# The Last Boxing Match I Ever Saw **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 13, 2007, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-boxing-match-i-ever-saw/426275 "2007-11-13T18:47:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2007, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-boxing-match-i-ever-saw/426275/1 "2007-11-13T18:47:52Z")
25 years ago today Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini fought Duk Koo Kim in a furious violent fight that was shown live on CBS television. I was 14 years old at the time and home alone watching the fight. I dnever watched much boxing but this one was exciting and I was just admiring the will of both fighters and there was something about the savagery of it that was so appealing. Of course I understood that this wasn’t cartoon violence, that these men were really hitting each other…hard. Mancini was an up and coming fighter and Kim was an unheralded South Korean boxer who would not quit. Mancini hit him again and agin, but Kim gave as well as he took. Eventually Mancini started to take over the fight and in the 14th he finally landed the knockout blow. The fight was magnificent. And then later I learned Kim died. And I have never gotten over the fact that I was thrilled and entertained by watching one man beat another man to death. I can’t bring myself to watch the savagery. I am not calling for any boxing bans, just my personal boycott against the sport. [Mancini-Kim: 25 years later](http://sports.yahoo.com/box/news;_ylt=ArsjU.FbzNEY_TQzDmomJd45nYcB?slug=ki-mancinikim111207&prov=yhoo&type=lgns) ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2007, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-boxing-match-i-ever-saw/426275/2 "2007-11-13T20:18:03Z")
Wow, I’d never heard of this fight. Powerful article. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2007, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-boxing-match-i-ever-saw/426275/3 "2007-11-13T22:01:05Z")
Thanks for posting the article. I was vaguely aware of this from the Warren Zevon song, but didn’t know the details. He said, Someone should have stopped the fight Told me it was him ---
**Author:** ![Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cab0a1/32.png) [@Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_With_a_Cat)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2007, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-boxing-match-i-ever-saw/426275/4 "2007-11-13T22:41:57Z")
When I saw the thread title, I said to myself “Boom-boom”. I feel for the guy, and that whole thing turned me off on boxing. ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2007, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-boxing-match-i-ever-saw/426275/5 "2007-11-13T22:54:59Z")
As awful as the 500 reported deaths in this sport are, I find the crap he had to deal with afterward vastly more despicable. He did what he was trained to do. He didn’t fight dirty. He didn’t cheat. He didn’t do any drugs. It was a completely legitimate peformance that just happened to…like hundreds of similar performances every year…have the worst possible outcome. And for that he has to take hell. And the fact that his _children_ had to take heat as well is beyond deplorable. Innocents (much less CHILDREN, for the love of god) taking heat for unfortunate incidents they played no part in and were powerless to prevent does not happen in a civilized society. I don’t get it. There are so many genuine no-accounts, jerks, lunatics, clowns, slimeballs, and outright criminals in this sport, why anyone would feel the need to make an example of Ray Mancini is beyond me. Gangster Octopus - I understand your emotions, but it’s not “savagery” that’s the problem. The problem is the way boxing is set up (well-protected hands, no grappling permitted, frequent rest breaks), it makes it easy for the cumulative damage to add up, especially to the head. If you’re looking for a replacement, look for a “harder” style, one where the fight ends before serious damage can occur. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2007, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-boxing-match-i-ever-saw/426275/6 "2007-11-13T22:59:49Z")
Tragic. If any good can come from such a thing, it led to reforms in rules and regulations that protect fighter safety, such as effectively ending the 15 round fight and increased prefight medical observation. Still an awful tragedy. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2007, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-boxing-match-i-ever-saw/426275/7 "2007-11-14T00:26:45Z")
I can’t find it on imdb at the moment, but there was a Korean movie released a few years ago about Kim’s life (the Japanese title was “Champion”). Could be interesting to see that perspective of the story. ETA: Found it: [Champion](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0325165/) ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2007, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-boxing-match-i-ever-saw/426275/8 "2007-11-14T14:35:05Z")
[QUOTE=Jas09] Thanks for posting the article. I was vaguely aware of this from the Warren Zevon song, but didn’t know the details. He said, Someone should have stopped the fight Told me it was him [/QUOTE] [Quote=DKW] He did what he was trained to do. He didn’t fight dirty. He didn’t cheat. He didn’t do any drugs. It was a completely legitimate peformance [/QUOTE] “They made hypocrite judgments after the fact But the name of the game is be hit and hit back” ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2007, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-boxing-match-i-ever-saw/426275/9 "2007-11-14T16:53:56Z")
Well, I certainly don’t blame Mancini and do feel a tremendous amount of sympathy for him. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2007, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-boxing-match-i-ever-saw/426275/10 "2007-11-14T21:02:03Z")
I remember this fight as well. I was in fifth or sixth grade. I didn’t watch the fight, but my friends and I were shocked by it; I think it was the first time we were really made aware of the brutality that accompanies sports. Jesus. I just Googled Kim’s name. You can watch the fight on YouTube. I’ll pass.