November 22, 2002
Only 24 Hours To Go.
Only 24 Hours To Go. . . Until Ward-Gatti II in Atlantic City. Get some rest tonight fight fans, this one is going to be great.
The Boston Globe has its own profile of Lowell, Massachusetts native Mickey Ward. But over at the New York Post, resident curmudgeon Phil Mushnick isn't exactly gushing over this rematch:
THE BEST wall-to-wall sports event I've watched on TV this year came from the unlikeliest of sources: a boxing match.
On May 18, Micky Ward and Arturo Gatti, in a non-title junior lightweight bout on HBO, took turns pounding each other. Ten rounds of no-foolin'. Ward won a decision. No one cried robbery.
Larry Merchant then approached for the obligatory post-fight chest-pounding and trash-talking.
But that's not what we got. Each fighter applied his microphone time exclusively to praising the other. Instead of hollering about the hurtin' they'd put on the other, both said that they'd been hurt by the other. Remarkable. The fight had been a treat for the visceral senses, the post-fight made nice to our better ones.
Naturally, a rematch had to be made. It's tomorrow, HBO, 9:45 p.m. Another non-title 10-rounder. Too bad.
Ward-Gatti II almost has to be an anti-climax, perhaps a dangerous one. Both fighters have shown an inclination to take three to give two, mostly to the head. That's what made their first fight so appealing; that's why there will be another.
It's an easy call for a misfortune teller. What good is financial security to an ex-boxer if he can't tell? Beyond all the crooks, that's what makes boxing the most specious of sports. The rare happy endings don't last long.
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