Proud to Be From Pittsburgh

Proud to be from Pittsburgh: Helping children through boxing

PITTSBURGH — He calls himself an insurance salesman by day and a boxer by night and when Michael Manna enters the ring, there's more than pride on the line.

Just a couple of years ago, Manna was trying to figure out whether to go pro or retire. He says he turned the decision over to a higher power.

"Then I heard very clearly, do something bigger with the stage I'm giving you," Manna said.

That's when he decided he would enter the ring as a pro, but that he wasn't going to just collect his purse and go home. Each punch thrown is a chance to make a difference.

"I'm just trying to get it out there you can always do something to try to do something better for people," Manna said.

His first fight last August was all about children in Pittsburgh.

"My purse went to the kids in the hospital to get them games, clothes, things like that, toys to play with while they're in there," he told Channel 11.

His next two purses also went to local charities, and he is continuing to donate portions of each win to causes that are important to him. He says local businesses even matched some of his donations. For Manna, it's a small thing to do to take his passion and use it to better the Pittsburgh community.

"I figure, the more good that's out there in the world, the more good is going to come around," he said.

Manna plans to coach someday, and hopes others will consider following in his footsteps, finding ways to contribute to causes they care about.