During my teen years in the early 1980s, one of my most admired sports heroes was Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini.

Many a Saturday was spent watching Mancini work his way up the rankings, challenging for, winning, then defending his title. I still have many of the articles and magazines covering the achievements of this young boxer.

My admiration for Mancini came about for various reasons. First, he was from Youngstown. Someone from this area had made it to the big time. And Mancini never forgot where he came from. Even today he proudly reminds people of his Youngstown roots. At a time when most people were down on this area, saying they couldn’t wait to leave, “Boom Boom” was proud of his heritage and hometown.

Second, I admired his tenacity. Mancini was not a finesse fighter. He was just a guy who would never give up. He won many of his matches by allowing his opponent to wear out their hands on his face before he would finally drop them with his powerful flurry of punches. Even in his best matches, Mancini seldom looked like the winner. Yet regardless of the beating he took, Mancini just kept swinging.

Mancini lost only five fights in his storied career, and three of those losses were controversial.

A third reason I admired Mancini was his intelligence. Despite his brawling style, Mancini was an intelligent young man. He knew when to walk away. After losing the belt, he didn’t need to keep boxing as a shadow of his former self. He was able to retire and leave fans wishing for more, rather than have them lamenting the memories of what he once was.

He was able to quit without looking back because of a lifetime of smart choices and wise investments. He not only had plans for life after boxing, he had prepared for that time. Today, he has achieved his post-boxing goals. Mancini has starred in several movies, and owns two movie production studios.

STRENGTH FROM ABOVE

Beyond all of that, there is a fourth reason that I did — and still do — admire “Boom Boom”: his genuine and devout faith in God.

Mancini and I do not share the same Christian heritage. His Catholic upbringing is very different from my Baptist beliefs. Those differences aside, I have admired Mancini’s faith.

His trust in God and Jesus Christ have guided him, strengthened him, encouraged him and gotten him through some times. In a period of about one year, his brother was killed, his father’s health began to deteriorate and he suffered a monumental tragedy in the ring.

Nov. 13 marked the 25th anniversary of what Mancini called the most difficult time of his boxing career. A brutal Las Vegas bout led to a 14th round KO of South Korean boxer Duk Koo Kim. As Mancini celebrated his title defense, Kim collapsed to the mat. He was rushed to the hospital, where it was determined that he had suffered irreparable brain damage. Kim died several days later.

Mancini was devastated. He considered quitting boxing. He was depressed and overwhelmed by a tragedy that was not his fault. In the year that followed, Kim’s mother and the referee of the bout both committed suicide. The pressure nearly destroyed him.

According to Mancini, there was one thing that pulled him through: his faith. The same faith that had encouraged him in the good times now became his lifeline in a horrible, dark one.