Chapter One

CHAPTER ONE

“Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!”

― Sylvester Stallone, Rocky Balboa

We all knew we were in for a treat. We knew the potential this fight had. We just didn’t know it was going to be THIS memorable! No fight ever lives up to its potential, that’s just the way it is in boxing. Every boxing fan quickly learns that they will almost always be let down by a fight that is expected to be a great one. That’s why the level of excitement and inspiration this particular fight generated, was something that will likely never be matched again in our lifetimes. This particular fight not only lived up to its potential, but actually surpassed it to the point where May 18, 2002 is marked in history to boxing fans, in much the same manner as November 22, 1963 is to many Americans. Boxing fans can tell you exactly where they were and what they were doing when they witnessed one of the bravest spectacles of blood, guts, stamina and willpower ever displayed in the modern era of boxing. This just doesn’t happen anymore. It doesn’t. So when it does happen, you appreciate it like nothing in the sport you have ever seen. This one was beyond special. This was a once in a lifetime event, captured and made monumental by many old-school forces all converging at the same time, to create one of the most spectacular inspirational moments of the modern era, Round Nine of Ward-Gatti 1. This book takes a look at all those converging forces and their golden-era, old-school boxing roots that all converged to create a moment in modern time that is remembered and appreciated like no other boxing event in history.

Round nine was the culmination of all great things in boxing. It generates goose-bumps to most boxing fans, from start to finish. Many boxing aficionados cannot believe their eyes, nor can they believe the feeling it provides to this day, when viewing round nine of Ward-Gatti 1! It brings out the child in them. It makes them forget about life for a while, and charges up their inner strength. Many boxing fans tout a profound positive energy from watching and listening to the sounds of the ring during round nine. The enormous excitement being generated from all angles is almost too much to comprehend. Jim Lampley, Harold Lederman and Emanuel Steward seemed about to lose their minds. “Gatti blinking away the blood in his right eye. Can’t see out of the right eye. Vicious body shots by Gatti, Ward nodding as if to say COME ON! COME ON! COME ON LET’S FIGHT!” screamed Jim Lampley with such enormous excitement, that it was almost surreal. By the end of the round you could barely hear the commentators over the screaming crowd at the Foxwoods Casino. Even Larry Merchant, who is known for being calm and collected at all times, could barely contain his excitement. “Gatti doesn’t even have the strength to tie Ward up!” he said near the end of round 9. By the end of the fight, he would go on to say “I am humbled by watching these two guys take the punishment they are taking!”

“Well we told you it would be a candidate for fight of the year, we didn’t know it would be a candidate for fight of the century,” Jim Lampley would reply, near the end of the tenth and final round. “This is the way it had to end,” Larry Merchant responded, as Micky Ward and Arturo Gatti stood in the center of the ring, attempting to pound each other into oblivion right up to the final bell. After the fight, round nine was replayed in its entirety for the fighters in the ring by HBO as Larry Merchant was interviewing the fighters. He called it “a round none of us have seen are likely to forget.”

The fight itself, without commentary, is one straight out of the old days of boxing, when two pugilists would stand toe to toe, pounding each other into oblivion. No style, no running, no holding, just punching until they can’t punch no more. But with the HBO commentators, the feeling of the event is enhanced to the point that it makes your spine tingle. The enhanced feeling the commentators added to this great event is undeniable. This was the type of fight every boxing fan dreams of, but seldom, if ever, actually witnesses. That all changed on the night of May 18, 2002, thanks to Micky Ward, Arturo Gatti, Frank Cappuccino, Buddy McGirt, Dicky Ecklund, Jim Lampley, Larry Merchant, Emanuel Steward, Harold Lederman, and countless others. The actors of this night will forever be etched into the minds of every boxing fan who witnessed this event. It was not only the combination of all the fighters’ punches, knockdowns and recoveries, but the words, actions and reactions of the announcers, to what they were witnessing at ringside, that brought out the best in everyone, and for everyone, for one night only.

The choice words used by the commentators at the time of the spectacle, as well as for documentaries after the fact, only add to the appreciation of that memorable night on May 18, 2002. Arturo Gatti was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame on June 9, 2013 and although he has had a remarkable and exciting boxing career, he is remembered most fondly for his three fights against Micky Ward. And although their trilogy of fights is a story amongst itself, this is a story about Round Nine of Ward-Gatti 1 which occurred on May 18, 2002. “When people ask, "What's the greatest sporting event you've ever been to?", to this day, it was 2002 Gatti-Ward and what I saw Arturo Gatti and Micky Ward put forth, I've never seen anybody put forth in all the athletics I've attended as a fan." - Joe Tessitore on ESPN Friday Night Fights 7/17/09