Article on Mancini VS Kim

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11/6/12 7:45 AM

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PTM2020 350 The total sum of your votes up and votes down

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KIM VERSUS MACINI: THE TRAGIC TITLE FIGHT THAT CHANGED BOXING FOREVER

Four months after that, referee Richard Green also took his own life, although there was no indication that his suicide was linked to the outcome of the fight for which he was never held in any way responsible.

Mancini, a devout Catholic, endured a prolonged period of depression and, although he fought again, was never the same boxer.

KIM VERSUS MANCINI: THE TRAGIC TITLE FIGHT THAT CHANGED BOXING FOREVER

Four months after that, referee Richard Green also took his own life, although there was no indication that his suicide was linked to the outcome of the fight for which he was never held in any way responsible.

Mancini, a devout Catholic, endured a prolonged period of depression and, although he fought again, was never the same boxer.

“In all the obvious ways, he was haunted,” American sportswriter Mark Kriegel, author of a new biography of Mancini titled “The Good Son,” told AFP in a telephone interview.

“He also got over it. The complications for Ray have more to do with the fact that the rest of the world didn’t get over it and continued using that fight as a kind of reference point for his life,” Kriegel said.

Kriegel’s book, and an accompanying documentary of the same name, climax with an emotional reunion in June last year between Mancini and Kim’s family.

Kim’s fiancee, Lee Young-Mee, had been pregnant at the time of the 1982 title fight and seven months later gave birth to a son, Kim Jiwan, now 29.

While being interviewed by Kriegel for the book, Jiwan had suggested a trip to the United States to meet with Mancini.

“As full of duty and obligation as Ray was, he wasn’t going to turn down a request from the son of the man who, without intention, died at his hands,” Kriegel said.

At the meeting in Mancini’s home, Jiwan admitted to the “hatred” he once felt for the boxer, before absolving him of any blame.

“I think it was not your fault,” he said.

The Kim-Mancini bout proved to be a watershed in boxing, triggering a series of major changes to the sport.

Championship bouts were reduced from 15 to 12 rounds, the standing eight-count was introduced and the medical tests required of boxers before a fight were overhauled.

http://www.interaksyon.com/interaktv/kim-versus-mancini-the-tragic-title-fight-that-changed-boxing-forever

11/6/12 3:23 PM	Ignore \| Quote \| Edit \| Warn Admin \| Vote Down \| Vote Up \| Delete Post
pharochuck 23 Member Since: 1/1/01 Posts: 7585 MixedMartialArts LLC, Moderator	i remember the controversy after that fight. mancini was pretty well demonized You have ignored this user.

11/8/12 3:49 AM

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PoundforPound 18 The total sum of your votes up and votes down

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It's a shame that 15 rounders went away as result, those last three rounds were a real test of championship mettle. I can think of a lot of title bouts since then that might have ended up quite differently under the old setup.

That said I still get a sick feeling whenever I watch replays of this fight. It's good to see that the son has been able to get past it and find some peace with Mancini.

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