warren, Ohio, U.S.
Win	14-0	Bobby Plegge	TKO	6 (10)	1980-10-28	Packard Music Hall, Warren, Ohio, U.S.
Win	13–0	Johnny Summerhays	UD	10 (10)	1980-09-09	Packard Music Hall, Warren, Ohio, U.S.
Win	12–0	Jaime Nava	PTS	10 (10)	1980-07-30	Silver Slipper, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Win	11–0	Leon Smith	KO	1 (8)	1980-07-23	Silver Slipper, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Win	10–0	Trevor Evelyn	KO	2 (8)	1980-06-18	Field House, Struthers, Ohio, U.S.
Win	9–0	Bobby Sparks	KO	1 (12)	1980-04-30	Field House, Struthers, Ohio, U.S.
Win	8-0	Antonio Rutledge	TKO	1 (6)	1980-03-17	Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
Win	7-0	Ramiro Hernandez	KO	3	1980-01-26	Jackson, Mississippi, U.S.
Win	6–0	Charlie Evans	KO	2 (6)		Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
Win	5–0	Dale Gordon	KO	1 (8)	1980-01-15	Campbell Memorial Fieldhouse, Youngstown, Ohio, U.S.
Win	4–0	Roberto Perez	KO	1 (6)	1979-12-14	Convention Center, Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Win	3–0	Ricky Patterson	KO	2 (6)	1979-11-24	DC Armory, Washington, District of Columbia, U.S.
Win	2–0	Lou Daniels	PTS	6 (6)	1979-11-13	Civic Plaza, Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
Win	1–0	Phil Bowen	KO	1 (6)	1979-10-18	Field House, Struthers, Ohio, U.S.	Mancini's Professional Debut.

References

External links

• Professional boxing record for Ray Mancini from BoxRec
• Heart of a Champion: The Ray Mancini Story at the Internet Movie Database
• Ray Mancini at the Internet Movie Database
• Footage of the Mancini–Kim Bout
• Kriegel, Mark (September 16, 2012), "A Step Back", The New York Times