Poche Pictures
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Ward vs. Louis Veader I
Ward vs. Louis Veader II
Ward vs. Joey Ferrell
Ward vs. Koble
Ward vs. Mike Mungin
Ward vs. Frankie Warren
Ward vs. Corbin
Ward vs. Green
Ward vs. Harold Brazier
Ward vs. Pedro Sanchez
Ward vs. Vince Phillips
Ward vs. Shea Neary
Ward vs. De Cruz
Ward vs. Olivera
Ward vs. Martin
Ward vs. Zab Judah
Ward vs. Diaz
Ward vs. Quinones
Ward vs. Velez
Ward vs. Peoples
Ward vs. McGuire
Ward vs. Coleman
Ward vs. Mercedes
Ward vs. Gatti I
Ward vs. Gatti II
Ward vs. Gatti III
Ward vs. Silva
Ward vs. Burton
Irish Micky Ward Fights on DVD
$26.95
Fights in the set include:
"Irish" Micky Ward (born October 4, 1965) is a retired junior welterweight professional boxer from Lowell,
Massachusetts. He is best known for his trilogy of fights with the late Arturo Gatti.
Contents


Career

Ward won three New England Golden Gloves titles as an amateur before turning pro in 1985. He was coached by
former New England Olympic Champion John Peverada (of Portland, Maine). He started off 14-0 in his professional
career, but after a stretch of defeats in the early 1990s, Ward left boxing for three years. He returned in 1994 with a
vengeance, winning nine straight fights and earning some fights against big name fighters like Gatti.

Ward was known for his devastating left hook to the body and his ability to withstand punishment while waiting to land his
trademark shot. A perennial underdog, he has been known to suddenly drop his opponent in the late rounds with a single
shot to the body (as he did against Emanuel Augustus, then known as Emanuel Burton).[citation needed]

After a 15-year pro career, the veteran Ward gained widespread fame in his May 18, 2002 fight with Arturo Gatti,
broadcast live on HBO. In 2001, Ward's battle with Emanuel Augustus on July 13 had been named the Ring Magazine
Fight of the Year, a fight some thought Augustus won, and it served to set up the much-anticipated Ward-Gatti matchup.
Ward-Gatti I saw both fighters withstand an amazing amount of punishment through 10 rounds of non-stop action. Ward,
who dropped Gatti in the ninth round with a vicious left hook to the body, won the fight by majority decision.

Ward-Gatti I was hailed as the "Fight of the Century" by boxing fans and writers, and Round 9 of that bout was called
"The Round of the Century" by Emanuel Steward, who co-hosted the fight live on HBO. Ring Magazine named
Ward-Gatti I the Fight of the Year for 2002 and round 9 the Round of the Year.

In their rematch, Ward-Gatti II on November 23, 2002, Gatti neutralized Ward's body punching power by boxing and
staying low. In the third round, Gatti knocked Ward to the canvas with a thundering overhand right which landed on
Ward's ear. Ward sprawled into the turnbuckle and stayed down for the mandatory 8 count. Nobody, especially Gatti
(who after the fight called it "the hardest punch I've ever landed") expected Ward to get up, never mind finish the fight.

Throughout the 1990s, and while training for the Gatti trilogy, Ward worked on a paving crew for Newport Construction
Corporation. Some of the scenes from the movie 'The Fighter', were actually filmed on location at a Newport paving job
in Lowell, Mass. [1]

Ward and Gatti earned over one million dollars apiece for Ward-Gatti II. In their third fight, on June 7, 2003, Ward,
despite dropping Gatti in round six, lost by a ten round unanimous decision. Ward-Gatti III was named Fight of the Year
for 2003 by Ring Magazine, marking the third time Ward had earned that honor. It was later revealed that Gatti had
fractured his right hand after a hard punch to Ward's hip, but continued to punch with his right hand. While Ward never
won one of the "Big Four" world titles, he captured both the WBU Intercontinental Light Welterweight title and the WBU
Light Welterweight title. He also won the respect and admiration of many fans worldwide at this late stage in his career.
Before his final fight with Gatti, Ward had announced his plans to retire.
Legacy

In his native Massachusetts, Micky Ward is regarded as a working class hero, a blue-collar athlete who has overcome
many difficulties in life and prevailed through determination and hard work. Ward's older half-brother, Dickie Eklund, was
also a professional fighter who once faced Sugar Ray Leonard and was featured in the 1995 HBO documentary High on
Crack Street.

Bob Halloran's biography Irish Thunder: The Hard Life and Times of Micky Ward was published in 2009 by Lyons
Press. Halloran was also technical consultant on the upcoming film, The Fighter, which recounts Ward's climb to fame.
Mark Wahlberg has been cast in the role of Micky, with Christian Bale Eklund.[2] Amy Adams has been confirmed as a
love interest of Ward in the film. Filming began in Lowell in late July 2009.[3][4]

The song "The Warrior's Code" by the Boston punk rock band Dropkick Murphys is dedicated to Micky Ward, and his
photograph appears on the cover of the album of the same title. Micky Ward used the biographical song, One Hit To The
Body, by fellow Lowell native D-Tension, as his official ring entrance music for his biggest fights including his victory over
Arturo Gatti.

Ward's fight with Arturo Gatti would become the cover of the video game Fight Night Round 3, on the PlayStation 2 and
XBOX versions of the game.