Mickey Ward: Blue Collar Warrior

"Irish" Mickey Ward was born October 4, 1965 in Lowell, Massachusetts the same kind of working class Massachusetts community that produced fighters like Rocky Marciano and Marvin Hagler. Ward grew up boxing, and as a teenager saw his half-brother Dick Eklund go the distance with "Sugar" Ray Leonard. He also saw Eklund and his town ultimately succumb to economic hard times in the 1970s, with his older half-brother ultimately becoming a crack addict. Experiences like this no doubt molded Ward's work ethic, for he became a thoroughly blue collar fighter. Training for Ward was like a night job, and through much of his career, Ward retained his day job working in road construction.

After winning a trio of New England Golden Gloves titles as an amateur, Ward turned pro in 1985 with Eklund and former Olympian John Peverada working his corner. Ward went 14-0 until he lost his first fight in 1987, a tough Split Decision to a guy who went on to become little more than a tomato can named Edwin Curet. Many talented fighters are unable to give boxing their full-time commitment, and are undone by distractions as they cannot progress or find the mental focus to prevail in the ring. Ward was a perfect example in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and he lost more than he won.

Ward became a journeyman with a reputation for durability and who came to fight, two qualities which made him popular with matchmakers looking to polish the resume of the other guy who was meant to win. However, Ward could also punch, and his left hook to the body was especially wicked.

Blue Collar Warrior

In the mid-1990s, Ward finally put it together and was on a winning streak. He won nine straight fights with seven knockouts, including wins over undefeateds Louis Veader and Alfonso Sanchez. That led to a shot at IBF Light Welterweight Champion Vince Phillips in 1997. Unfortunately for Ward, Phillips opened a cut over his eye early, and the fight was stopped in the 3rd Round. He then dropped a huge points loss to the uber-slick Zab Judah in 1998.

Mickey Ward soon bounced back, however. In 1999, he stopped tough journeyman Reggie Green, and then knocked out undefeated Shea Neary. That was followed by another points loss, this time to fringe contender Antonio Diaz. Two more wins, including a tough bout with fringe contender Emmanuel Augustus, and Ward once again found himself on the bad side of a cut. In a clash of heads with the redoubtable Jesse James Leija, Leija wound up with the cut that forced the stoppage. However, as the cut was accidental and not the result of a punch, the fight went to the scorecards and Leija was ahead, clinching a Technical Decision.

The Gatti Trilogy

Ward's willingness to fight and his mixed resume made him look like the perfect foil for hard-punching Arturo Gatti, a bankable fan favorite who was attempting a comeback from an utter rout as a lightweight in the late 1990s. In a way, Gatti chose wrongly. Ward's iron will, concrete chin and vicious left hook to the body were in every way a match for Gatti's passion and thunderous left hook to the head. In an absolute slug fest broadcast live on HBO, one that many consider one of the most exciting fights of all-time, Ward pounded out a Majority Decision over Gatti. However, in a sense Gatti chose exactly the right opponent, for the sheer drama and action of the fight guaranteed a lucrative rematch for both men, ultimately resulting in a trilogy that came to define them as two of boxing's most courageous lions.

HBO wanted more fireworks, and happily paid both Ward and Gatti $1 million each for the rematch. After years of toil, Ward had finally made the big time. However, the truth is that Ward was always a rather limited fighter. He was a pure body puncher, a tough guy who ate a few punches to land a harder shot of his own. Gatti, on the other hand, was a boxer-puncher who was too fond of mixing it up. When forced to, he could box well, and that is exactly what Gatti did in the rematch. In the 3rd, Gatti landed a crushing left hook on Ward's ear, sending the Irish-American crashing the the turnbuckles. Gatti called it "the hardest punch I ever landed" after the fight, and no one expected Ward to get up. Yet Ward managed to not only rise to his feet by the count of 8, but go on to finish the fight. Still, the knockdown took something out of Ward, and Gatti boxed to a big points win.

The fans still wanted more, and although the pair of warrior obliged them, Ward announced that the third encounter with Gatti would be his last professional fight. Gatti opened by boxing well and landing sharp combos to the head and body. In the 3rd, however, disaster struck, as Gatti landed a hard right to Ward's hip and broke his hand. It was bad enough that Gatti openly grimaced in pain, and he looked panicked in the 4th. Ward came on and started landing, but by the middle of the fight Gatti had adjusted his tactics, relying on movement, a good jab, and double left hooks to hold off Ward. Micky Ward dropped his rival in the 6th, but it was Gatti who piled on the points and clinched the trilogy with a Unanimous Decision.

A Journeyman's Legacy

True to his word, Micky Ward retired that night. He was 37 years old and held a record of 38-13 with 27 KOs. Although he never held a proper world title, Ward accumulated a number of other honors during his storied career. The Augustus fight, Gatti I and Gatti III were all named Fight of the Year by The Ring magazine, placing Ward in an illustrious group of fighters to have earned that honor three times.

Sources: live fight footage; The Ring; dbe1.com/athletes/micky_ward.php; boxrec.com