Ray Mancini – The 80’s Golden Boy Still Shines The Glassjaw Chronicles Thomas Gerbasi (April 29, 2008) Photo © Mary Ann Owen Send this page to friend Give us your feedback NEW YORK - As boxing’s reigning ‘Golden Boy’, Oscar De La Hoya, prepares in Los Angeles for the latest act in his storied career against Steve Forbes on Saturday night, his predecessor in spirit, if not name, Ray Mancini, is in quite a different setting 3,000 miles away in New York City. Sitting around a conference room table in Park Avenue’s Regency Hotel last Thursday, Mancini talks with a group of reporters that would normally have no interest in the exploits of a former lightweight boxing champion; who have no clue that 25 years ago an audience with the man dubbed ‘Boom Boom’ would have been one of the hottest tickets in town. It doesn’t matter to Mancini, 47 years old and apparently still fit enough to go a few rounds if he had to. He doesn’t miss the fight game, telling the one fight reporter in the room, “I don’t miss it this much,” while holding up a thumb and forefinger which are barely touching. He’s in New York to talk about ‘Redbelt’, the film written and directed by the legendary David Mamet, and one in which Mancini has a small role as ‘George’, an Army vet and fight choreographer. This is his latest championship bout, and when he talks about acting, it’s with the unbridled passion that epitomized his 13 year pro career, a career that saw him become the most popular fighter in the game during one of the sport’s last Golden Ages in the 80s. And it wasn’t just his gallant stand in defeat against Alexis Arguello, his title-winning war against Art Frias, or the tragic, yet epic, battle against Duk Koo-Kim that defined him. It was his personality, his style in the ring, and the story of him fighting to win a title for his father Lenny (a lightweight contender whose chance at a title was tossed to the wayside because of World War II) that made him every mother’s son, every male fan’s drinking buddy, and every female fan’s ideal boyfriend. He was everyman, in the best sense of the word, untouched by the fame and attention afforded him. “My father told me a long time ago, the same people calling you ‘champ’ on the way in are calling you ‘bum’ on the way out,” said Mancini. “He also said ‘it’s a small fall from the limo to the curb’, and all of these clichés I’ve heard all my life are true.” Including the adage which states that ‘nothing lasts forever in the fight game’. Luckily, Mancini knew it, and after back-to-back losses to Livingstone Bramble in 1984-85, he walked away from the game. He would return in 1989 and 1992 for ill-fated one shots against Hector Camacho and Greg Haugen, but for the most part, he got out at the right time. “Going into the fight game, I knew that fighting was just one chapter of my life, it wasn’t my whole life,” said Mancini. “And my style wasn’t made for a long career. I knew that, and I sacrificed longevity to make my score. I was able to go in there and do well enough that when I walked away I had my security. I turned pro at 18, won a title at 21, and retired at 24, basically because I had lost my love for the game. I was married to my career, but like any marriage, if you lose the love, you’ve gotta walk, so I walked. The one thing I’m most proud of is that I’m still able to spell ‘fight’.” He laughs, but he knows better than most people that boxing doesn’t produce many happy endings. Mancini found that out the hard way in 1982 when Kim died from injuries sustained in their bout. Most believe that was when Mancini lost his love for the fight game, and though he would still go on to defend his WBA crown twice more, winning four fights overall, there wasn’t the same desire anymore. Sure, the punches still flew fast and hard, but his heart just wasn’t in it. So when he walked away for good after being stopped in seven rounds by Haugen, he was at peace with his decision, despite only being 31 years old, and he never returned again. It’s not the way the story usually goes. “When fighters let go of the fight game, they get antsy,” he explains. “You make a lot of money and once you do that, you can’t make the same amount doing announcing or things like that. You live a certain lifestyle, and when you’re not fighting, the expenses don’t get any smaller – they stay the same. So what happens is, you think you can make a quick score. When I shut it down, I came back two more times, but I was still young enough to do it. And I did it for personal reasons, but I didn’t do it for the love of the sport. So when I shut it down for good, there were no more what ifs and I let it go.” But what now? What was Mancini going to do when boxing not only defined him to the public, but it also consumed his life for years? Strangely, he found his calling in Hollywood, where he has not only acted over the last two decades, but also produced. Sure, the films so far aren’t Oscar winners, but Mancini isn’t about to let that stop him on his quest for some more golden hardware to match his championship belt. “When I got into this business, people asked me my goal and I said, ‘I want to be an Academy Award winner,’” he said. “They laughed, and these were the same people who said I would never be a world champion. I went into the fight game to be a world champion; why would I expect anything less in this business? Why would I accept it? It’s been a long road, 22 years, but I enjoy the chase. I started off as a prelim kid in this business. I’ve been working, and now I’m producing and I’m in the mix with the studios. I’m doing what I want to do and I want to be the best athlete-turned-actor, and eventually, the best actor period.” He’s also done it without a safety net, opting to turn down all stereotypical ‘boxer’ roles, with the exception of one pet project that was near and dear to his heart. “I was able to turn down 90% of the things being offered to me because I had the luxury of being able to do that,” said Mancini. “But I said if I ever did a fight movie, it would be just one, a remake of Body and Soul, the John Garfield film, which was my favorite boxing movie. I was able to buy the rights and I did that in 1998.” And when the opportunity came to work with the renowned Mamet on Redbelt, it was an offer Mancini – who met the writer and director through fellow actor Ed O’Neill around six years ago - couldn’t refuse. “The funny thing is, I’ve been a fan of David Mamet’s writing for years without ever meeting him,” said Mancini. “I don’t understand Shakespeare, even if it’s English. (Laughs) My Shakespeare is Dave Mamet, Cliff Odets, Sam Henry Kass. They write the way I would talk. So when I got a chance to meet him, it was such a pleasure, and then seeing he was just a knockaround guy, I became friends with him. We’ve talked about doing things together, and every actor wants to work in a Dave Mamet film. Doing a small scene in a Dave Mamet film is better than doing a lead in somebody else’s film. It looks great on the resume, and being able to work with him was such a pleasure. He’s an actor’s director.” Considering that Mancini has now been acting longer than he fought professionally, it’s pretty safe to consider him an actor first and foremost, and not just an ex-prizefighter dabbling in the art. But some things don’t change, from Mancini’s enthusiastic, rapid-fire speech, to his Spartan dedication to his craft, which he is able to enhance with lessons learned from the gym in his hometown of Youngstown, Ohio. “The same things it takes to be a good actor, it took to be a good fighter, and that’s discipline and focus,” he said. “When you’re on the set you’ve got to block out the camera crew, the director, and it’s just you and the other person. In a fight, you’ve got to block out the crowd, the corner people, and even the referee – it’s just me and you. That’s the tunnel vision you have to have, and just like the ebb and flow of two fighters is what makes for a great fight, the ebb and flow of two actors is what makes for a great scene. You may rehearse a scene, but good actors are going to say it to you a little differently than the way you rehearsed it. And when they say ‘action’ and they do that, you have to counter it with something and they counter it back – it’s back and forth and that makes a great scene and that’s what I enjoy about it. Other than that, the camera don’t punch back, the worst thing that can happen is ‘Take Two’, that ain’t bad, and if I’m sweating, I call for makeup.” Again, Mancini seems happy. Not content, because that would mean that he has stopped striving, but happy. It wasn’t what many forecast for him given the Kim tragedy and what seemed to be a disconnect from the fight community because of it. Even Mamet sees a sadness in Mancini, and all fighters for that matter. “He (Mamet) thinks fighters make the best actors because he said all fighters are sad, and all actors need to have that sadness in them,” recalled Mancini. “That’s a great line. But I never thought I was the saddest guy. I thought I was a pretty happy guy until Dave told me I wasn’t.” But the ice between Mancini and the sport seems to have been thawing in recent months. He spoke extensively about the Kim fight and his career for a recent ESPN documentary, and he has been available to the boxing media during the rise of another Youngstown standout, world middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik. Mancini, who has known the rising star since Pavlik was just ten years old, is consistently asked what kind of advice he has given to him now that he is on top of the boxing world. Mancini usually dodges such questions, saying, “He’s got good people around him, he don’t need my advice.” But at a banquet last November, Mancini finally opened up. “Kelly, now I’m gonna give you a little bit of advice. I want to remind you of that contract you signed.” “Right away, his agent got all nervous,” laughed Mancini before continuing. “The people you signed it with are all out here. When you turned pro, that contract simply read, ‘if you back me and support me, I’ll go out there and represent you the best possible way, and I’ll represent you the best way I can.’ Now that you’re the champion, you don’t get to break that contract; only they get to break that contract. So go out there and be an upstanding citizen, be the role model that you’ve been and that you’ll continue to be, and live a righteous life, not only for yourself, but for the people of Youngstown. You now represent this town and you’re the voice of this town.” Mancini paused, as if to remember the contract he made decades earlier, not only with the people of Youngstown, but with the whole world. “That’s the only advice I gave him.” And it was damn good. Now available, Thomas Gerbasi’s latest boxing compilation: Fightin’ to Writin’ – More Ring Ramblings. 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