When Boxers Kill an Opponent in the Ring: Max Baer and Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini

A few weeks ago I wrote about the death of boxer Davey Browne. The interesting part of the story was the response of Amy Lavelle, who was left a widow. The surprise in that story is that despite her husband's death, she was not making an appeal to end boxing, but rather spoke out about making the sport safer for the fighters. Since then I've been learning more about the boxing scene and these two stories came out of my recent reading..

Max Baer
In November 1959 Max Baer, one of boxing's hardest hitting heavyweights, died of a heart attack. Ring Magazine ranked him #22 in its list of 100 greatest punchers of all time and for one year he was Heavyweight Champion of the World. Two of Baer's fights were ranked as best fight of the year; the first was his 1933 win over Max Schmeling and the second his loss to James "Cinderella Man" Braddock. And of his 71 wins, 53 were by knockout.

As a young man, while fighting Frankie Campbell in San Francisco, Baer pummeled his opponent so fiercely that Campbell's brain was detached from his skull and he died the next day. Baer wept inconsolably and lost four of his next six fights. One of these was to Ernie Schaaf who died five months later after another Baer bout.

Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini

Ray Mancini was another champion boxer who had his career upended after he killed an opponent in the ring. The Mancini's unfortunate fight took place in Las Vegas, 1981. Fans were swept up in what appeared to be one of those fight classics. Tragically, when Mancini leveled Duk Koo Kim in the 14th round, the South Korean fighter never recovered. Minutes after the fight he slipped into a coma and died four days later. Mancini blamed himself and was never the same fighter after that. Until that night Mancini had a record of 25-1. Afterwards he was 4-4. When Kim lost his life, Mancini blamed himself and lost his heart for boxing.

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What prompted me to share these two stories was the discovery that when a fighter dies in the ring there is another victim, the one who's punches put him out. Over time Max Baer managed to overcome his psychological/emotional funk and went on to become world champion for a brief season. Ray Mancini faltered and never did regain his form as a champion. You can learn more about each of these fighters on Wikipedia.

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Related Links

Max Baer Tribute, RingTV: Many People Remember Him

Who Killed Davey Moore: Bob Dylan at Newport Folk Festival

Who Killed Davey Browne: Interview with His Widow Amy Lavelle

Several More Recent Heart-Wrenching Ring Tragedies

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PostScript 
In addition to his fame as a boxer, Max Baer also appeared in 20 Hollywood films. His son, Max Baer, Jr. also became a household name... as Jethro on the popular Beverly Hillbillies television show.