BOARDMAN — After a couple months of work, everything was finally in place. The guests were seated, plates were filled and Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini stood on stage to give the open remarks and prayer.

On Friday night, Mr. Anthony’s Banquet Center in Boardman was the host for the “Boom Boom Mancini Fight Night in Youngstown.” It was the first of what Mancini hoped would be many fundraising fight nights.

“It’s at the end of November, I said, “I gotta do this. I’m done talking about this. Let’s do it,'” Mancini said. “Everyone said, ‘you’re crazy’ or ‘we don’t have enough time.’ I said if we’re gonna fall, we’re gonna fall forward. And here we are. How about this? You can’t make this up.”

The event raised money for Veterans’ Outreach. During his introductory speech, Mancini said he felt veterans were a forgotten group that needed more assistance.

“They do a wonderful job, at very little administrative costs, which is the key,” Mancini said. “I want to make sure that most of it goes to the veterans.”

Mancini got inspiration for the event from a series of fight nights he supported for years in Washington D.C. alongside former headline boxers. However, the fight night in Washington ended four years ago, so Mancini wanted to bring something similar to Youngstonw.

Just like the Washington counterpart, Mr. Anthony played host to six former champions and notable fighters. As part of the draw, the event welcomed Larry Holmes, Buster Douglas, Cherry Cooney, Michael Spinks, Mickey Ward — the inspiration for the movie “The Fighter” — and Kelly Pavlik were introduced after the guests received their meals.

The night ended with a five,bout amateur card. There were three local fighters on the card. Dontrail Burkes fought Akron’s Isiah Jones (112 pounds), John Davis took on Akron’s Tyrin Jones (142 pounds) and Chris Vass squared up against Lorain’s Caleb Limardo (132 pounds).

Mancini wanted to see how everything went on Friday night, but he would like to assist another group next year. He said he’s looking to help raise money for either military or first responders.

“It’s a wonderful thing. I’m very honored,” Mancini said. “Youngstown’s always supported me. But this one was important today. That’s why I love my city the way I do.”