It was a pleasure to have the great Ray Boom Boom Mancini in the gym this week. He was on his way to do a personal appearance with Joe Calzaghe in Cannock.
Mancini was one the most popular Italian American fighters of my generation. We were born only six days apart and our careers ran in parallel. I met him for the first time in 1983 at Madison Square Garden at the Press conference for Marvin Hagler and Roberto Duran.
He was standing with Jake La Motta and his ex-wife, the very glamorous Vicky La Motta. I had been sparring in Gleeson’s gym. I went straight up to him and introduced myself. He already knew who I was. I was the Irish guy, he was the Italian guy at a time when identity and heritage had huge resonance in the United States. We were both fighting on terrestrial TV, which made us household names.
