Колорадо Спрингс, Скут. (Април 27, 2020) — As the son of a prizefighter, Приет в Международната зала на славата на бокса (“Class of 2015”) Лъч “Boom Boom” Манчини was born to box, and the Youngstown, Ohio fighter climbed to the top of the sport’s mountain, capturing the World Boxing Association (WBA) lightweight title in 1982.
Mancini’s father, късните Lenny “Boom Boom” Манчини, boxed professionally from 1937 към 1947, съставяне на 46-12-3 (16 Нокаута) про рекорд. Lenny was the No. 1 ranked lightweight in the world in 1941 and considered a future world champion. Обаче, his dream was sadly shattered when he was wounded during World War II. He returned to boxing after being discharged, but his physical issues due to the wound prevented him from fulfilling his once vast potential.
Неговият син, Лъч, took the mantle and ran with it to fame, glory and notoriety as a world champion. He started boxing young and had his first fight when he was 15 at the Junior Olympics in Cleveland. Ray had thought that he would have to wait until he turned 16, because that was the minimum age to compete in the Golden Gloves.
“When I heard that I could enter (the Junior Olympics),” Mancini remembered, “I pressured my father to let me go (to Cleveland). A very close family friend was training some guys in the next town over from us and he was taking some fighters to the Junior Olympics. He said he’d take me there. I won by first fight by first-round knockout and I wound up winning the regional title. I went on to the Mid-West Regional in Detroit and fought a local kid, Sammy Fuentes, to go to the Nationals. He beat me by decision, but I gained my first real lesson about boxing and life: experience is everything. It was my sixth amateur fight and I was told that Fuentes had more than 200. It did not deter me, фактически, it made me hungrier to succeed.”
Succeed he did, despite his aggressive style that best suited the professional ranks much more than amateurs. Той спечели 43 на 50 аматьорски мачове, capturing top honors in the 1977 Youngstown Golden Gloves and Northeastern Ohio Golden Gloves. He also won the Northeast Ohio AAU Championship and reached the quarterfinals of the 1978 National AAU Tournament.
“I lost a close decision in the semifinals of the 1978 National Golden Gloves to two-time U.S. Олимпиец Дейви Армстронг,” Mancini said. “I lost a decision to Anthony Fletcher in the quarterfinals of the 1978 National AAU Championships and once again in the championship final of the Ohio State Fair. In my last amateur fight, I lost a bad decision to defending National Champion Melvin Paul в 1979 Националните Златни ръкавици Tournament. (След това) I knew I wasn’t going to have another amateur fight and was going to turn pro.
“I had more of a pro style when I fought in the amateurs. Three rounds didn’t benefit me. I never had a four-round fight (като про). I started with six-rounders because, for my style, a three-round amateur or a four-round pro fight were pretty much the same for me. Six-rounders were more beneficial to me and that was proven right away.
“I knew I wouldn’t win any of the major amateur championships because of my style. По пътя, въпреки че, I beat some pretty good amateurs: Darryl Chambers,Memo Arreola, Tim Christianson и Mark Chieverini. My amateur career just made me even more hungry to win a World title as a pro.”
His seek and destroy style made him an instant favorite as a professional. “I had to be aggressive, as a fighter or on the playing field when I played other sports, because of my natural instincts,” Mancini explained. “I couldn’t sit back and wait for things to happen; I had to try and make things happen. I follow that thinking in my business life as well, but much like the fight game, you have to known when to attack and when to sit back and counter.”
Манчини, who some called a little Rocky Marciano because of the way he fought, turned pro October 18, 1979 in Struthers, Ohio, спиране Phil Bowen в кръг за отваряне. Ray fought 15 times in his first year as a pro and extended his winning streak to 19, before he challenged World Boxing Council (WBC) lightweight World champion Алексис Аргуело (67-5), who won by way of a 14-round technical knockout, in a fight that was dead even after 10 кръга. After the match, then future Hall of Famer Arguello was quoted as saying: “I think my heart is special, но неговото (Манчини) is bigger than I have. Someday he will be champion.”
Only seven months and three fights later, Mancini captured the World Boxing Association (WBA) lightweight World title way of a sensational first-round knockout of defending champion Arturo Frias (24-1). Ray dedicated that fight to his father, who was unable to become world champion, due to the wounds he suffered in World War II.
Mancini finished his pro career with a 29-5 (23 Нокаута), which included victories against world champions Bobby Chacon (523-5-1), Ernesto Espana (35-4), Frias and Jose Luis Ramirez (71-3), and all five of his losses were to world champions – Arguello, Хектор Камачо, Greg Haughen и Livingstone Bramble (два пъти).
“Ray ‘Boom Boom’ Mancini demonstrated the heart of a champion throughout his career,” каза Крис tofflemire, Директор на възпитаниците на САЩ по бокс. “Even though his in-ring success is primarily discussed at the professional level, the hunger to learn and grow as an amateur is something that inspires today’s USA Boxing champions. He is another example of a USA Boxing alumnus who experienced tremendous success resulting from experiences and lessons from his amateur days.”
Mancini is proud of his roots in Youngstown, which also produced world pro boxing champions such as Harry Arroyo, Jeff Lampkin, Greg Richardson и Кели Павлик.
“Growing up in Youngstown helped me tremendously as a fighter,” Mancini talked about his hometown. “We all knew what a tough town it was and is and we knew the stories of all the fighters, amateur and pro, who had left a mark before us. Growing up there, football and boxing were the two sports everybody talked about. If you left a mark in either one, people still talked about you long after you’re playing, or fight days were over. Така, to succeed in a town like Youngstown, was a tremendous accomplishment in itself.”
САЩ Асоциация на завършилите Бокс
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The ultra-popular Mancini is one of the few boxers to have had a movie (“Heart of a Champion: The Ray Mancini Story)”), песен (“Boom Boom Mancini” by Warren Zevon) and book (“The Good Son: The Life of Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini by Mark Kriegel) about him.
Днес, the 59-year-old Mancini still resides in Youngstown, and he remains involved in boxing as a color commentator for PBC on Fox. He’s also been a member of the Ohio Boxing Commission for the last three years. “I’m involved (в бокса) as close as I want to be and can still be a fan,” той призна,. “What I miss most about the fight game is challenging myself mentally and emotionally, and to be able to “get up” and challenge myself physically on a daily basis. To stand in front of another man before the fight, right in the center of the ring, and say to myself, ‘Either you’re getting carried out of here tonight or I am, but one of us is getting carried out of here tonight,’ was my mentality. I miss that challenge!”
Looking back at his boxing career, Mancini maintains that he wouldn’t change a thing. “I can’t say I would do anything different, в ретроспекция, because I won the World title, successfully defended it four times, made good money and retired healthy,” Mancini concluded. “People still remember and talk about my fights and I made it into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, the ultimate shrine for fighters. Така, why would I want to have done anything differently?”
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