++ [ originally posted by Sergio ] ++
He was never the same after that fight at Caesar's Palace back in '82 against Kim.:down: On his way to being a legendary lightweight.
tell him that a lot of Italian-Americans are still very proud of him.
Finally, someone else in this forum who knows boxing. (Looks skyward as if to say, Thank you Lord)
Vin, are you going to watch De La Hoya-Hopkins next saturday??
I ALMOST feel sorry for De La Hoya.
No, Ray was mentally not the same fighter.
Imagine being 21 years old, and having something like that happen...he was still a kid for crying out loud.........
We never really talked about it, none of us in the family. In 1994, ESPN did "Outside the lines" with violence in sports as the topic. For the first time, Ray really talked about it. I even got on the show, for about 20 seconds. They interviewed me for 40 minutes, and all I got was 20 seconds !!!!!! Thats life in showbiz..............
Believe me, the kids I went to school with gave me lots of aggravation. There wasnt too many days that went by after that , when someone wouldn't say "your cousin is a killer". I got into many fights because of it.....
As far as De La Hoya goes, I think he's a phony !!! Always have , always will !!!!! I hope Hopkins kicks his ass bad (and he will !!)