 An Honest Fighter is Honored
by Stephen Tobey (August 16, 2003)
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UNCASVILLE, Conn., Aug. 15 — When speaking at Micky Ward's retirement party Friday night, promoter Lou DiBella remarked that guys like Ward don't usually get dinners held in their honor.
"Too often, guys who just do the right thing don't get honored," said DiBella.
On this evening, however, more than 200 people gathered in the Uncas Ballroom at the Mohegan Sun Casino to wish the 37-year-old junior welterweight from Lowell, Mass. well in his retirement.
Ward received gifts (various team jerseys, paintings, photos and jewelry) from the Lowell Spinners minor league baseball team, the Boston Bruins, Boston Celtics and New England Patriots, as well as Foxwoods Resort Casino, Bally's, photographer Tom Casino, DiBella, Steiner Sports Marketing, Charlie Ward of the New York Knicks, and Arturo Gatti, the man who faced Ward in his final three fights.
Gatti won two of the three fights, but each bout was remembered more for the non-stop action and display of heart than their outcomes.
"I'm really glad I got to be a part of it," said Gatti, whose right hand was still in a cast due to injuries sustained in his third fight with Ward on June 7. "It showed the whole world what boxing is all about. Those three fights were so important to me."
Of Gatti, Ward said, "I call him ‘Jason.' He doesn't die. You don't have to hate somebody to go out there and try and win."
Said Ward's advisor, Al Valenti, "You saw 30 rounds that nobody will ever forget. Those two guys were made for each other."
Valenti, whose grandfather, Rip Valenti, was a legendary promoter in the Boston area, was with Ward almost from the beginning of his career. The first card he promoted was in 1986 with a bout between Ward and John Rafuse as the co-feature.
"My grandfather always told me to get an Irish kid who could fight," said Valenti.
In addition to the three fights with Gatti, Valenti also recalled some other memorable moments in Ward's career: the left hook that stopped Alfonso Sanchez, the win over Shea Neary in London and the 10-round TKO over Reggie Green in 1999, when Ward was almost stopped in the third round and trailing two of
three cards before rallying to stop Green with 20 seconds left in the fight.
"It was Carlton Fisk hitting the home run (in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series)," said Valenti. "That kid did something awesome on that night."
Ward retired with a record of 38-13 (27 knockouts). The only titles he ever held were the World Boxing Union title he won against Neary in 2000 and the WBU Intercontinental belt he earned with a win over Lewis Veader in 1996. He challenged for Vince Phillips' International Boxing Federation title in 1997 and
was stopped on cuts in the third round.
But he didn't need a world title bout to leave his mark in boxing.
"What Micky Ward showed us was that self discipline and fighting spirit are qualities that are just as rare or even more rare than fighting skills," said HBO commentator Larry Merchant.
That spirit was the gift that made Micky Ward one of the most respected and beloved fighters in recent memory.
"I just kept plugging along," said Ward. "I don't know where it came from. It's just a part of me, I guess. I always thought if I kept going, I'd get there."
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