The Valley's last big fight
By JOHN BASSETTI
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN — If you think this weekend’s middleweight fight at the Chevrolet Centre is this area’s first big boxing event, think again.
Back in 1982, Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini defended his WBA lightweight title for the first time by beating Ernesto Espana at Warren’s Mollenkopf Stadium before a crowd of at least 15,000.
It was quite an outdoor spectacle, something along the lines of the heavyweight title fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman — better known as the “Rumble in the Jungle” in Kinshasa, Zaire, in 1974 — only on U.S. soil.
Not that the Kelly Pavlik-Marco Antonio Rubio fight wouldn’t attract as many, or more, if their bout were scheduled here, in mid-summer, at a bigger venue outdoors.
Many Mahoning Valley residents can recall the buzz surrounding that sunny Saturday, July 24, 1982, when the “Pride of Youngstown” dispatched Espana via a sixth-round TKO in the canopy-covered ring.
Besides his title-winning fight over Arturo Frias in Las Vegas on May 8, 1982, and his victory over Peru’s Orlando Romero at Madison Square Garden on Sept. 15, 1983, Mancini considers the fight at Mollenkopf among his career highlights.
He recalled arriving at the fight and seeing people walking along the road to the stadium.
“They were wearing ‘Boom Boom’ T-shirts and cheering for me when they saw the van go by,” Mancini said in a telephone interview last week. “It was a wonderful, wonderful day. I’ll never forget that they were expecting rain that day, and [Top Rank promoter] Bob Arum was very nervous, but it ended up being one of the most beautiful days. It was hot and muggy. It was a gorgeous day. It’s one of the highlights of my life.”
Like Pavlik, fighting near his hometown was special to Mancini.
“At the time, we weren’t too far removed from the shutdown of the mills. I knew that my career was kind of giving people a boost, but I’ve said repeatedly that the people of Youngstown have been a large part of my success. The fans helped carry my body a lot further than it wanted to go at times, and I truly mean that. Their energy motivated me and pushed [me] to limits I never thought I could go.”
Also, like Pavlik, being the face of Youngstown carries a responsibility.
“It was important to not only live the right lifestyle and be a positive role model, but to be a positive influence for the town,” Mancini said.
The Mancini-Pavlik parallels are many. Both grew up not far from each other on the South Side, both have stable family backgrounds and both have similar styles.
“Like Kelly,” Mancini said, “I had a fan-friendly style; to come forward and throw punches.”
Mancini knows well, too, that along with titles and fame comes other responsibilities.
“I think he’s a good role model for the kids, and he’s got to continue to live that,” Mancini said. “Even after he’s done fighting, people want you to represent them.”
One difference between the two is training-camp habits, Mancini said.
“I used to go away to training camp,” Mancini said. “I’m a believer that you have to totally immerse yourself in the culture of the fight. I trained in the Catskill Mountains, then came back the week of a fight. Even the last couple days it’s difficult not to get caught up [in the hype] because every place you go people want to see you do well. The town’s electric.”
Mancini admires Pavlik because he stays home to train, but he doesn’t think it’s a good idea.
“After the fight, party with the town, that’s great. Now, don’t be going out to the store. Close yourself off to everybody and everything, except your camp because you’ve got a job to do,” he said. “But, God bless him. It’s worked for him so far.”
An added attraction at Mollenkopf was the presence of actor Sylvester Stallone, whose role in the “Rocky” movie series was a box-office hit of the period. Mancini met Stallone during a party at the VIP Entertainment Complex in the Great East Plaza in Niles, where another pro boxing show was staged the night of the Mollenkopf event.
At the time, Stallone was interested in producing a film, “Heart of a Champion,” which eventually premiered on CBS in May 1985.
“I was very flattered, but if it was strictly about my life it would be a minute 20 seconds, including commercials,” Mancini said. “It was more of my father’s life and why I wanted to fight for him and our relationship.”
Doug McKean played Mancini as a fighter and Robert Blake played Ray’s father, Lenny Sr. Stallone was executive producer.
Mancini’s gravitation toward the film business started then.
“I never thought of acting or anything like that, but when I lost my love for the fight game and was looking to get out, they had me audition to play myself. I said, ‘Look, the camera doesn’t punch back’ and the worst that could happen is for them to say, ‘Take two.’ It ain’t bad. They actually offered me the role, but they were shooting at the exact same time I was training for the second [Livingstone] Bramble fight.”
On the advice of his agent at the time, Mancini eventually moved to Los Angeles in June 1985.
“He told me that I’d have to come out where the action is. Besides, seeing the sun 300 days a year is good for the soul,” the Youngstown native added.
His energy is now channeled into his two companies: Mancini Pictures International and Boom Boom Productions. Mancini Pictures is a new company he started with Manhattan Investment Partners, a Wall Street investment bank, backing it.
Mancini, who turns 48 on March 4, will arrive here Friday morning and said he may be doing commentary on the Pavlik-Rubio pay-per-view broadcast.
“There’s a good chance. I was asked by Top Rank to do it. I’ll be talking more about the city of Youngstown than the fight,” he said.
bassetti@vindy.com
SEE ALSO:‘Boom Boom,’ out go lights … and cameras.