If Lenny "Boom Boom" Mancini had not been injured in WWII how much of an impact would he have made in the Lightweight Division? Which fighters did he defeat to gain a top ranking, before he went into the military?
Not to sound like I'm getting down on the obvious wonderful story of Ray and his Dad, but I really don't think Lenny was really going to be the next champ. The Ring's year end ratings for '41 show Lenny as the #2 contender, just ahead of Dave Castilloux whom he had just beaten. He held nice wins over Billy Marquardt and Joey Peralta, but lost to the bigger names in Sammy Angott, Leo Rodak and Pete Lello. Now, he was only 22 when he went into the military and 24 when he resumed his career. What was noticeable was the fact that he came back as a welterweight and went on a 10 bout winning streak, including a win over Steve Riggio, who I always remember for beating Rocky Graziano twice. He was still tough as nails, young enough and had a great jaw (never stopped). But what I believe the problem was, was the fact that Lenny was only 5'2". As a lightweight he was short, for a welterweight he had to be dwarfed. It's possible the rigorous military training altered his physique or maybe he would have grown into a welterweight regardless. But remember, Art Hafey was 5'2" and was considered tiny for a featherweight. I believe herein lays the problem with how far Lenny was ever going to go. Scartissue
