Boxing Movie "The Fighter" Could Join Other Great Boxing Films

Great boxing movies of the recent past include the Rocky movies, Cinderella Man, and my all-time favorite, Raging Bull. Who else but Robert DeNiro could make movie magic of great lines like "I don' go down fuh no-bod-y!" That was DeNiro's Jake LaMotta character telling his brother he wouldn't take a dive in a fight no matter if the brother told the mob boss he'd deliver.

I didn't know we'd be waiting so long when I wrote an Associated Content article in October 2007 about The Fighter, a boxing film modeled on the life of "Irish" Mickey Ward. Finally, the movie has been released to strong, favorable reviews.

Mickey Ward was a working class boy who grew up in the blue-collar grittiness of Lowell, Mass. Even when he became well known as a boxer, and was making serious money, Ward continued to work in construction, making concrete for a paving company.

Mark Wahlberg is perfect for the Micky Ward part and knows the turf. Growing up himself in similar mill town circumstances, Wahlberg had a feel of the wayward streets and where they could lead. He did jail time on a conviction he'd pleaded down to aggravated assault , and credits jail for turning his life around.

If you clicked on the "article" link in the first line of this writing, you will see Brad Pitt's name mentioned as a cast member. Since that was written, Pitt bowed out of The Fighter, as did Matt Damon previously.

Both actors had been approached to play the part of "Dicky" Eklund, Micky Ward's kinetically energized and self-destructive half-brother and trainer. Eklund was himself a former boxer, who had once gone the distance to lose by unanimous decision to Sugar Ray Leonard.

The Eklund part was eventually taken by Christian Bale. The fact that it took three years to make the movie speaks of unknowable difficulties, but it also speaks of passion to make this film.

What is it about boxing films that is so engaging to movie fans? The success of Russell Crowe, as boxer James Braddock in Cinderella Man, can be attributed to the exhilaration of a long-shot winner crossing the finish line. Sylvester Stallone's unforgettable portrayal of South Philadelphia's Rocky revels in the triumph of any common American willing to pay the price.

Even the shadowy career of Jake LaMotta is heroic, redeemed by his toughness and indomitability, and by DeNiro's brilliant understanding of LaMotta's character and the times in which he lived. One of the memorable references made about the legendary battles between Jake LaMotta and Sugar Ray Robinson was that, if they met one more time in the ring, they'd have to get married.

The two met six times with variable outcomes. Robinson is undoubtedly one of the best boxers of all time, a luminary among legends. With a record of 173 victories, 108 of them coming by knockout, Ray Robinson fought the best of the best, and was only counted out once in the 14^th round of a 1952 fight with Joey Maxim. During that fight, the referee passed out in Round 10 from the 104 degree heat and had to be replaced. Ray Robinson was ahead on all three judges' scorecards when he was overcome by heat exhaustion and failed to start the 14^th round.

Boxing is one of the hardest sports in the world. It requires that you believe in the nearly impossible. The fighter must believe that he alone will rise above the thousands of fighters who nurture the spark amidst the din of clattering speed bags, the thump of heavy bags, the thuds, groans, sweat, and blood of people who won't succeed unless you fail.

So it was with Micky Ward, a guy who wasn't supposed to be the big winner he turned out to be. Lacking the boxing skills of a Floyd Mayweather, Jr., and without the punching leverage provided by the lanky frame of a Paul Williams, Micky Ward etched himself indelibly and forever in the minds of boxing fans by an enduring spirit and a persevering heart.

Ward wasn't stupid, either, and knew the game. His three long battles with the late Arturo Gatti were wars of attrition. You've only got so many of those in you. Micky Ward quit the fight game not too early for his devoted fans, not too late for his family and friends.