Lowering The Boom On Boom Boom

The champion won almost all of the first six rounds. Bramble was scoring, but with only one punch at a time. "I make a big mistake," he would say later. "I think the judges count the hits. But I guess they count the punches thrown. Now that I know how it works, I will be much better."

In the seventh round Bramble switched to southpaw and began loading up his right hook. Still, he wasn't punching enough. In the corner, Duva kept yelling at him to work more. "You're losing the fight," Duva told him. "He's outpunching you. Give me something."

As Bramble picked up the pace, Mancini seemed to sag. His punches lost their power. His mouth was open, and he was sucking deep for air. Still, after 13 rounds, Mancini was ahead on two of the three scorecards.

In the corner before the 14th, Duva growled at Bramble, "Can you give me six minutes? Listen to me, just six minutes. O.K.?"

"I am a tiger," said Bramble.

"Good, give me six minutes."

"Watch me. Just watch me."

Almost running from his corner, Bramble nailed Mancini with a combination. The champion's legs buckled. Driving Mancini back against the ropes, Bramble poured it on. When Denkin finally stepped in, the champion was looking for him to stop it. Mancini knew if he wanted it, there would be another day.

Leaving the arena that night, Bramble passed through the press section.

"Hey, Bramble," one of the writers yelled at him, "Dr. Doo did O.K."