Ray 'Boom Boom' Mancini headed to boxing HOF

YOUNGSTOWN —Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini wasn’t waiting for his telephone to ring today when the International Boxing Hall of Fame began notifying the 2015 inductees.

“I didn’t think my career was long enough,” said Mancini whose professional career began in 1979 and ended in August 1985.

But Mancini’s impact on the sport was. The Cardinal Mooney High School graduate was one of 11 inductees announced today.

“I never thought of myself as a Hall of Famer. It never even crossed my mind,” Mancini said. “The people of Youngstown have been a large part of my success — I am so appreciative and so honored by that.”

The other inductees include heavyweight champion Riddick Bowe; featherweight champion “Prince” Naseem Hamed of England; light flyweight champion Yoko Gushiken of Japan; manager Rafael Mendoza of Mexico; referee Steve Smoger of Norfolk, Va,; journalist Nigel Collins of England; and broadcaster Jim Lampley of Asheville, N.C.

For the complete story, read the sports page in Friday's Vindicator and Vindy.com