Boxing Thread

[ColinBollocks]

I was reading some say Lomachenko was looking a little sluggish in there, which genuinely had me all confusedmarkwahlberg.gif. As pointed out, some just aren't into the idea of giving Linares the credit he deserves because he proper gave us a look at where Lomachenko is at.

Of course, the winning combination was like something from a film. So fast and precise, that I had to watch it a few times after to work out exactly how and why.

Great fight.

Edited May 13, 2018 by ColinBollocks

[wandshogun09]

Same. I didn't catch the body shot at all in real time. Loma landed a bunch of flush short shots just before that snapped Linares' head back and when he went down I thought it must be a delayed reaction from the accumulation of those punches. But obviously the replays cleared that up. The way he slipped that liver shot in Linares never stood a chance. 

[jimufctna24]

The judges had it even at the time of the stoppage. One judge had Linares ahead, another had Lomachenko ahead, and the 3rd judge had it dead even. Personally, I had Lomachenko a few rounds up, but Linares certainly had his moments. I almost fell of my chair when he knocked Lomachenko down. He also had a very good 9th round. 

I don't think many spotted the body shot that finished Linares off. I was lurking on a boxing forum during the fight, and when Linares hit the deck, most were confused about what was going on. 

[Egg Shen]

brilliant fight, thats the kind of action everyone wanted from Floyd Mayweather when he was the p4p king. Lomachenko brings the offence, incredible fighter.

It was some fight. I had Lomachenko winning the majority of the rounds but the knockdown in the 6th and the punch stats meant it may have been a lot closer than i though. That finishing body punch was a thing of beauty, Linares was getting a bit of a beating before he laid it in too.

What else can Lomachenko achieve? he doesnt seem to want to do things normally.

On the opposite end of the scale, i thought Hughie Fury looked hugely impressive too. Granted he was fighting a bit of a plodder than fed into his work off the back foot style but Fury brought the right hand into play which is what was missing against Parker. The finish like Lomachenkos was masterful. Like his cousin Tyson, Hughie Fury gets a lot of stick online, but hes a real good heavtlyweight with a skillset than none the other heavyweight possess and is only 23. I genuinely see him winning a World Title.

[Egg Shen]

dont forget about this badboy going down on Sky tomorrow night...

[wandshogun09]

I can't sleep and seeing as I did it for Corrales-Castillo 1, I'm doing it for this. It was 16 years to the day yesterday since Arturo Gatti and Mickey Ward first met in a boxing ring. 

Bit of background on how this fight came about. 

Arturo 'Thunder' Gatti was a former two-weight world champion by the time this fight got made in 2002. At this point, he had a record of 34-5 and had firmly established a reputation as maybe the most exciting fighter in the sport. He'd already had the Ring Magazine FOTY in both 1997 and 1998. His fights with Gabriel Ruelas in 1996 and Wilson Rodriguez in 1997 were breathtaking. Two of my favourite fights ever. He also had great fights with Ivan Robinson and Tracy Harris Patterson. But although wildly and consistently entertaining to watch, there were criticisms that his balls out style would only take him so far and would likely mean his career would have a short shelf life. It was criticism that had merit. He'd had his share of losses and, although the fights were exciting, he had a terrible 1998 where he lost 3 fights on the trot. He regrouped and rattled off 4 wins over the next couple of years. Then in 2001, he got outclassed and stopped in 5 rounds by Oscar De La Hoya. At that point it became clear that Gatti wasn't ever going to be 'the man' as far as long term main events, big PPVs and long title reigns went. But he was still hugely popular because of his fighting style and his likeability. So whenever he fought, it was still always an attraction. 

'Irish' Mickey Ward was 36 years old by this point. Like Gatti, he was known as a warrior who had a habit of getting into great fights. He'd also had a Ring Magazine FOTY for his 2001 fight against Emanuel Augustus. But he also had 11 losses on his record and the end looked near for his punishing but not particularly lucrative career. 

Lou DiBella would eventually promote Mickey Ward;

"Mickey never had big promotional representation. There were people who worked with him and helped him but he never saw any real money. Ten, fifteen thousand. Twenty thousand on a great night. You whack that up with your manager and your trainer and whatever, you're living at the poverty line, basically. I wanted to work with Mickey because I thought I could get Mickey the big fight and I had this fantasy in my head, for many years, of Gatti and Ward. That was my Plan A, Plan B and Plan C" - Lou DiBella 

Gatti's manager Pat Lynch said that when sitting and talking about potential opponents with Gatti and HBO, Ward's name came up, they looked at some tape and Gatti casually said 'no problem'. Lynch said Gatti thought Ward would be, and I quote, "a cakewalk". The fight got made. 

"I was excited. I knew I wasn't gonna back up and I knew he wasn't gonna back up. He was the 'blood and guts warrior', you know? But they weren't worried about me" - Mickey Ward 

Remember, this was 2002, at the height of the Tyson vs Lewis build up and ridiculousness. So apart from boxing insiders and the hardest of hardcore fans, the announcentment of Gatti vs Ward probably flew under a lot of radars when you had Tyson biting a chunk out of big Lennox's leg and telling 'punk ass whiteboys' he was going to 'fuck them til they loved him'.

But in 2002 real terms, despite the hype job convincing people Tyson was 'back', Lewis-Tyson was always a mismatch. Lewis was coming to the end of his career and Tyson was nowhere near the fighter he was in the 80s heyday. Lewis vs Tyson was the money fight on PPV. The real 'Fight of 2002' though, was happening a few weeks earlier and it was Gatti vs Ward on HBO's Boxing After Dark. 

"I was trying to tell all my friends why this was must-see TV. It was truly an insider's prize fight. I don't know how many of the fans that came to Mohegan Sun that night really understood what they were about to see" - Jim Lampley 

MICKEY WARD vs ARTURO GATTI

May 18th, 2002 

Montville, Connecticut 

Mohegan Sun 

The HBO commentary team consists of Jim Lampley, Emanuel Steward and old 'Vodka Breath' himself, Larry Merchant. Referee is Frank Cappuccino. It's a 10 rounder. No titles on the line. 

"Many ring observers predict Gatti-Ward will challenge for Fight of the Year honours. Both fighters have shown willingness to stand toe-to-toe and trade shots" - Jim Lampley

Round 1: Gatti's trainer Buddy McGirt later said that the plan was always to box Ward and not get into a brawl. And early on, Gatti is doing just that. Less than 90 seconds in, Ward's already cut above the eye. Gatti picking him apart and moving well. 

"Gatti's looking very good, he's keeping his punches real loose, freely, everything is flowing beautiful. And he's moving out of the way very, very smooth" - Emanuel Steward 

Easy 10-9 for Gatti there.

Round 2: More of the same. Ward just can't get anything done. He's just too predictable, walking straight ahead trying to wing hooks with no setup or jabs and Gatti's just landing at will and moving around him. 

Another clear Gatti round. 

"The first couple of rounds Mickey was feeling him out. Trying to figure out where to get his openings and how to turn that fight into a street fight. By the third round it was a street fight" - Lou DiBella

Round 3: Ward fighting with more urgency now. He's still eating too many punches but he's upped the pressure and is starting to land more and getting to Gatti with sharp left hooks to the body. Gatti comes on strong late in the round and they trade as the round ends. 

Closer but still a Gatti round for me. You can really sense it heating up though. The momentum seemed to shift and Buddy McGirt is telling Gatti to go back to boxing, fight smart and avoid that body shot. 

Harold ("JIM!!!") Lederman has it 3-0 to Gatti after 3 rounds. 

Round 4: They're going for it now. Ward fucking wallops Gatti with a huge right hand that snapped Gatti's head sideways early in the round. Gatti recovers quick though and rallies back with flurries. Back and forth. 

Late in the round, Gatti lands what initially looks like a body shot. But it was actually a full blast low blow. 

"It caught me...right...under, like...where your things are, you know what I mean? Your testicles. Like one of 'em was hanging off to the side or something. And when he hit me...it got squished out" - Mickey Ward

With it being a low blow, Cappuccino doesn't call it a knockdown and also takes a point off Gatti. 

Ward's round for me. And 10-8 with the point deduction. 

Round 5: They come flying out the gate for this round. Ward just relentlessly bulling forward in the face of Gatti's combinations and digging in with his own shots to the head and body. 

"This is becoming Mickey Ward's fight! They're fighting in a phone booth, and that's the way he wants it" - Jim Lampley 

Gatti wobbles Ward against the ropes with a bunch of fast shots. And as soon as he stopped punching, Ward fired back and hurt Gatti with a brutal series of hooks, uppercuts, body punches, the whole lot. And Gatti looks worse for wear as the bell rings. He was getting bashed about at the end there. Fucking incredible round. It's getting better and better as it goes on. 

"From the fifth round on, we were quite aware that we were watching something genuinely special, memorable, perhaps historic" - Jim Lampley

Ward 10-9. So I've got it dead even at 47-47 after 5. Lederman has it the same. 

Round 6: Gatti, on McGirt's advice between rounds, has wisely gone back to boxing and moving in this round. But he's still got to throw hard just to keep Ward at bay. He just won't fuck off. Gatti lands a good right just before the bell.

That's a Gatti round and McGirt is much happier with him in the corner between rounds. 

"NOW you're boxing like Arturo Gatti! Listen to me. You got this fight. You can rest all day tomorrow, you understand? This is for all the marbles, baby. You understand me?" - Buddy McGirt 

On we go to the seventh. 

Round 7: Gatti boxing well again here. Moving and making Ward walk into his counters. Gatti's easiest and clearest round since the second but it felt like Ward was just regrouping and gearing up for another burst of violence. 

Round 8: It seems like Gatti is starting to run away with this now. But Ward is more aggressive than he was in the 7th and he's giving Gatti no space to breathe or move around much. Last minute of this round is nuts as Ward starts to connect with a few thudding shots and it just escalates into a full-on assault. He has Gatti BADLY hurt right at the end but there's only 10 seconds of the round and that's really all that saves him. 

And here we go...

Round 9: Gatti still looks fucked from that beating at the end of the 8th round. And Ward knows it. Within about 10 of the round starting, Ward digs in a sickening left hook to the liver that just folds Gatti and sends him crumbling to his knees. 

The way Gatti goes down and the expression on his face, you just know that was an absolute bastard of a punch. 

Somehow, Gatti got up. 

"I have never seen anybody else get up from a body shot like that. That body shot was like a bullet. And you could even see, his body just sort of gave and there was this grimace on his face of agony. The second that shot landed, yeah I thought there was a good chance that fight would end. But then, you know, it's Arturo. Arturo gets up" - Lou DiBella 

There's still well over 2 minutes left of the round though. And Gatti's completely fucked. He's protecting his body but eating shot after shot to the head as a result as Ward literally chases him around the ring, battering him from pillar to post. Ward's onslaught starts to slow down though, and it's looking like he might've punched himself out trying to get Gatti out of there.

Now Gatti somehow is back in the fight and just winging hooks full force at Ward with everything he's got left. Gatti teeing off and just smashing Ward to bits in the corner.

And there's still over a minute of this to go!! 

The insanity continues as Ward comes back again and hurts Gatti with ANOTHER body shot. 

"You know, you dream of fights like this but very seldom do they live up to expectations. This is even MORE than you can dream of" - Emanuel Steward 

Now Ward is utterly destroying him against the ropes. Unanswered punch after punch and Gatti is actually turning away.

"STOP IT, FRANK! YOU CAN STOP IT ANYTIME!" - Jim Lampley 

He really could've as well. Gatti took a horrific beating here. 

"I would've got killed if I stopped that fight. They'd have ruined me! Oh, Jesus...'Frank Cappuccino, he really shitted up the place', you know?" - Frank Cappuccino 

And Gatti bloody rallies again at the close of the round! Mental. 

"THIS SHOULD BE THE ROUND OF THE CENTURY!" - Emanuel Steward 

Unbelievable round. For Gatti to survive all that abuse after the knockdown is unfathomable to me, no matter how many times I see it. But to then mount offence after that? Seriously, what the fuck? I don't know how this round was even possible. It was like when you watch a fight scene and Rocky and you go 'That's too unrealistic! As if you'd ever see a fight like that.' Well, watch round 9 of Gatti-Ward 1. That shit CAN happen in real life. 

Look at the stats for the 9th, for fuck's sake;

Ridiculous. 

Some confusion between rounds and it looked like the corner was pulling Gatti out. It was a misunderstanding. Ward started celebrating and everything. Leading to Frank Cappuccino shouting "WHOA! FIGHT AIN'T OVER! FIGHT AIN'T OVER, NO." Ha. 

According to Gatti's manager Pat Lynch though, there were serious concerns in the Gatti corner after the 9th. He was in a bad way. 

"Buddy said his lower lip was kind of shivering a little bit, so he was getting concerned about that. He said 'I didn't like what I just saw. If he takes one punch in this round I'm stopping the fight immediately" - Pat Lynch 

Gatti pleaded with them and they let him go out for the final round. 

Round 10: it can't and won't top the last round but who gives a shit? What more could you ask for? Ward stalking again, looking for that finishing blow. Gatti goes back to boxing . Both men are busted up. Slugfest again! How? One minute left. They're trading and Gatti is actually getting the better of it. Both swinging for the fences as the final seconds count down. 

"This is the way it has to end" - Larry Merchant

It goes the distance. And the scorecards are 94-94, 94-93 and 95-93. 

Winner - Mickey Ward by majority decision. 

I don't think anyone even really cared who won in the end. I completely lost track of the rounds and gave up scoring by the middle rounds. Steward and Merchant had Gatti winning. Who cares? One of the best fights ever. 

"Arturo always said 'My toughest fight is gonna be when I fight someone just like me. And after that fight he said to me - guess what? 'I just fought someone just like me'" - Pat Lynch

Of course, they ended up fighting two more times, completing a trilogy in the span of just 13 months. 30 of the most thrilling rounds you'll ever see in a boxing ring. Gatti won the trilogy 2-1 in the end but it was about more than the final scoreline. I stand by Gatti-Ward as the best trilogy in combat sports history. Ali vs Frazier was definitely way bigger and more significant so if you measure by that then I wouldn't argue. But for pure fight quality and drama bell-to-bell, I can't think of another trilogy where ALL 3 fights were of such a high standard as Gatti vs Ward was. 

I'll leave the final word to an emotional Jim Lampley;

Quote

"Every once in a while, somewhere in my life someone will ask me 'What's the greatest fight you've ever called?' Or 'What's the greatest round you've ever called?' Or 'What's the greatest thing you've ever seen in boxing?' The answer is - Gatti-Ward 1, round 9. I think that'll always be the answer"

 

Edited May 19, 2018 by wandshogun09

[jimufctna24]

47 minutes ago, wandshogun09 said:

But in 2002 real terms, despite the hype job convincing people Tyson was 'back', Lewis-Tyson was always a mismatch. Lewis was coming to the end of his career and Tyson was nowhere near the fighter he was in the 80s heyday. Lewis vs Tyson was the money fight on PPV. The real 'Fight of 2002' though, was happening a few weeks earlier and it was Gatti vs Ward on HBO's Boxing After Dark. 

Another cracking post Wand. I can't add anymore to what you about Gatti vs Ward. 

I will add that Lewis vs Tyson has not aged well. It's a shame, because I remember being very excited about it at the time. I have come to greatly appreciate Lewis's genius in recent years. I rate him higher than both Klitschko brothers and on par with Larry Holmes. The current crop of heavyweights will have do to very well in their careers to compare favourably with Lennox. However, I don't rate his win over Tyson at all. I have read rumours that Tyson was heavily drugged up during that bout to the point of being a walking corpse, and the commission turned a blind-eye. It could be bollocks, but regardless, it was clear that Tyson was a shadow of what he once was in 2002. It was an easy nights work for Lennox. 

Lennox's wins over Golota, Ruddock and his two performances against Holyfield were much more impressive. 

[Porkchopcash]

Tremendous post on the Gatti/Ward fight. Thanks, a great read.

I must have watched that fight a hundred times. Everything is perfect, the fighters, the crowd and particularly the commentery.

Lampley close to tears in the documentary.  

[Egg Shen]

yep, brilliant wand. i want that final Gatti picture on a canvas.

[wandshogun09]

5 hours ago, jimufctna24 said:

I will add that Lewis vs Tyson has not aged well. It's a shame, because I remember being very excited about it at the time. 

Yeah, I watched Lewis vs Tyson back for the first time in years a few weeks back. It's just one of those fights that you had to watch live. Rewatching it now, it's not the best. But at the time, it was an event. Despite there only ever being one outcome. Still, I'm glad it happened. Like you, I don't rate it among Lennox's best wins but I'm glad he got that huge payday and Tyson's name on his record. It didn't mean what it would've meant in the 80s or early 90s but for better or worse it's probably what most people first think of when they hear the name Lennox Lewis. Him bashing up Tyson. Without it, his record is still fantastic but it lacks that something and some would've always said 'well he never fought Tyson' and all that shite. He deserved that moment and the limelight and money that came with it. 

I always link Lewis vs Tyson and Gatti vs Ward 1 together. I guess because they happened so close together, there was just weeks between those two fights.

I'm almost certain that Sky showed Gatti vs Ward as part of the ridiculously long Box Office broadcast for the Lewis vs Tyson PPV over here as well. The whole thing was a massive block of something like 8 hours altogether because I vividly remember trying to record it all on two 4 hour VHS tapes (fuck, I'm old). And they must've had time to fill in the early part of it because I could swear they showed Gatti-Ward 1 in full. It'd just happened a few weeks earlier and everyone was buzzing so it'd make sense.

I'd kind of fallen out of following boxing by the late 90s for whatever reason. I was a teenager and getting into different things. Plus Nigel Benn had retired and the Eubank era was over. I'd dip in for the occasional Naz fight but besides that, my love for boxing wasn't the same. But I ordered Lewis vs Tyson because it was Lewis vs Tyson. And that's what got me back into boxing. And it had nothing to do with the actual Lewis vs Tyson fight. It was the recorded showing of Gatti vs Ward they slotted in to fill time. Of course, then I was hooked into that trilogy and at the same time I really got into Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales, Manny Pacquiao, Juan Manuel Marquez and all those great fights. You had De La Hoya doing his thing and then Ricky Hatton came along and I've never fell out of boxing again. Fights like Hatton vs Tszyu and Corrales vs Castillo made sure of that. I'd have always got back into it at some point but catching that first Gatti vs Ward fight certainly sped up the process. 

[SuperBacon]

I'm a bit of a casual fan, but those Gatti-Ward fights rival anything I've ever seen in sport. Utterly, utterly brutal. Great write up @wandshogun09

[wandshogun09]

If you liked Gatti vs Ward @SuperBacon then give Corrales vs Castillo 1 a watch if you get the time. I reviewed it a few pages back and it's right up there with the Gatti vs Ward trilogy. 

[SuperBacon]

15 minutes ago, wandshogun09 said:

If you liked Gatti vs Ward @SuperBacon then give Corrales vs Castillo 1 a watch if you get the time. I reviewed it a few pages back and it's right up there with the Gatti vs Ward trilogy. 

I've seen it mate, its awesome. Had a mate who was bang into it back then, I was even at the Hatton-Tsvyu fight (in my suit like a bad ass!!!), then kind of dropped out of it, but there was some class fighters around that time. Always thought Zab Judah was underrated. Maybe I was wrong though

[wandshogun09]

You were at Hatton vs Tszyu?! I'm jealous, I'd have loved to have been there. I've been to a couple of boxing shows over the years but never a really big fight like that. 

And yeah, Judah was class in his day. Fast as fuck. It's a shame but Kostya Tszyu knocking him down twice with one punch is the main memory I have of Judah now. He was better than that but the image I have of him whenever I hear or see his name is of him hitting the deck twice then going berserk. 

[SuperBacon]

7 hours ago, wandshogun09 said:

You were at Hatton vs Tszyu?! I'm jealous, I'd have loved to have been there. I've been to a couple of boxing shows over the years but never a really big fight like that. 

And yeah, Judah was class in his day. Fast as fuck. It's a shame but Kostya Tszyu knocking him down twice with one punch is the main memory I have of Judah now. He was better than that but the image I have of him whenever I hear or see his name is of him hitting the deck twice then going berserk. 

I was mate. My Hatton obsessed mate was at Manchester Uni, so we made a weekend of it. Such an amazing atmosphere, and the roar when he won was incredible.

That KO is hilarious. Love the way he goes to start on the ref like it was him that threw the punch..."Watch yourself mate..." and collapse...