Classic Boxing Fights: Micky Ward vs Arturo Gatti I

We’ve already covered some electric bouts in our Classic Boxing Fights series. Today, however, we’ll be looking at a fight that many have deemed to be the greatest of all time.

Prior to Micky Ward vs Arturo Gatti I, the fight had been quietly anticipated for years. Two of the most exciting fighters in the world at the time, it was just the sort of encounter that made sense on paper.

Heading into the fight, Gatti was the fighter with the stronger pedigree. A former Super-Featherweight world champion, he was coming off a defeat against Oscar De La Hoya in his first fight at Welterweight. Despite enjoying early success, De La Hoya quickly gained control of the bout and stopped him in the fifth round.

Ward, meanwhile, had never been a world champion. His one and only tilt at a world title came in 1997, when he was stopped in three rounds by Vince Phillips on cuts.

He’d lost two of his last six bouts, though the defeats – against Antonio Diaz and Jesse James Leija – were more than excusable. In that time, he’d also recorded a win over famed gatekeeper Emmanuel Augustus.

Gatti was also the fresher fighter. Ward’s professional career had spanned 17 years by this stage, while had been in the pro game for six years fewer. He was still very experienced, but Ward was the veteran by comparison.

So, the fight was set for ten rounds in the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut. People knew it would be good – but did anyone think it’d be this good?

Round 1

Ward started us off by landing a sharp left hook on Gatti from the offset. Initially, Gatti wasn’t looking to engage, preferring to function as an outside fighter. Of course, this wouldn’t last.

Gatti was flicking out the jab, trying to keep Ward at bay. In retaliation, Ward was applying intelligent pressure, forcing his opponent to remain mobile and active.

‘Thunder’ certainly looked like the sharper of the two fighters early on. His hands were faster and he was catching Ward with some sneaky counter shots as the older man leapt in to try and close the distance.

Gatti then exploded with a five-punch combination that opened up a cut above Ward’s right eye. No stranger to adversity, Ward pushed on regardless.

Gatti was showing much more defensive nous, slipping shots and using his quicker feet to get away from danger, but Ward was still managing to find the target.

The Canadian lunged in to land a hard left hand to the body, followed by a slashing right cross to the side of Ward’s head as he tried to duck underneath it.

‘Thunder’ then landed a series of short combinations to Ward’s head, who shelled up and absorbed everything that was thrown. He was then caught by a left hook and a right backhand as Gatti feinted with the jab. Already, Ward’s face was a mess from the cut and was being tagged frequently.

A lesser fighter may have folded early, but Ward simply slammed his gloves together and pushed forward. As noted by the commentary team, Ward was barely throwing the jab, preferring to simply walk into range with his guard raised. This had mixed results, to put it politely.

Gatti 10-9 Ward

Round 2

Ward needed a response after taking a bit of a beating in round one. He realised this, lunging in with a lead right to the body before connecting with Gatti’s jaw with a well-timed left hook.

Gatti forced Ward back with another combination, re-establishing his jab soon thereafter. Gatti was throwing far more than Ward was, trying to take him out early.

Ward was having pockets of success, notably landing a one-two as Gatti ducked, but the former world champion was connecting at will early on.

Gatti was also putting a lot into his punches – he was trying to hurt Ward with everything he threw. Against such a durable fighter, this was ill-advised.

Gatti landed two sickening body shots, a left hook and a right hook, but Ward shrugged them off once again. Another clear round for Arturo.

Gatti 20-18 Ward

Round 3

Ward again began the round brightly, pushing forwards and tagging Gatti with a right hand. For his efforts, Gatti timed him and landed a sharp rear uppercut.

Not long after, Gatti then landed a thunderous left hook that snapped Ward’s head to the side and echoed through the arena. Ward wasn’t fazed – he shook it off with no trouble at all. This must’ve troubled Gatti – he knew he’d been throwing a lot, but nothing was registering.

Ward briefly turned southpaw to try and catch Gatti out, but his opponent was far too smart to be drawn in by this. Not long after, he reverted to orthodox.

Still, Ward was beginning to wear Gatti out a bit. He was having more success in trying to close the distance, forcing his was inside and catching Arturo with his trademark left hook to the body.

Gatti landed a one-two just after this, but Ward shook his head and resumed his pursuit. He pinned Gatti on the ropes for a moment – during his escape, Ward landed the left hook to the body again, as well as a left hook upstairs and a right hand.

All of a sudden, Ward was back in the fight. He was consistently looking for routes to the liver of Gatti, throwing his patented shovel hook whenever the opportunity arose. Gatti was also searching for the body, landing four right hooks downstairs in succession.

Gatti had abandoned his gameplan of jabbing and moving, now engaging Ward in the middle of the ring. Ward, after his burst of success, was being forced to shell up as Gatti threw punches to the head and body.

Gatti landed a fearsome uppercut just before the end of the round. He took the third session, but Ward was certainly growing into it.

Gatti 30-27 Ward

Round 4

Both fighters had slowed down a little bit at the start of round four. Ward was still putting the pressure on Gatti, but wasn’t throwing much in doing so. Gatti himself was also throwing fewer punches than he had previously in the fight.

Gatti attempted to be more elusive, returning to his original gameplan of jabbing and moving. Ward was unable to get near him, until the Canadian switched off for a second and allowed Ward to detonate a massive right hand on his chin.

Gatti held on and retreated, preventing Ward from being able to jump on him. He then opted to fight fire with fire, landing a speedy combination to the head and body of Ward. Still, the Irish-American was unmoved, pushing on and firing back with a combination of his own.

They then each traded big left hooks, both of which came within milliseconds of each other. Gatti was still having success with his jab, using it to snap back the head of Ward whenever he was in range.

Gatti then landed a hook that just sneaked under the belt line. Ward fell to his knees, punching the canvas. The punch was deemed to be a low one by referee Frank Cappuccino, who in turn docked Gatti a point.

That brought the round to an end. Ward was given five minutes to recover, but he wasn’t interested – he wanted to get back into the action as soon as possible.

Gatti 39-36 Ward

Round 5

Ward marched forward once more, throwing his left, only for Gatti to meet him with a sharp pair of hooks downstairs, then upstairs. Gatti continued his assault, throwing wildly to try and push Ward back.

He was certainly landing big shots, but none of them registered on the Lowell native. He was more than happy to absorb punishment as Gatti’s stamina decreased.

Ward was also landing some sneaky shots of his own, including a lead uppercut from within the clinch. He pushed Gatti back onto the ropes, landing his signature combination again, tapping the side of Gatti’s head with the left hook, then digging it into his ribs.

This forced Gatti to stand and trade again. Both landed telling shots, though none as impactful as a straight right that put Gatti on the backfoot.

By now, the fatigue had set in for Gatti. He stood exhausted as Ward began to open up, ploughing hooks into his midriff and rattling shots off his skulls.

Gatti tried to play this off, bouncing around on his toes, but Ward pursued him nonetheless. Ward’s eye was still a mess, allowing Gatti to have success with the left hook virtually whenever he threw it.

Unwilling to back down, Gatti unloaded on Ward’s head, forcing him back onto the ropes on seemingly unsteady legs. Regardless, Ward simply nodded gruffly.

In response, he spun Gatti’s head in several directions when he unleashed a quick-fire combo of hooks. Gatti was stunned and sagged into the ropes, but Ward then threw a powerful left to the body that caused him to wince in obvious agony.

In trying to protect the body, he left himself open for a massive left hook upstairs, sending him staggering across the ring and into a different set of ropes. This was followed up by a huge overhand right that Gatti somehow absorbed – in the end, he was saved by the bell.

Gatti 48-46 Ward