May 18th, 2002. At the Mohegan sun casino in Uncasville, Connecticut one of the greatest fights in combat sports history transpired. A boxing match so immortalized, So universally revered and loved that it transcended the sport itself. Rarely if ever do we as fans get to see what we saw that Saturday night. The fight itself would be a back and forth affair ending in a majority decision win for one Micky Ward. I think I speak for everyone when I say that the scoring did not matter. Who you thought won or lost did not matter. What mattered was the display of will, heart, & character that we all bared witness too by both combatants. This is a real “comfort fight” for me and one that I routinely revisit every few months. If you haven’t seen it, exit out of this page and go watch it. It would truly be a disservice to initially absorb that fight through any medium but maybe least of all some guys article on the internet… If you have seen it, Then you know that my mere words can hardly due it justice but alas that’s the job of someone who writes. I will do my best to highlight, extrapolate and discuss this fight to my best ability. Don’t expect a lot of “technical analysis”, This fight is to be enjoyed and revered not critiqued and transcribed. With that being said I present to you “Testament” starring Arturo Gatti & Micky Ward.
Round 1:
The fight starts with Arturo getting on the bike immediately. Moving and initiating exchanges behind his jab and getting out of the way of counters. In this exchange you can see Arturo throw two jabs and pull back out of the way of each counter.
As Arturo starts to find his range he begins to unleash his patented combos. In this exchange you can see Arturo feint a level change and body jab which pulls a reaction out of Micky. Arturo goes rear uppercut, lead hook, rear straight, lead body hook, lead hook. I love the rear uppercut off the level change. Micky is primed to avoid the body jab and the uppercut should find a home given conventional wisdom. Micky opts to pull back and in an instant Arturo slings the lead hook. Watch the foot position of Gatti after the initial lead hook, Instead of sitting down and firing shots he continues to move forward throughout the combo. This allows him to both extend the combo as well as give him plenty of space to retreat as Micky himself is moving backwards protecting him from any counters.
Left hand, right hand. You will notice throughout Arturos career that he would often throw sequential combos meaning lh,rh,lh,rh then end the exchange with two same side punches. Particularly the lead body hook followed by the lead hook. Obviously shit works because Micky Ward is bleeding in round 1. That being said it wouldn’t be a Micky Ward fight if he wasn’t bleeding.
Round 2:
I added this clip because you can see Micky doing what he can to get inside on a fresh Gatti. Easier said then done. You can see Arturo was more than willing to fight his way out of an exchange. Micky attempts to tie up the lead hand (plausibly to occupy that side and get lead body hook going) and is immediately caught with uppercuts. He is forced to get his guard back, Arturo not happy with being crowded fires back with multiple shots. This would happen quite a bit in this fight.
Micky to this point has found almost no success in marching past shots attempting to land on inside. He opts to double up on jab and land the 2. An early sign of success which he would build on later in the fight. Also I love how unabashed Arturo is here. Knows his opponents best weapon is the lead hook. He knows hes gonna try to land it often. Doesn’t care still dips outside to avoid shots. Kinda primes the legs and bounces back as well. Great stuff.
Body punch the body puncher. I just added this clip because everyone remembers the body shots of Micky and we forget that he was being battered by Arturo as well. Onward.
Round 3:
Referring back to clip 4 you can see Micky tying up the lead arm of Arturo once again. Arturo throws uppercuts and hooks to make space and punches his way out. Micky does try to use his tying arm to land a punch which is very cool but doesn’t land.
The first of many. I had mentioned Arturos proclivity to land same side punches. Micky does as well. Here he uses the southpaw lead hook to hid his stance switch while staying inside. Lead hook, Patented lead body hook. Chipping away, ever steadfast…
Lets call this the first gate of hell. If this was a movie you would call this exchange foreshadowing. At a certain point something has to give. You can see the audience stand for the first time of the fight. Something they would do over the course of the evening to the point they received a mild quad workout…
Round 4:
Intercepting lead uppercut. Beauty.
First knockdown of the fight. Once again, Revisionist history has boiled this fight down to Micky throw lead body hook, Gatti fire back with combos. Not entirely true. Classic combo of 2-7. Straight which is parried and countered, Followed by the lead body hook to the liver that is so graciously supplied by Micky on a silver platter in southpaw. Traditionally switching to southpaw is a good way of protecting the body but not here….
Round 5:
Outside slip, Jab, Wait for counter, Uppercut, Lead hook. Gatti was masterful at pulling out counters from Micky. Particularly when they matched up in the close stance. Micky was always so eager to get one back after a good jab. At the half way point of the fight this was apparent. Gatti was out boxing Micky on the front and back foot.
Boy oh boy what a contrast in clips. Eventually the dam breaks, Or in this case starts to leak. You simply cannot throw at the pace Gatti was throwing, Moving on the back foot for as long as he was without momentary rest. Look at the grimace in the face from Gatti after the lead hook. After being stunned from a 6 punch combination, He almost seems to be brought back to life by the shot only to be immediately faced with the realization that he is in a fight. Even worse… Its a fight with Micky Ward.
Round 6:
What an animal Mickey is. I added this clip just to show the chin of Ward. Clean, Flush Overhand right from a dangerous Arturo Gatti. After getting dropped with a body shot and getting beaten up for 4.5 rounds… Nothin’.
Much like the clip from the second round, You can see the success Micky would have working the jab. There’s an old adage in fighting that you should “X the Xer” meaning do what they do well back at them. In this case its jab the jabber. Gatti so quick to outside slip and angle away would eat these double jab right hands all round. I would venture as far as to say this is a reason Gatti did start to tire. Difficult to hinge at the hips like that while breathing properly while preparing to counter while trying to avoid the follow up shot… Fighting is fucking hard lol.
Round 7:
This is just solid boxing fundamentals. Hooking off the jab. Works especially well if you have an Irish psychopath trying his best to parry every jab you throw… Gatti opts to lean back from Micky jab, Jabs back which is parried, Immediately throws the 3 which lands flush.
What do you want me to say? This is just fun. This fight had so many of these little 3 second exchanges where it was Gatti throwing full power praying something would land and vice versa. Amazing visuals, A true drama for the ages…
Round 8:
This is where Micky started to turn the tide of the fight. These beautiful inside shots. Taking a page out of Gatti’s playbook and hooking to the head first he opens up the body which takes the hook well. Watch how Gatti has to dip to protect that liver. Yes hes trying to stay low and create space but don’t be fooled, That shot rang through his body like a church bell… The head pressure from the right hand of Micky also helps to open up the body as this was a cue that Gatti had used to angle away from the clinch thus far. When Micky went for collar tie it meant the body hook was coming so Gatti would angle away. Didn’t work this time as Micky switched it up.
Great highlight for Gatti here. Classic slip and rip. Get low then throw the uppercut off the level change. Only issue is all that movement 8 rounds in to a fight is costly. Gatti had an amazing gas tank and he used every bit off it as we will see soon enough….
I like to think I push myself. I like to think I train pretty hard and I get to the point of being really tired. Maybe even exhausted, Im not sure if I can see this clip then look in the mirror and say that. What youre seeing is a man fighting true exhaustion. 8 rounds of moving, 8 rounds of landing power shots that would drop large animals, 8 rounds of wondering why the hell this guy wont fall. It added up slowly, Then all at once. Micky being the killer he was marches forward and takes in one large breath of metallic connecticut air and goes to work. Body-head-body. Gatti is a shell on the ropes. More a organism trying to live than a man with thoughts and emotions. How he survived this and the next round is beyond anything mere science could explain. Unfathomable will, mental fortitude and dare I say… Massive balls.
Round 9:
Head,body. The ward classic. Look at the life of Gatti just suck out of his soul. This is without a doubt one of the greatest rounds in boxing history. You will see why now…
Utter carnage. Couple different combos here. Rear Uppercut, Lead hook. Jab, Right hook. Lead hook, body hook, lead hook, 2-1-2. Arturo just eats it as well. Once again just amazing examples of grit and mental fortitude. Back and forth.
At this point I’m lost for words. What is there to be said that I haven’t already? Insane feat of human fortitude by Gatti and Ward. Two men beaten to deaths door only to spit in the face of the devil himself.
Round 10:
“This is how it has too end”
When I think back on the time I have spent in and around martial arts, They can be highlighted into chapters. Chapters that unfold into the story that is my personal journey. I think about the first time I saw a Bruce Lee movie. I think about the first pair of Boxing gloves I bought. I think about the fights I have seen and the fighters I idolized. I think this fight however, Is more akin to a critical life event for me at least in this context. There is me before I saw this fight and after. Every few months I come back and watch the trilogy and every time I do I find myself more and more and more enthralled. I think a lot of you can relate to a certain “glazing of the eyes” that can happen when you watch the sheer amount of fighting as I do. I have never felt even an inkling of that watching this fight. More than a fight, It was a visual representation of of the indomitable human spirit. A triumph over ones own psyche by both men. Beaten down, Battered and bruised. Exhausted physically and mentally under the sheer weight of expectation and a deep burning desire to be better. I’m forever grateful for “Irish” Micky Ward & Arturo “Thunder” Gatti, Not just for their boxing careers, But for the impact they had on me as a person. So to them and to you the reader I say thank you for allowing me to feel the tingly excited feeling we chase like junkies every time we turn on the tv. That being said I hope I was able to convey my feelings properly and I hope you learned a thing or two, About a thing or two…
Your’s Truly,
Smoke
Authors Note:
I really appreciate you sticking through this long read. By far the longest article I have ever written but simultaneously the most fun I have had writing! Trying to stick to a writing schedule is hard due to life but the plan is too continue writing about the things I love.
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