that's the cache that I think boxing has in this area. Now granted, a lot of people say, 'Well, I don't even know the names of the guys.' I mean, the guys from South Africa. Why should people buy the pay-per-view package or a ticket to watch Don King's pro boxing event in Warren? (But) I just wanted something different." Everyone in my neighborhood was a mill rat. You can work, you can get a great pension after 30 years, you got two cars and a garage. No, you graduate, go to the steel mill, get a job. to graduate (and) go to college to go on to become. One guy called him the one-man demolition squad."ĭid your father's story motivate you to become a professional boxer instead of getting a factory job or going to college? You know my father always made the joke that, 'Raymond, I never took a backward step, never, but sometimes I wish I did.' Never take a backward step, and all the articles would tell you that. You were known for your desire and tenacity - kind of like a "Rocky Balboa" come to life. The 2015 Boxing Hall of Fame inductee was affable and easygoing, more akin to a guy on a bar stool at a neighborhood watering hole than a former sports superstar who Frank Sinatra wanted to meet.Īnd when the conversation shifted to "Don King's Ohio Championship Spectacular" on Saturday night, Mancini spoke in a style echoing that of his boxing prime - fast, relentless, unyielding.Įxcerpts of the interview follow, with some portions edited for brevity and clarity. Bramble beat Mancini for the WBA lightweight belt. WBA World Lightweight Champion Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini, right, poses with Livingstone Bramble, far left, Johnny "Bump City" Bumphus, second from left, and Gene Hatcher, second from right, during a press conference at Regine's restaurant in New York on Apto promote their upcoming fights in Buffalo. ĭuring a phone interview, Mancini was gracious, earnest and animated when talking about his affinity for Ohio, boxing's mainstream decline, the dangers of the sport, achieving celebrity, his plans for a TV series about Youngstown's corrupt past, and what it was like for him to meet the wife and son of Duk Koo Kim, the South Korean boxer who died of injuries suffered in a brutal 14-round contest with Mancini in 1982. Mancini said ticket prices are steep, but still thousands of dollars cheaper than bouts in Las Vegas. "It's going to be a great night of fights (and) international fights from all over the world in our area. "I just really hope that people come out and support it," said Mancini, who also will be working ringside as a commentator. Packard Music Hall in Warren on Saturday. Thabiso Mchunu, right, is among the fighters on the card of a per-view championship boxing event at W.D.
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