Remembering Kenny “Bang Bang” Bogner
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Those of you who followed boxing in the early 1980’s will certainly remember Kenny “Bang Bang” Bogner. His wild swinging style made him a fan favorite and a contender in the Lightweight division during that time. Kenny Bogner was born on January 9, 1961 in Trenton, NJ. He overcame a severe ankle injury as an adolescent to become an excellent amateur. The highlight of his amateur career was winning the Silver Medal as a Featherweight in the 1977 Maccabiah Games.
Kenny turned professional in 1980 at the tender age of 19, scoring a second round knockout over Robert Johnson in his debut. Bogner went on to win his first three fights by stoppage. In his fourth professional fight, Kenny was held to a four round draw by non-descript Jose Ortiz on July 6, 1980. Just one week later, Bogner gained revenge and won a decision over Ortiz in the rematch.
After three additional victories, Kenny faced his biggest test to date in undefeated Robert Rucker. Bogner prevailed by a resounding first round knockout. By June 1981, Kenny’s record stood at 11-0-1, 7 KO’s.
Next he faced fellow prospect and future Lightweight champion, Livingstone Bramble. Bramble also came into the fight undefeated with a record of 5-0-1, 4 KO’s. Kenny struggled with a broken nose during the fight and was stopped in 7 rounds. Bogner rebounded from his first professional defeat scoring seven straight victories. His decision victory over Arthur “Kato” Wilson in June 1982 was ESPN’s Fight of the Year. In November 1982, Kenny seriously stepped up his level of competition in challenging longtime Lightweight contender Gonzalo Montellano. Montellano had a vast edge in experience and had only lost once in 37 prior fights. However, it was Bogner who prevailed, winning a 10 round decision. Kenny “Bang Bang” Bogner had proven he was for real. By now he had a huge fan following and had vaulted into the top 10 of Ring Magazine’s rankings at Lightweight. Next on the agenda for Bogner would be a title opportunity against WBA Lightweight champion Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini. At least, that’s what we all thought at the time.
Mancini and Bogner were scheduled to face off on May 27, 1983 as part of a controversial championship card to take place in Sun City, South Africa. Mancini-Bogner was the co-main event along with Roberto Duran challenging Davey Moore for the WBA JR Middleweight championship. Frank Sinatra would also be performing a brief concert as part of the festivities. Many in the boxing world protested the venue given South Africa’s apartheid policies. That said, the Mancini-Bogner matchup itself was highly anticipated. Mancini was also a crowd pleasing slugger who routinely fought wars. Mayhem was sure to ensue once these two men stepped in the ring together.
Unfortunately, it was not to be. Mancini broke his collarbone in training and the fight was cancelled. The Duran-Moore contest was rescheduled for June at Madison Square Garden with Roberto resurrecting his career with an outstanding 8th round stoppage victory. Mancini’s injuries ultimately healed and he went on to defeat mandatory challenger Orlando Romero in September. A disappointed Bogner was the odd man out. He was relegated to facing journeyman Trevor Evelyn who he beat by unanimous decision in July 1983. In January 1984, Bogner defeated fringe contender Edwin Curet by a 9th round technical decision. However, he suffered a broken nose in the fight which left him inactive for the next several months.
Opportunity knocked again when he was scheduled to again to fight Ray Mancini in September. Ray was coming back from his 14th round upset TKO loss to Livingstone Bramble. However, once again, the fight was cancelled. Hector Camacho also reportedly pulled out of a scheduled contest with Bogner leaving Kenny frustrated and disillusioned. Bogner’s career went off the rails as he become embroiled in legal difficulties. He was inactive during 1985 and 1986. Bogner would not return to the ring until July 1987 when he came back to face unknown Remo Carlo. After more than three years away from the ring, the old magic was gone. Kenny lost by 6th round TKO. Afterwards, it was close to two years before he would step in a boxing ring again when he knocked out Jose Maldonado in the first round in June 1989. Bogner would disappear from the boxing scene again before returning in 1993 to defeat Edwin Ruiz and Tim Tipton. His first round TKO victory over Tipton would be the final fight of his career.
Kenny’s final career record was 25-2-1 with 16 KO’s. Some experts believe that if it were not for his legal troubles, he would have become a world champion. Bogner’s transgressions were fairly minor but repetitive and serious enough to prevent a promising career from reaching its full potential. Kenny Bogner’s legacy as a boxer may not include a world championship. However, he provided the fans of the time with great excitement and always gave maximum effort in the ring. In today’s boxing world, there is absolutely no doubt he would be a world champion.