Ring legend Ray 'Boom Boom' Mancini sees Big Dawg Built, Kastle Boxing as foundation for youth in Johnstown
Oct. 1—Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini didn't have to don a pair of boxing gloves to headline the Kastle Boxing amateur event on Saturday afternoon at Big Dawg Built on Fairfield Avenue in Johnstown.
The former World Boxing Association lightweight champion won over the crowd of boxing fans who arrived ahead of the 15-fight card in "Battle at the Kastle Round 2."
"It's spectacular," Mancini said of Big Dawg Built and The Kastle. "It's one of the best gyms I've seen. The facility is spectacular, too."
Mancini, 62, signed autographs, posed for photographs and spent time with Johnstown's own welterweight champion, Tre'Sean Wiggins.
The Youngstown, Ohio, native also appreciated the importance of the modern Kastle Boxing facility and events such as Saturday's card.
"It means everything," said Mancini, who held the WBA lightweight title from 1982 to 1984. "The amateur programs are the feeding grounds to the pros. So, if the amateur programs slowly dissipate, which is happening in a lot of cities. ... Like, in Youngstown, we don't have Golden Gloves anymore.
"We used to have the Golden Gloves in Youngstown, Akron and Canton, and then you'd all meet in Cleveland, then you'd go to Northeastern, Ohio, and then you'd go to nationals. If you only have one or two fights and go to nationals, how are you supposed to compete with guys who are fighting on a regular basis?"
A member of both the International Boxing and National Boxing halls of fame, Mancini said facilities such as Big Dawg Built/The Kastle, as well as the Kastle Boxing program led by coach Brock Kull, are jewels in communities throughout the country.
"Boxing traditionally was a sport of the poor," Mancini said. "The '20s, it was the Jewish fighters. The '30s was the Irish. The '40s were the Italians. Now, it's the Black and Hispanic fighters. If these kids have nowhere to go, low economic — that doesn't mean there are not a lot of low-economic white kids, too — you need these types of gyms to give them a place to go to, a place that they feel at home, a place that they can grow not only physically, but mentally, emotionally and spiritually. They can see a future for themselves."
Tony Penna Jr., the City of Johnstown recreation director and Big Dawg Built owner, agreed with Mancini on that point.
"The thing about boxing is it's a year-round sport," Penna said. "There is no real season. It's such a good discipline thing. This is so vital in our community right now.
"There are people from all walks of life here, and Brock Kull has an amazing culture. This is year-round where these kids can come. With some of the problems we have in our community, I think this is the perfect answer."
Kull has built the Kastle Boxing program and has been a part of events held in the city.
Saturday's card listed 15 bouts with amateur fighters ranging in age from 9 to 54. Fourteen of the fighters were teenagers and eight were in their 20s.
"Everything evolves, and boxing changes right along with it," Kull said. "There is a lot more discipline involved now than there was before. I always say with discipline, hard work and courage — boxing parallels life.
"What we're doing by giving these young kids a facility like this and keeping the traditions going, we're giving them the opportunity to really learn about life and how to manage it as they get older," Kull said.
Wiggins and Mancini have established a friendship. Mancini is a television commentator for Don King fights. Wiggins has fought in Don King-promoted bouts throughout his career.
"Boom Boom has been coming to my fights for Don King," Wiggins said. "We've became real close. (Prior to a match), he said I was becoming one of his favorite fighters. That was probably my highlight of the night, and I won by knockout in the first round.
"After I met him in Miami, I went back and studied him. I watched him. 'Oh, he's phenomenal,' " Wiggins said of Mancini, who had a 29-5 career record with 23 knockouts. "Aggressive. He was on you like clockwork. I like it."
Wiggins' 14-year-old son Isaiah Wiggins was on the card in a 107-pound bout on Saturday.
"I'm excited," Tre'Sean Wiggins said. "My son is fighting, so I'm a little nervous myself. I'm probably more nervous than he is."
Mancini appreciated the father-son bond. His father, Lenny Mancini, also was a boxer.
"I always tell people boxing helped make me the man I am," Ray Mancini said. "I had the discipline. It created dreams, goals, ambitions. It's the best character-builder I know."
