A true Rocky story

BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Every professional boxer seems to have a down-and-out story buried in his past.

Maybe it’s a run-in with the law or a battle with drugs or trying to cope as a kid with the loss of a mother or father.

But for Mike “Lil’ Rock” Ricasa, a Baltimore-base lightweight, the struggle began in the amateur ranks with a rare — and life-threatening — liver disorder.

After a sky-rocketing start in the amateur ranks, where he reeled off 13 straight wins, Ricasa’s boxing career was thrown a potential knockout punch in 1998 when he was diagnosed with Hepatitis C.

After a yearlong treatment with Interferon failed, Ricasa said his doctor attempted a more aggressive combination of Interferon-Ribavirin. It was this second round of medication that forced Ricasa to hang up his gloves and spend more time with his family.

“The doctor told me if I didn’t get this taken care of I would only have 10 years to live,” Ricasa said. “My biggest fear was that I wouldn’t be able to walk my girls down the aisle when they got married.”

Treatment ended in February 2003. Ricasa said he will never forget the day his doctor told him the results.

“It was one of the scariest moments of my life,” he said. “I walked down this narrow hallway into his office. I asked him what the news was and he said, ‘We got it beat.’ ”

After brushing away some tears and giving his doctor a hug, he called his wife, Sandy. And then he called his trainer, Danny Kissner at the Baltimore Boxing Club.

There was work to do.

“He told us he wanted to turn pro” Josh Hall, another of Ricasa’s trainers, said. “Well, you’re 38 years old, you might as well do it now,”

One year after fighting for his life, Ricasa stepped back into the ring to start fighting professionally. On May 14, 2004 — two years shy of turning 40 — he defeated Ronnie Cabili to record his first pro victory.

“I just had so much built up inside of me,” Ricasa said. “I felt sorry for my opponent, I was ready to fight.”

Now 40, Ricasa realizes his pride revolves more around his two daughters — Marissa, 8, and Miranda, 6 — than his 7-2 boxing record.

“When my youngest was 18 months old, she threw a four-punch combination on a boy who was 3,” Ricasa said. “When my wife called me and told me about it, I said, ‘Yeah, that’s my girl.’ ”

THE RICASA FILE

Weight class: Lightweight (132 pounds)

Record: 7-2, with three knockouts

Hometown: Baltimore

Did you know? Lil’ Rock’s nickname comes from one of his daughters. While showing off one of his biceps, she told him to get the rock out of his arm.

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