Before he became the “Magic Man,” Paulie Malignaggi was an angry teenager looking for direction. Finding boxing gave him discipline, confidence, and something he didn’t want to lose.

Paulie joins Popeye Ray and retired referee Jack Reiss on Third Man in the Ring to share the experiences that shaped him, from his Italian family roots and growing up in Brooklyn to a difficult home life, street fights, and his first days at Gleason’s Gym.

The conversation also covers his fight with Miguel Cotto, memories of New York after 9/11, and being in the crowd for Bernard Hopkins vs. Félix Trinidad. Paulie and Jack then compare a fighter’s perspective with a referee’s, discussing fouls, fighter safety, judging, and when an official needs to step in.

Subscribe to Third Man in the Ring for more conversations with the fighters and officials who know boxing from inside the ropes.

Ahmed Bellozo, known as OnTheTira, joins Popeye Ray and Brother Mark to share his story of gang life, 23 years spent in prison, and an addiction that followed him from heroin to prescription pills and fentanyl.

Ahmed talks about first using heroin behind bars, facing cancer and severe pain, and eventually seeking help through Narcotics Anonymous. He also shares how he built a new life as a community reporter and, more recently, was baptized and committed his life to Jesus. Now facing cancer again, he speaks honestly about faith, friendship, and the hope he has today.

If Ahmed’s story speaks to you, share it with someone who needs to hear that change is possible. Subscribe to Third Man in the Ring for more conversations about faith and redemption.

Pastor Mando Vera was once known as “Monster”, a gang member caught in violence, addiction, and incarceration. Today, he returns to the same streets with a message of faith, forgiveness, and hope.

In this episode of Third Man in the Ring, Popeye Ray sits down with someone he personally knew from the neighborhood. Mando opens up about growing up in an abusive home in Bassett, California, entering gang life at a young age, being shot and stabbed, battling drugs and alcohol, and reaching a point where he nearly lost his family and his life.

Mondo also shares something many testimonies leave out: after first accepting Christ, he fell back into addiction. That relapse cost him his job, car, home, and almost everything that mattered to him. What he expected to be a few months in a Christian recovery home became two years of restoration, leadership, and preparation for ministry.

Now an ordained minister, evangelist, and chaplain, Pastor Mando serves people in hospitals, jails, recovery homes, and neighborhoods that once considered him an enemy.

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