Since stepping away from the professional boxing ring, Boom Boom has ventured into many pursuits—most notably, making a business out of pleasure.
I feel like I have a pretty good gig writing for a tequila publication. Good stuff shows up at my door and, as part of my job description, I am required to taste it. It's tough work. For this issue, I had to endure the drudgery of sipping tequila while smoking fine cigars. We should unionize. This is getting out of hand!
Making a business out of the finer things in life does make punching the clock a lot easier. I thought I had a decent corner on that market until I met Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini at a party in 2023. A local cigar lounge where Ray hangs out just outside his hometown of Youngstown, Ohio was throwing him a birthday party, along with another birthday boy, rock musician Donnie Iris, who was in the house to celebrate as well. Good cigars, good bourbon, nice wine...it was one hell of a party.
I noticed that a lot of the bottles being offered, both bourbon and wine, had the image of a boxer on the label. I knew that Mancini had ventured into the wine business a few years prior, but I wasn't aware that he had created his own bourbon brand along the way. 
II asked one of the cigar shop owners about the bourbon. When did this happen? Is it any good? Does it get any better than having your own wine AND bourbon brand? He replied, "well, he's got cigars too, and, get this, he's part of a tequila brand!"
Alright, this guy has all my boxes for a well spent afternoon checked off.
Alright, this guy has all my boxes for a well spent afternoon checked off. It turns out that, among many of his ventures since he's left the professional boxing ring, Boom Boom has made a business out of pleasure. There's a Boom Boom brand, or a Boom Boom backed brand, for a lot of the things that we consider integral parts of relaxing and enjoying life.
Good cigars, nice bourbon, fine wine, AND a great tequila brand? I was expecting my friend to add, "oh yea, he's got a line of fishing gear, golf balls, and hammocks too."
I caught up with the boxing legend at his morning coffee spot to learn more about how he found his way into the tequila busiless and filot he has found success outside of his championship career creating brands based on the finer things in life.
Mancini, who picked up the "Boom Boom" nickname from his father, a top-ranked contender in the 1940s, started boxing professionally in 1979. On October 18*h of that year he made his professional debut against Phil Bowen, scoring a knockout in the first round. It was the first of 29 wins to 5 losses with 23 career knockouts. Two years later, Mancini would win the NABF Lightweight title in a bout against Jorge Morales.
In May of 1982, Mancini won the WBA Lightweight title with a first round TKO against Arturo Frias. He would retain that title through six more fights until June of 1984 when he lost by TKO in 14 rounds to Livingstone Bramble. That loss was only the second for Mancini in 31 fights to that point. He would finish his career in 1992 with a seventh round TKO to Greg Haugen.
Perhaps it was his upbringing by parents who weathered the Great Depression, or just a good mind for hiisiness that made Mancini a bit of an anomaly in the boxing world, keeping a large portion of the $12 million in purse money that he won throughout his career.
The financial assets would allow him to pursue several business interests after his retirement from the boxing ring, including production company and appearances in a handful of films. Mancini's film ventures took him to southern California where he lived until returning to his hometown of Youngstown, Ohio, where he now lives with his wife, Tina.
A little Q&A With Boom Boom Mancini
Johnston: "First off, we have to talk about the tequila. What made you get into the tequila business with One With Life?"
Mancini: "well, founder of the brand, Lisa Elovich, reached out, because she was a boxing promoter for a long time, and she had my friend, Larry Holmes (legendary heavyweight boxer) involved in the brand, and I thought, well, I wasn't really familiar with tequila but, my boys love it. I figured, this seems like a good brand, and it diversifies my portfolio a little bit, you know, with a younger crowd. So we tasted it, because I won't put my name on anything that I don't taste or appreciate. Now, at the time, I didn't know THAT much about tequila but my boys did and we tasted It and we loved It.
Mancini (cont'd): "Even though I didn't have too much experience I really liked the taste and my sons, who drink tequila, were like 'man, this is right on!' So I backed the brand with Lisa and she does it right. She makes it right, it's organic, she got a great distillery, and she works hard to get the brand out there."
Johnston: "Probably helpful that, even though you didn't have much experience with tequila, you had a palate trained on your wine and bourbon over the years. That probably didn't hurt right?"
Mancini: "You know, I kind think of myself as a teetotaler (laughs), I don't drink a lot, but I like things / can sip and that I can enjoy. We started the wine business in 2007 in Napa, using Napa grapes to make a red blend. Wine people figure, he's Italian, he probably drinks Italian wines, right? Not really, they have some big wines in Italy, robust flavors, and I like a little bit mellower, and I like something that's a bit different, so I went more for the Napa blends."
Johnston: "Alright so you've got a wine brand going, and then, a few years later, you decided to get into bourbon."
Mancini: "(laughs) yea, I got my name on a lot of things but, I don't want to be the guy that gets associated with just putting his name on things. I don't want to be the kind of guy that throws shit at the wall and see what sticks. I want to be associated with quality, and bourbon came to me because I, like I said, I'm a teetotaler, but, I drink the wine...but, when I do want to have a drink, I like bourbon. Back in the day when I was fighting, after a fight we'd have bourbon on the rocks. So friends of mine, who are now partners in the bourbon, took me up to Cleveland Distillery so we can taste bourbons. Again, I want to taste it, anything I'm gonna get behind I got to taste it and enjoy it. So we go up there and we taste four or five bourbons and I said 'yea, these are good, but, ya know, they all kind of taste the same to me. And we're standing there and, underneath the guy's desk there's a barrel and I said, 'what's in that?' And the father and the son who are the distillers said it was just something they kind of made for themselves. I said, 'can I try it?' So we take a sip. It's a maple barrel bourbon. Sitting under their desk! And i said, 'that's the one, that's it!"
Mancini's bourbon, aptly called "Boom Boom" Bourbon, won Double Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in 2021 and 2024. One With Life tequila's expressions have won Tequila Aficionado Brands of Promise Gold medals in 2015 and 2020.
Johnston: "Wine, bourbon, tequila... what goes well with all of those? Cigars. You had a cigar brand (El Campeon, a Dominican made flavored cigar) in the late 1990s, but recently you launched another brand and you have a pretty big name attached to it, yes?"
Mancini: "Yes, we have, the new cigar line is from Nicaragua, from Esteli, and it is produced by AJ Fernandez, who is one of the best out there right now. And truly, it used to be that the Dominican cigar was king but, lately, Nicaragua is producing some really great stuff so, we partnered on the cigar which, for me, is just like everything else I am part of. It's smooth, it's mellow, it's not too bold, but it's got good flavor."
Mancini is aware that his business ventures revolve around things that people associate with unwinding and enjoyment. He admits that, even though his products are associated with relaxation, the business side of wine, cigars, and spirits can be stressful. Distribution channels, marketing, and supply chain are always headaches. Despite the challenges, he thrives on promoting his brands and knows that not everyone gets to work in businesses they're passionate about. "It's fun, and, you know, I'm blessed."
