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Ray Mancini Boxing Glove
Autograph
Everlast Boxing signed by Ray Mancini a great
piece of boxing memorabilia.
Ray Mancini
£55.00
"The Pride of Youngstown, Ohio", Raymond Michael
"Boom Boom" Mancini, was born on March 4, 1961
to Lenny and Ellen Mancini. Even as a young boy, he idolized
his father, and wanted to follow in his footsteps. Lenny
Mancini was a lightweight boxer in the 1940s, who had hopes
of being a world champion. Unfortunately, he was injured
during World War II, and although he tried to go back to
boxing, his injuries kept the championship out of his grasp.
Ray started training while still fairly young, and quickly
rose through the amateur ranks, going 43-7 with 23 KOs.
His first professional match, lightweight like his father,
came when he was just 18, knocking out Phil Bowen in the
first round on October 18, 1979. He soon caught the eye
of the American networks, and his career was to be featured
heavily on television.
Ray became known for his "whirlwind" fighting
style, concentrating far more on offense than defense. The
precise origin of his nickname is unclear (one source even
says it may have been his father's nickname), but the meaning
is understandable: Ray would go into the ring, and "boom
boom", his opponents were knocked out. Over the next
two years, Ray would do just that, winning his next 19 battles,
14 by KO and most of those in the first two rounds.
Mancini's first shot at the title came almost two years
to the day after his professional debut. On October 3, 1981,
Mancini fought Alexis Arguello for the WBC Lightweight title.
Ray managed to endure 14 rounds of punishment, but was finally
KOed by Arguello. Mancini's reputation was helped considerably
by the fight, since (as always) he went straight at his
opponent, punching non-stop. His reputation was further
improved when, a mere seven weeks after the loss, Ray was
back in the ring, knocking Manuel Adeboy out in two rounds.
Ray challenged the title again in 1982 in Las Vegas. His
opponent, Art Frias, couldn't withstand Mancini's onslaught,
and went down in the first round. Mancini was recorded as
throwing 33 punches in 22 seconds during the fight. Ray
finally won the title that his father could not, and later
claimed it was the proudest moment of his life when he heard
his father praise him to a reporter. (Supposedly, Mancini
also narrowly avoided assassination before the fight, and
trained under police surveillance.)
Mancini's most discussed fight came six months later. Again
in Vegas; this time against Duk Koo Kim, hailed as the "Korean
Mancini". Mancini and Kim whaled at each other for
14 rounds, but Mancini had the advantage of speed, and Kim
was not in optimal shape, having had to lose several pounds
for the fight, and suffering from dehydration. Ray knocked
Duk Koo down in the 14th round. Kim managed to get back
to his feet, but the fight was stopped and Mancini declared
the winner (by KO). However, minutes after the fight, Kim
collapsed again and fell into a coma. Emergency surgery
was performed, but Kim died five days later, never waking
from his coma. Mancini blamed himself for the death, and
took some time off from boxing. The fight had further consequences.
Studies showed that boxers take the most damage after the
12th round, and the WBA shortened their matches accordingly
from the previous limit of 15. It also became policy to
perform more complete physical examinations of the fighters
before each bout. Unfortunately, the fight also claimed
two more lives: the referee committed suicide in February
1983, and Kim's mother also commited suicide that June.
It was later revealed that Kim had a sign taped to the mirror
in his hotel room, saying "kill or be killed".
Mancini's next two fights seemed lackluster. His first
battle (a mere two months after the bout with Kim) went
the full 10 rounds; Mancini won by decision, but still seemed
shaken, not fighting in his usual all-out style. He defended
his title again in September of 1983 with a 9th-round knockout,
but still didn't seem himself.
The beginning of 1984, however, saw Mancini in what seemed
to be top form. His opponent was Bobby Chacon, a Mexican
boxer who was twice world champion. Mancini pummeled the
other fighter, and took him down in three rounds.
That was, unfortunately, Mancini's last win. He lost the
title that June to Livingstone Bramble, knocked out in the
14th round. Ray still had some spirit in him, though: during
his February rematch against Bramble, he yelled "If
you stop it, i'll kill ya!" to referee Mills Lane,
when the ref threatened to stop the fight. Mancini lost
the fight, by a very close decision. He took on Hector "Macho"
Camacho in 1988 for the WBO Junior Welterweight title, but
Mancini again lost by decision. Ray's last fight was his
worst ever, getting knocked out in the 7th by Greg Haugen
in 1992. Ray hung up his gloves for good in 1993, leaving
behind a total professional record of 29-5 with 23 KOs.
Unsurprisingly for one with so much energy, this was not
the end for "Boom Boom" Mancini. He started acting
in the mid-1980s, and threw himself fully into it after
his retirement from boxing. He also started producing in
2001, making the movie "Turn Of Faith".
In 2002, Mancini visited Korea, in support of a film about
Duk Koo Kim. He was surprised to find that the Koreans revered
him as a hero, feeling that Kim died as a warrior, who died
honorably for something he believed in.
