Ray Mancini

Ray Mancini
Mancini in 2008
Statistics
Real name	Raymond Michael Mancino
Nickname(s)	Boom Boom
Weight(s)	Lightweight Light welterweight
Height	5 ft 4 1⁄2 in (164 cm)
Reach	65 in (165 cm)
Nationality	American
Born	(1961-03-04) March 4, 1961 (age 57) Youngstown, Ohio, U.S.
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	34
Wins	29
Wins by KO	23
Losses	5

Raymond Michael Mancini (born March 4, 1961), best known as Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini, is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1979 to 1992, and has since worked as an actor. He held the WBA lightweight title 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. In 2015, Ray was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.^[3]

Early life and amateur career[edit]

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.

Professional career[edit]

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 Mancini defeated some notable boxers including former United States champion Norman Goins in March 1981.^[5]

Lightweight title challenges[edit]

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 José Luis Ramírez 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 Argüello trouble early and built a lead on the scorecards, but Argüello 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.

WBA lightweight champion[edit]

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[edit]

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 23-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; he 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 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[edit]

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. First, on September 15, 1983, he beat Peruvian challenger Orlando Romero by a knockout in nine rounds at New York's Madison Square Garden to achieve a lifelong dream of fighting at that building, and then, on 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.^[13] His next attempt came in March 1989, when he lost to Héctor 'Macho' Camacho in a split decision,^[14] Mancini had one final fight in April 1992, against former lightweight champion Greg Haugen. Mancini lost when referee Mills Lane stopped the fight in the seventh round.^[15]

Retirement and later work[edit]

Mancini retired officially in August 1985 at the age of 24.^[16] 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.^[17] 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.^[18]

Mancini has a son also called Ray who appeared 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, owns the El Campeon Cigar Company and operates two movie production companies.^[18]

Mancini practices Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and holds a purple belt in the martial art.^[19] He appeared in David Mamet's MMA film Redbelt. He also appeared in the 2000 remake Body and Soul.

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.^[20]

Mancini is fluent in Italian. He and Orlando Romero reunited in 2013 at Lima, Peru.^[21]

In other media[edit]

• 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 Duk Koo Kim, "Blood and Sport."

Professional boxing record[edit]

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
34	Loss	29–5	Greg Haugen	TKO	7 (12), 2:27	Apr 3, 1992	Convention Center, Reno, Nevada, U.S.	For vacant NABF light welterweight title
33	Loss	29–4	Héctor Camacho	SD	12	Mar 6, 1989	Lawlor Events Center, Reno, Nevada, U.S.	For vacant WBO light welterweight title
32	Loss	29–3	Livingstone Bramble	UD	15	Feb 16, 1985	Lawlor Events Center, Reno, Nevada, U.S.	For WBA lightweight title
31	Loss	29–2	Livingstone Bramble	TKO	14 (15), 0:53	Jun 1, 1984	Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, New York, U.S.	Lost WBA lightweight title
30	Win	29–1	Bobby Chacon	TKO	3 (15)	Jan 14, 1984	Lawlor Events Center, Reno, Nevada, U.S.	Retained WBA lightweight title
29	Win	28–1	Johnny Torres	KO	1 (10), 2:58	Nov 25, 1983	Caesars Palace, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
28	Win	27–1	Orlando Romero	KO	9 (15), 1:56	Sep 15, 1983	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.	Retained WBA lightweight title
27	Win	26–1	George Feeney	UD	10	Feb 6, 1983	Palazzetto dello Sport, Saint-Vincent, Italy
26	Win	25–1	Kim Duk-koo	KO	14 (15), 0:19	Nov 13, 1982	Caesars Palace, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.	Retained WBA lightweight title
25	Win	24–1	Ernesto España	TKO	6 (15), 2:59	Jul 24, 1982	Mollenkopf Stadium, Warren, Ohio, U.S.	Retained WBA lightweight title
24	Win	23–1	Arturo Frias	TKO	1 (15), 2:54	May 8, 1982	The Aladdin, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.	Won WBA lightweight title
23	Win	22–1	Julio Valdez	TKO	10 (12), 0:59	Jan 23, 1982	Sands, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.	Retained NABF lightweight title
22	Win	21–1	Manuel Abedoy	TKO	2 (10), 2:08	Dec 26, 1981	Bally's Park Place, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
21	Loss	20–1	Alexis Argüello	TKO	14 (15), 1:44	Oct 3, 1981	Bally's Park Place, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.	For WBC and The Ring lightweight titles
20	Win	20–0	José Luis Ramírez	UD	12	Jul 19, 1981	Packard Music Hall, Warren, Ohio, U.S.	Retained NABF lightweight title
19	Win	19–0	Jorge Morales	RTD	9 (12), 3:00	May 16, 1981	Concord Resort Hotel, Thompson, New York, U.S.	Won NABF lightweight title
18	Win	18–0	Al Ford	UD	10	Apr 2, 1981	Conrad Hotel, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
17	Win	17–0	Norman Goins	KO	2 (10), 0:37	Mar 12, 1981	Felt Forum, New York City, New York, U.S.
16	Win	16–0	Marvin Ladson	KO	1 (10), 0:57	Dec 17, 1980	St. John Arena, Steubenville, Ohio, U.S.
15	Win	15–0	Kelvin Lampkin	KO	2 (10), 2:10	Dec 9, 1980	Packard Music Hall, Warren, Ohio, U.S.
14	Win	14–0	Bobby Plegge	TKO	6 (10)	Oct 28, 1980	Packard Music Hall, Warren, Ohio, U.S.
13	Win	13–0	Johnny Summerhays	UD	10	Sep 9, 1980	Packard Music Hall, Warren, Ohio, U.S.
12	Win	12–0	Jaime Nava	PTS	10	Jul 30, 1980	Silver Slipper, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
11	Win	11–0	Leon Smith	KO	1 (8)	Jul 23, 1980	Silver Slipper, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
10	Win	10–0	Trevor Evelyn	KO	2 (8), 1:39	Jun 18, 1980	Fieldhouse, Struthers, Ohio, U.S.
9	Win	9–0	Bobby Sparks	KO	1 (12), 1:28	Apr 30, 1980	Fieldhouse, Struthers, Ohio, U.S.
8	Win	8-0	Antonio Rutledge	TKO	1 (6), 1:44	Mar 17, 1980	Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
7	Win	7-0	Ramiro Hernandez	TKO	3 (8), 1:35	Jan 26, 1980	Mississippi Coliseum, Jackson, Mississippi, U.S.
6	Win	6–0	Charlie Evans	KO	2 (6), 0:08	Jan 22, 1980	Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
5	Win	5–0	Dale Gordon	KO	1 (8)	Jan 15, 1980	Memorial High School Fieldhouse, Campbell, Ohio, U.S.
4	Win	4–0	Roberto Perez	KO	1 (6), 1:05	Dec 14, 1979	Convention Center, Dallas, Texas, U.S.
3	Win	3–0	Ricky Patterson	KO	2, 1:11	Nov 24, 1979	D.C. Armory, Washington, D.C., U.S.
2	Win	2–0	Lou Daniels	UD	6	Nov 13, 1979	Convention Center, Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
1	Win	1–0	Phil Bowen	KO	1, 1:59	Oct 18, 1979	Fieldhouse, Struthers, Ohio, U.S.

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Professional boxing record for Ray Mancini from BoxRec
• Heart of a Champion: The Ray Mancini Story on IMDb
• Ray Mancini on IMDb
• Mancini vs. Kim 30-year anniversary at The New York Times