YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Former lightweight boxing champion Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini will join the WKBN 570AM lineup with a one-hour weekly radio show, the station announced Wednesday. The show will cover a range of topics from both the boxing and entertainment industries, according to a news release announcing the show.

The Boom Boom Room will make its debut at 6 p.m. Feb. 19. “It’s the first time that I’ve ever hosted a weekly radio show,” Mancini said. “Now that I’m back in town, WKBN was the perfect fit.” The show will be simulcast throughout the United States on IHeart Radio-WKBN, available as a free download on iTunes.

Mancini’s first guests will be Golden Globe winner Mickey Rourke and Golden Globe-winning actor and Youngstown native Ed O’Neill, now appearing in the ABC series "Modern Family." Both Rourke and O’Neill are familiar with boxing and have a long history with the sport, Mancini said.

“They understand boxing inside and out,” he remarked. “I’m really excited about having my two great friends on my first show.”

Mancini will be “calling in [his] markers” to guests from boxing and entertainment, he said. Among his future guests are director Peter Berg, comedian Garry Shandling and boxing greats Sugar Ray Leonard, Larry Holmes, Tommy Hearns and Aaron Pryor. The show will carry up-to-date boxing news.

“ 'The Boom Boom Room' is going to be a whole bunch of fun, and I feel the Youngstown area will love it,” he said.  

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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