A Look Back: Kenny "Bang Bang" Bogner

In an effort to link the past with the present, The Jewish Boxing Blog will present monthly a short biography of notable former Jewish boxers.

Kenny "Bang Bang" Bogner saw his promising boxing career derailed due to trouble with the law. While Bang Bang has been unable to live a quiet life since his boxing career ended, thoughts of what could have been for the lightweight prospect dance in the imagination of anyone who saw him fight.

Kenneth Bogner was born on January 9, 1961 and grew up in Trenton, New Jersey. He won the silver medal in the featherweight division at the 1977 Maccabiah Games while still attending high school. Kenny opened his professional career with a second round knockout of Robert Johnson on May 22, 1980. Eleven fights later, he had remained undefeated, piling up an 11-0-1 record.

On June 4, 1981, the promising lightweight took on another undefeated prospect, future world champion Livingstone Bramble in Atlantic City, New Jersey. In an interview with Scoop Malinowski, Bramble later remembered, "The best performance I had by far was the fight I had with Kenny "Bang Bang" Bogner and the first [Ray] Mancini fight." When asked why, Bramble continued, "Because Kenny Bogner was [11-0-1], I was [5-0-1]. And he came at me, he came to fight. He wanted to beat me; he didn't like me. He disliked me. And I think it made a lot come out of me. It made me bring out a lot of stuff that probably wouldn't have ever come out at that point in my career."

Bramble won that fight via a seventh round TKO. Bogner was a man willing to take a punch to hit back. Defense was never much of a concern for Bang Bang. But, the brawler had power. He had three different fights scheduled with Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini- two when Mancini was champion- and Boom Boom backed out of all three. Bogner also had a fight lined up with the famed Hector "Macho" Camacho that fell through.

Despite his inability to land a big fight, Bogner won his next eleven bouts. This streak included ESPN's Fight of the Year for 1982 against Kato Wilson. Then, his life unraveled. On November 2, 1984, he was sentenced for stealing marijuana and other personal belongs of a convicted drug dealer. In January of 1985, Bogner was accused of assaulting a woman over a gold chain that belonged to a third party.

Bogner attempted a comeback during the summer of 1987, but was stopped by Remo Di Carlo in the sixth round of their fight. Bang Bang earned a KO in 1989 and two more in 1993. He looked into coming back in 1997, but that attempt was thwarted by another bout with the law.

Muggsy Episcopo, who ran the gym in New Jersey where Bogner helped out early in the 2000s, said of Kenny, "He was a good fighter, a gutsy fighter. If it wasn’t for trouble, he would have been a champion." Bogner, with a record of 25-2-1 with 16 KOs, thought about another comeback in 2004 that never materialized. He was arrested three times in Citrus County, Florida from 2005-2007 and last year encountered a series of run-ins with the law once again.

His ex-girlfriend had a restraining order placed on him, a bus hit his bicycle, and he was accused and later convicted of stealing $150 worth of groceries within a matter of weeks in 2011. About stealing groceries, Bogner says he accidentally walked out of the store forgetting to pay. He explained, " I didn't even realize it! I'm a fighter; I'm a little stupid sometimes. The punches did it."

Kenny lives in Yardville, New Jersey with his girlfriend. At 51, he is retired and does some occasional handiwork. He dons a flat twisted nose, long curly hair, and a face that suggests a hard life. He told the Trentonian that he resents when people only remember the bad things he's done. "I mean, I did handicapped benefits, muscular dystrophy benefits, a marathon run for disabled people and so forth. They don't remember all the good things."

See Kenny Bogner's obituary

Bibliography
"Bogner: Comeback is a Long Shot: Trenton’s promising lightweight had career derailed." The Trentonian. 2004.
"Exclusive Q&A with Trenton's troubled ex-boxer Kenny 'Bang Bang' Bogner." The Trentonian. 2011
Malinowski, Scoop. "A Night at the Klitschko Fight." East Side Boxing. 2008.
"Newswire." Los Angeles Times. 1985.

Mike Brooks vs. Jamell Tyson

August 19, 2011
Paradise Theater
Bronx, New York

part 1


part 2


Brooks: black trunks, white trim
Tyson: black trunks, red trim

Boyd Melson Update

Junior Middleweight Boyd Melson will be a guest speaker at May's Ring 8 meeting in New York on Tuesday, May 15. The Ring 8 deals with charitable causes. Melson is very involved with funding stem cell research for spinal cord injuries. He donates his boxing purses to Justadollarplease.org and started Team Fight to Walk.

Melson (8-1, 4 KOs) is coming off of his first career defeat. That bout took place in March, a heated and controversial unanimous decision loss to undefeated Delen Parsley. Melson is looking to get back into the ring on June 14 at the Roseland Ballroom in New York, New York..

Chilemba Enters Ring's Ratings

Isaac Chilemba (19-1-1, 9 KOs) entered The Ring's light heavyweight ratings this week. He debuts at number ten. Chilemba is coming off of a unanimous decision victory over former title contender Edison Miranda in February. A spot was open in the top ten when Ismayl Sillakh lost to underdog Denis Grachev this past Friday.

Chilemba, who is from Malawi and is in the process of shifting his home base from South Africa to the United States, plans on deciding on his next opponent at some point this month. The "Golden Boy" reached the ratings thanks in part to a draw with the sixth rated super middleweight in the world Thomas Oosthuizen, a win over prospect Maxim Vlasov, and the victory over Miranda.