The Good Son: The Life of Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini By Mark Kriegel

The Good Son

The Life of Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini

By Mark Kriegel

By Randy De La O

Kudos to Mark Kriegel for his brutally honest telling of the life of Ray Mancini, former lightweight champion and one of the more popular and beloved fighters of the 1980's, arguably one of boxing's greatest era. Kudos to Ray Mancini as well, for his willingness to share his story, character flaws and all.  Kriegel and Mancini do not sugar coat his life and Mancini, to his credit, makes no excuses. I saw every one of Mancini's nationally televised fights back in the day. I saw all the ups and downs. I'm familiar with his career as a fighter and with the type of fighter that he was.  Mancini's style can only be described as “All Heart”, and it was his big heart that took him beyond his own physical abilities. Ray Mancini is what we like to call. an honest fighter It is this type of fighter to which I am almost always invariably drawn to.

It's no secret to anyone that has followed Ray Mancini's career, or boxing for that matter, that his story begins with his father; Lenny “Boom Boom” Mancini. It was the basis for his own motivation to fight and it was his belief that but for WWII and the injuries that his father incurred, he might have been a champion. Lenny's own story would make for one hell of a movie. It was Ray Mancini's soul driven quest to win a title for his father.

Kriegal begins his story with Ray's grandfather, Nicola “Nick” Mancino (Mancino is the original spelling). It was Nick who left Sicily in 1913 to come to America and ultimately settled in Youngstown, Ohio, a once thriving steel town. This was the genesis for the Mancini's in this country. Lenny's own story though proves to be every bit as compelling as Ray's, maybe even more so. Kriegel does his homework on Lenny and paints a picture of a tough hard fighting young man, who knew only one way to live and to fight, and that was forward, just keep moving forward. It was that “Forward “gene that was passed on to his sons, Lenny Jr and Ray, especially Ray.

I don't want to spoil the book for anyone that has yet to read it so I'm not going to go into every little detail but I do want try and capture the essence of this book which I believe to be a well constructed story of a man's life. While most of us know the story of Ray Mancini the boxer, we don't really know Ray Mancini the man. Mark Kriegel introduces us to Ray Mancini the son, brother, husband , father and friend.

Kriegel takes us chronologically through Ray's fights , including his heartbreaking knockout loss to Alexis Arguello in 1981 and to his title winning effort on May 8, 1982 when he stopped lightweight champ Art Frias and captured the WBA Lightweight title. Frias was stopped in the first round of a short but exciting back and forth fight.

Mancini lands a right uppercut on Duk Koo Kim

The cornerstone of this book and the pivotal point in Ray's life was Ray's fight on November 13, 1982 with the unknown and seemingly over matched fighter from Korea, Duk Koo Kim. After a hellacious fight that caught everyone off guard, including Mancini. Mancini, as was his way, fought moving forward and throwing everything he had but in Kim, Mancini had met his match. At least until the 14th round when Kim was felled by a Mancini right hand. Kim made a valiant effort to rise but the fight was immediately stopped by referee Richard Green. Seconds later Kim fell into a coma and died a few days later as a result of injuries sustained during the fight. For Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini, Lightweight champion of the world, life would never be the same again. Three months later Kim's mother would commit suicide and sometime later so would referee Richard Green.

Kriegal painstakingly takes us through Duk Koo Kim's life and the circumstances leading up to his fight with Mancini. He does the same for Bobby Chacon and for most of the detailed characters in his book. It is that detail that gives life to the Good Son and makes it such a good read.

The death of his brother Lenny, the death of Kim, the suicides of Kim's mother and Richard Green, the eventual loss of his lightweight title to Livingstone Bramble and his failure to recapture the title all led to Mancini's feeling of being overwhelmed by life and circumstances. Who wouldn't be? We can all relate and it is in this part of the book that Kriegel  really excels and shows us an unseen side of Ray Mancini the man.

Ray Mancini was a blue collar fighter if ever there was one. He fought not only for his father but for the people of Youngstown, Ohio and Italian Americans everywhere. This was his strength and his burden.  He was also a man in perpetual need of adoration and he didn't always handle that so well. In this book we learn that ultimately Ray Mancini is just a man trying to do what the rest of us are doing, and that is survive the best way we know how, one foot in front of the other, always moving forward. This is the lesson that Ray has learned as his quest evolved from seeking a title for his father to seeking peace of mind and contentment for himself. In the ring or out, you can't help but root for Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini to win.

Smarter than Boxing's "Alphabet" Soup . . .

By Rick Farris

In 1976, Forum Boxing Promoter, Don Fraser, was riding high on a crest of success that began to take shape more than two decades earlier, at the legendary Hollywood Legion Stadium.  The man who brought the second Ali-Norton match to L.A.'s fabulous Forum in 1973, had the two hardest punching 118 pounders on earth, WBC World Bantamweight Champ Carlos Zarate, and WBA Champ Alfonso Zamora, signed to fight in a 15-round match to unify the two titles.

Both were unbeaten, both had unbelieveable KO records, and there was bad blood between the two.  Once stablemates under Cuyo Hernandez, Zamora broke off and was being guided by his father.  Being unbeaten world champs was important, but more important to both was not who was considered the best in the world, but who was the best in Mexico.  They both would carry heavy hands into the match, and few believed it would last ten rounds, let alone fifteen.

The WBC demanded a huge "sanctioning fee" to validate the title match.  Sanctioning fees are expensive for a boxing promoter, as this bill gets paid right up front.  In this case, the WBA was also involved as their title would also be at stake.  An equally outrageous sanctioning fee.  The "Alphabet Boys" knew this one was going to make major cash, a guaranteed sellout in a venue with a history of staging successful matches featuring the best from Mexico.

Fraser began running the numbers and wasn't happy.  For nearly ten years he'd been working with Jack Kent Cooke, responsible for building the Forum's boxing program, bringing in legendary promoter George Parnassus, then bringing in weekly televised boxing, promoting the Ali-Norton rematch.  Don knew the territory, had worked with the best from Mexico, and he understood the culture.  Don also understood the foundation of producing a successfull show.

One of the hottest matches of the era was Zarate-Zamora.  The title's held by both boxers were of little issue here.  This was personal, and everybody wanted to see the fight, and don Fraser did something you don't see modern day promoters or cable companies do, he told the WBC and the WBA that he had decided to make the match a 10-round non-title fight.  The Alphabet Mavens were speechless.

As expected, with no titles on the line, the fight was just as big and as great as it would have been had a belt been exchanged.  The world knew at the end of this one who the best man was in the ring that night, the best in Mexico, the best in the world.  And as Don Fraser knew from the beginning, this match didn't require a 15-round match.  Zarate proved himself the best, KOing Zamora in an exciting match that lasted less than half of the scheduled ten rounds.

The money that would have gone into the cash vaults of the WBA & WBC, went instead into the accounts of those who worked for it, including the boxers.  Best of all, the loser still had posession of his title, even if diluted by his loss.

At the time, a world title still meant something, however, the most important thing is the fight, not the title.
Now, who can tell me the name of every "world Champ" holding a title today?

Can you name a dozen, and also name the titles they hold?

A title means nothing, only the fight matters, and it takes a great promoter to make a great fight.

Angelo Dundee - 'Secrets Of Boxing' (R.I.P.)

This is a great video.The conversations with; Willie Pep, Jimmy Ellis, Willie Pastrano and Pinklon Thomas are worth the watch but the late Angelo Dundee gives us some great advice. The video is about an hour long but well worth watching.

Rocky Marciano vs Ezzard Charles II: The Split Nose

The split nose occurred during Rocky Marciano's rematch with Ezzard Charles. The first fight with Charles, on June 17, 1954, went the distance with Rocky winning a 15 round decision. The rematch took place three months to the day, September 17, 1954. Marciano was caught with an elbow and suffered a split nose. The fight was in danger of being stopped. Marciano fought on, seemingly undisturbed by the cut. He went on to stop Charles in the 8th round. That split nose helped create the legend of the Rock. Who but Rocky Marciano could, or would, have fought through that? With all that Rocky still manages a smile for the camera.

Classic Photos: Rocky Marciano

I don't own this photo but have had it on file for years. Rocky Marciano - The only undefeated 

Heavyweight Champion in boxing history. No small feat! This photo was taken the year I was born.

This is another photo of Rocky Marciano that I have had on file for years. I don't own the rights. 

Not sure of the exact date and it's more than likely in Brockton, Mass

Rocky and his father,  Pierino Marchegiano

Touching Gloves with...Billy Backus

By Dan Hanley
(With expressed permission)

Billy Backus

I always felt for Billy Backus. Here was an honest pro, plying his trade in a sport that can be as unforgiving as it is violent, while under a media microscope. Billy fought under a pall of great expectations everytime he climbed into that four-cornered cauldron, for there was an incredibly long shadow cast over him from his uncle, former champ Carmen Basilio. And, it seemed, he would be forever dogged by this as the press never let him forget it as he was making his own mark on the game.

DH: Billy, first of all, that’s not your name, is it?

 BB: (laughing) I was born Harold William Backus in Canastota, New York. But my father was Harold and my grandfather was Harold and because of all the Harolds in the house I got Billy. Christ, I didn’t even know my name was Harold until I started school.

DH: It’s well known you had boxing in the family but, tell me what interested you in the sport?

 BB: Well, my uncle Carmen’s younger brother JoJo Basilio was closer to my age and I just began tagging along with him to the gym.

 DH: When and where did you get started?

 BB: I was maybe about…14 and a gentleman named Tony Graziano had a restaurant in town and let us train in a back dining room set up as a gym. Well…let’s be straight, there was a bag hanging in the dining room. We graduated from there to a Marina in Oneida Lake used to hold fight shows. The ring ropes were actually bales of hay that we had to climb over. (laughing) As you can see we didn’t have any rules or regulations back then.

 DH: How did you progress in the formal amateurs?

 BB: I won the ‘58 Novice Golden Gloves championship in Troy, NY. At this same time I was playing halfback on my high school football team when the coach found out someone named Backus just won the Gloves. He frowned on this and confronted me but I denied it, saying it wasn’t me. I liked playing football and wanted to do both. Well, the following year I entered the Schnectady Golden Gloves and had to fight Open - after winning Novice the previous year - and won that championship as well, but I used the name ‘Joe Graziano’ so the coach wouldn’t find out. Well, I come home with the trophy and my Dad threw a fit. “Who the hell is Joe Graziano? If you’re going to box you’re going to fight under the name Backus!” So, the following year I came home with an identical trophy from the Schnectady Golden Gloves with the name Billy Backus. In ‘61 I wrapped up the amateur career by competing in the National AAU tournament held in Pocatello, Idaho, representing the Adirondacks, losing to the eventual champion Ralph Ungricht.

DH: Your decision to turn pro in late ‘61, was it a love of the sport by this stage?

BB: It was. I got a taste of things and I was enjoying the game by this time.

DH: Who was your management team when you went pro?

BB: Tony Graziano. He was my manager throughout my career and at first was also my trainer. But eventually Irv Robbins came in as our trainer and later it was Billy Harris.

DH: How did they view your southpaw style?

BB: Oh, they hated it and tried to convert me. But I gotta tell you, I’m actually right-handed. I tried to fight orthodox and ended up with all kinds of pulled muscles. The southpaw style just worked for me, so they left me alone.

DH: From ‘61 until ‘65 you compiled an underwhelming record of 8-7-3 before going on hiatus. Were you just disillusioned with the game at this time?

BB: I’ll tell you what it was, see, I got married very young and had a couple of kids and was trying to support a family working construction, training and trying to be a fighter. It was too much. Everything was suffering, so I packed in the boxing.

DH: In all fairness to you, your opponents, guys like Genaro Soto, Davey Hilton, Colin Fraser and Dick French were not bad fighters for a relative novice, which you were. But what convinced you to comeback?

BB: I got laid off from my construction job. I was collecting unemployment, so I went to Tony Graziano again and asked him if he had anything coming up and if he could get me some fights just so I could pick up a couple of extra bucks. The thing was, with nothing to do, now I was putting everything into training and I just kept winning. It all started to fall together as a full-time fighter.

DH: Billy, this question begs to be asked. I don’t believe I ever read an article on you without the tagline. “Backus, the nephew of former world champion Carmen Basilio…” You had to have felt like you were under constant scrutiny. Like you were obligated to succeed. Is this the kind of pressure you felt?

BB: (laughing) I know exactly what you’re talking about. And to tell you the truth, I really didn’t realize it at the time. But years later I became more aware of the angle and wished they had just laid off a bit and had let me do my job.

DH: In the beginning of ‘69 Percy Pugh was the #2 contender in the world for the welterweight title. Tell me about your 4-fight series with Pugh.

BB: Percy Pugh was a good guy and a good boxer. He was so quick and could really fly around that ring. The thing is with Percy (laughing), was that he had a head on him about the size of a boxing glove. It was so small that he was hard to hit. They appreciated his style in his hometown of New Orleans and they appreciated mine in Syracuse. We split the series accordingly.

DH: After your third fight with Pugh it was reported that the Canastota Boxing Club was attempting to sign a title fight for you with world champion Curtis Cokes. Can you tell me about that?

BB: They did try, but George Parnassus of the Forum Boxing Club on the west coast came in with bigger money for Cokes to defend against Jose Napoles.

DH: In 1970 you were ranked solidly in the top ten ratings and the #1 contender was Manny Gonzalez out of Houston. The two of you were signed for the War Memorial Auditorium for July. Tell me about that fight.

BB: Manny Gonzalez was a good fighter and it was a great fight, but I chased him down all the way in that fight and won the decision.

DH: You were now the top contender at 147 and you were signed for the world welterweight title to take place in December of ‘70. What did it take to bring Jose Napoles to Syracuse?

BB: Well, Napoles signed to fight a non-title against Pete Toro in NY and we went to the fight to have a look see. What happened was Napoles’ people had two offers on the table. One was to fight me and the other was to fight Eddie Perkins. We figured they looked up my record and thought I would be easier. My guys with the Canastota Boxing Club were inexperienced and George Parnassus stuck it to us good. Napoles ended up with $70,000, the CBC lost money and I received absolutely nothing for the fight, except, of course, his world title.

DH: Tell me about your title-winning fight.

BB: Napoles was the Superman of the welterweights. That’s how feared he was. And I’ll admit, before the fight I was shaking. But when that first bell rings you lose all that. The 1st round was a feel-out round. The 2nd round I’m paying more attention because he’s getting close. In the 3rd round I saw an opening and ripped in a right hook. I believe he thought it was a fluke because I’m still seeing the opening and repeated the shot twice more. Three solid hooks and he was now bleeding from his left eye. He went at it hard when he tasted his blood and so did I. That 3rd round was named the round of the year for 1970. In the 4th round I nailed him with the same hook again and the fight was stopped. I was the new world champ.

 DH: How severe was the cut?

 BB: Carmen was working my corner with Tony and he went over to Napoles’ corner to have a look. He came back to us and said, “Wow! I could see his eyeball through the cut.”

 DH: Was there a rematch clause in effect or did the Forum Boxing Club just come up with the right monies for a Napoles rematch? I ask because I recall Tony considering a Marcel Cerdan, Jr. title defense when you were in Paris for a non-title bout.

BB: I think Tony may have been saying that for the press. In reality, we did have a rematch clause, so we were obligated for a Napoles rematch in the Inglewood Forum in California. But now I was champ and in the driver’s seat and Parnassus had to come up with the right money for us. That was my career high-purse of $93,000.

DH: Tell me about the fight.

BB: Okay…I can only tell you so much about this. I was doing well early and had Napoles cut again. But when the bell rang for the 4th round and my mouthpiece was put in I tasted something burning and immediately spit out the mouthpiece and spit out what was in my mouth. In California you can’t fight without a mouthpiece so they rinsed it and put it back in but there was still something there and I wasn’t the same after that. The fight was stopped on cuts in Napoles favor in the 8th round.

DH: Was there any followup on that?

BB: We were in his hometown so, no. But, I’ll tell you this. Remember when I said I spit out what was in my mouth? Well it got on me when I did. And at the end of the fight my skin and my trunks were burned where it landed.

DH: Several months after the second fight with Napoles, Edwin Dooley, the chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission withdrew recognition of Napoles as world champion and set up a title fight between you and Hedgemon Lewis for the NY version of the world title. What was the cause of this?

BB: When we signed for the rematch with Napoles, we too inserted a rematch clause into the contract and Napoles refused to honor it. The NYSAC then stripped him of recognition.

DH: Tell me about the first fight with Hedgemon Lewis.

BB: It was 15 rounds. I thought I won it. The newspapers thought I won it. I took Lewis to a place he was never used to. I really worked his body over but he got the decision.

DH: I gotta ask you this, Billy. What happened between rounds between Carmen and Tony?

BB: (laughing) I forget which round it was, but the bell rings ending the round and I turn to go back to my corner and apparently there was some dispute on who was going to give me instructions, so they had a bit of a physical altercation. I stopped in my tracks. I wasn’t sure if it was safer to stay in the middle of the ring.

DH: Despite a second loss to Lewis, you were still the top contender. But you received no favors in Baltimore against Jack Tillman for the North American title. Tell me about that fight.

BB: Oh, man, what a robbery! I dropped him twice, pressured him the whole fight and they give it to him in his hometown. Tony, my manager went nuts. He pushed the referee, he called out the judges to come up into the ring. He was going to kick their ass right there. That’s how bad it was.

DH: After a good twelve years of slinging leather, cuts were really plaguing you by this time. Stoppage losses on cuts to Zovek Barajas in L.A. and Eckhard Dagge in Germany had to have had you considering packing it in.

BB: It didn’t really because it was the same cut everytime. Under the right eye. And It wasn’t helping matters what they were doing to me on the road, such as in Germany. I swear, that doctor must’ve used an 8-penny nail on me to stitch me up. You should have seen the shitty job he did on me. It wasn’t until after the Papo Melendez fight in Albany that a doctor told me to come and see him. He removed all the scar tissue I had around the eyes, which was breaking open.

DH: You seemed to have had a real love affair going with Paris. You beat Robert Gallois, Roger Zami, Jacques Kechichian and lost a highly disputed decision to Roger Menetrey over there. Did the French just take to your style?

BB: Yes, they did. See, over in Europe they’re taught this very straight upright stance. I think I was just so different to them with the way I fought and of course, I loved banging the body. They liked my style and they paid very well over there. As for the Menetrey fight, yeah, I beat him by at least two points, but he was their boy, so what can you do? But I’ll tell you a funny story about the Kechichian fight. It was only Tony and myself over there and we needed another cornerman so Terry Lawless of England helped us out. I knocked out Kechichian in six and when we get back to the dressing room Lawless looks at me and says, “Billy, you’re a great guy and I like working with you but, I’ll never let you fight John Stracey.” I looked at him and said, “Who’s John Stracey?” (laughing) I must admit I wasn’t really following my competition at the time. Now, having said that, I’ve gotten to know John Stracey over the years. He’s not only a great guy but he wouldn’t have avoided anyone. But Lawless was his manager and I found it complimentary that he wished to avoid me.

DH: After the Rocky Mattioli loss in Australia you embarked on another comeback reminiscent of 1967. Ten straight wins and a draw with Everaldo Azevedo - who was coming off a disputed loss to Carlos Palomino for the title - placed you back in the top ten where you received that call once again at the age of 35. Tell me about your title shot at Pipino Cuevas for the welterweight title in L.A.

BB: Well remember, this was back in the day without the attached thumb on the glove. I mean, you could grip an object with this glove. It wasn’t intentional, but it did happen. I moved one way in the 1st round and caught the full thumb in my right eye. My vision was gone and they wouldn’t let me out for the 2nd round. I went straight to the hospital where they operated on me - successfully - for an orbital blowout of the right eye. I was told in advance that that was the end of my career.

DH: Almost 17 years of climbing through the ropes and now it was done. What did you get into now that it was over?

BB: I had been working for Pabst Blue Ribbon for about a year at the time and went to work for them full time doing PR and sales. I was with them for about 12 years. I was also working for the NYSAC as an inspector and as Deputy Commissioner for the Albany-Buffalo-St. Lawrence area. And finally I went to work for the Mid-State Correctional facility in various positions. I worked for them for 17 years until I retired.

DH: In your lengthy career was there any fighter out there whom you missed out on, whom you really wanted?

BB: There was three I regretted not getting in there with actually. I would have liked to have fought Clyde Gray from Canada, a title fight with Carlos Palomino, and of course, that third fight with Jose Napoles.

DH: At almost 70 years of age, what have you been doing with yourself these days?

BB: I’m simply enjoying life. As a matter of fact, my wife and I are on our way this weekend up to Belfast, NY, to attend the Bareknuckle Boxing Hall of Fame banquet. Carmen was inducted in ‘09, I was inducted in ‘10 and Tony Graziano is being inducted this year for what he’s contributed over the years for upper NY state boxing. I’ll be accepting on his behalf.

DH: I take it, Tony’s too frail to make it?

BB: (laughing) Oh, no! He just avoids the spotlight. Let me tell you a crazy story about that old guy. Recently, he was out in his boat doing a little fishing and another boater fell into the water and started drowning. Well, Tony runs his boat over to him, fishes him out and runs him to shore, saving his life. Everyone on shore can’t believe it. They’re calling the papers to get over there with their cameras because they have a hero on the shore that just saved someone’s life. You wanna know what Tony did? He gets in his boat and takes off. And he’s 90 years old!

#  #  #

To say they raise them tough in Canastota, NY, would be as redundant as saying boxing can be a bit gruelling. A fitting epitaph to the boxing career of this 74 fight veteran of the fistic wars was bestowed by none other than Harold Lederman. In a recent conversation with Harold I mentioned I would be interviewing Billy Backus. Harold’s response was succinct and to the point. “Billy?! Oh, Danny, that was one tough bastard!”

See ya next round,

Dan Hanley

pugnut23@yahoo.com