Ray Mancini vs Orlando Romero

Youngstown, Ohio’s Ray Mancini retained the WBA lightweight championship by knocking out Orlando Romero in the ninth round at Madison Square Garden on September 15, 1983. Mancini weighed 135lbs and entered with 26 victories against one defeat. Romero, an unbeaten southpaw from Trujillo, Peru, was 134¾lbs. A crowd of 10,900 attended. Tony Perez was the referee, with Yusaku Yoshida, Nicasio Lorenzo Drake and Ismael Fernandez serving as judges. The contest was televised later on CBS Sports Saturday rather than broadcast live.

The occasion carried particular meaning for Mancini. He had watched Roberto Duran defeat Davey Moore at the Garden three months earlier and immediately expressed a wish to fight there. His father, Lenny Mancini, had boxed at the same establishment in 1947, losing an eight-round decision to Rocky Castellani, and had not returned since. More immediate was the shadow of Mancini’s previous championship contest, the fatal bout with Deuk-Koo Kim in November 1982. Mancini had subsequently returned with a ten-round decision over George Feeney, but this was his first defence since Kim’s death and his third defence overall. His activity had also been interrupted by a broken collarbone, suffered while preparing for a proposed appearance in South Africa. Romero, the WBA’s leading contender, brought a record of 30 victories and one draw, with 12 knockouts, but had never previously boxed outside Peru. He was therefore regarded as a substantial outsider despite his unbeaten record.

Mancini attempted to establish his usual pressure from the opening round, advancing behind a crouch and looking to work both hands at close range. Romero did not retreat as readily as expected. Taller and longer in reach, he used a right jab from the southpaw position and brought his left hand across whenever Mancini entered without moving his head. The opening round was difficult to separate, and the judges disagreed. Mancini had more success in the second, closing the distance more quickly and scoring with hooks to the body and head. Romero nevertheless remained composed, and in the third his jab and irregular left-hand counters interrupted the champion’s forward movement.

The fourth and fifth rounds showed that Romero could make the defence considerably harder than anticipated. Mancini continued to press, but his attacks were not as compact as usual, and he missed with several wide punches. Romero’s delivery was awkward rather than polished, yet that very awkwardness troubled the champion. His blows came from unusual angles, particularly the looping left, and Mancini was sometimes caught while setting himself to punch. Both men had useful spells in the fourth, while all three judges regarded the fifth as even. By then Mancini’s face was beginning to mark. A cut had appeared around his left eye, and the swelling increased as Romero continued to reach him with the right jab and follow with hooks and left hands. Romero was also cut, but it was Mancini who looked the more bruised as the contest moved into its middle stages.

Mancini produced stronger work in the sixth, forcing Romero backwards and putting combinations together after reaching the body. Yoshida and Drake gave the round to the champion, although Fernandez preferred Romero’s cleaner counters. The challenger answered in the seventh by standing his ground more often and catching Mancini as he came forward. Mancini’s defence had never depended upon avoiding every punch; his method was to accept some punishment to apply more of his own. On this occasion, however, he was being hit frequently enough to make the result uncertain. Romero was not a heavy puncher by reputation, but his left hand carried sufficient force to check Mancini’s advance and occasionally disturb his balance.

The eighth was another close round, with both men having reason to believe the championship remained within reach. Mancini forced the pace and scored in bursts, while Romero used the jab and countered when the champion squared himself after punching. Mancini’s left eye was badly swollen, and the cut above it remained a concern. He was ahead on two cards after eight rounds, but only narrowly. Yoshida had him leading 79-77 and Fernandez 77-76, while Drake had the contest level at 77-77. The individual cards reflected the uneven course of the fight: Yoshida and Drake awarded Mancini the eighth, whereas Fernandez gave it to Romero. No knockdowns had occurred, and the challenger had done enough to remove any expectation of an easy defence.

The ending came suddenly in the ninth. Romero remained willing to exchange and appeared capable of extending the champion well into the scheduled 15 rounds. Mancini first struck him to the body, causing the challenger to lower his guard. As Romero moved to protect his midsection, Mancini brought a left hook sharply from hip level and landed flush on the jaw. The force of the blow snapped Romero’s head around and sent him flat on his back. He rolled partly towards his side and attempted to rise, but his senses and legs had deserted him. Perez completed the count at 1 minute 56 seconds, giving Mancini his 27th professional victory and ending Romero’s unbeaten record. Romero afterwards described the finish as a lucky punch, but the body shot had drawn the defence down, and the hook had been delivered with speed, accuracy and full leverage. Fortune played little part in its execution.

Mancini had won conclusively, though the preceding eight rounds had exposed familiar weaknesses. Romero’s southpaw jab, unusual timing and left-hand counters had left the champion cut, swollen and occasionally unsettled. Mancini admitted that he had missed badly and struggled to judge where some of the challenger’s punches were coming from. Yet he had continued to press, retained his composure and found the decisive opening in a contest that remained close on the cards. Bobby Chacon, the former super-featherweight champion and Mancini’s intended next opponent, watched from ringside with considerable interest. Mancini had preserved that proposed contest, but Romero had made him work far harder than most expected before one perfectly placed left hook brought the matter to an abrupt conclusion.

Mancini was one of my favourites back in the 1980s. There was something honest, tough and rugged about him. What you saw was what you got: pressure, educated pressure, and a proper fight every time. He wasn’t difficult to hit, but he made opponents pay for every clean shot they landed.

Romero was much better than expected. The unbeaten Peruvian southpaw gave Mancini real trouble with his right jab, awkward angles and straight left hand. By the middle rounds, Ray’s left eye was cut and swollen, and the contest remained close. Mancini looked rusty after his layoff, missing badly at times and walking onto punches he should have seen.

But this is where great fighters separate themselves. Mancini didn’t panic or abandon his pressure. In the ninth, he went to the body, pulled Romero’s guard down and brought the left hook over the top. It was a beautiful piece of punch placement, not the lucky shot Romero later called it.

The knockout was brutal and decisive, but the fight also exposed Mancini’s defensive weaknesses. Against Romero, he could absorb the punishment. Against better men later, that same generosity would cost him.