Interviews
From the Gatti-Ward Corner Sofa trilogy
“It was something you will never forget. You know what I mean? It’s just something special, and what makes it even greater is the intensity of the crowd. And then Michael Buffer makes the announcement. You can’t really explain it.”
The saying “they don’t make them like that anymore” can certainly be applied to both Arturo Gatti and Micky Ward, both fighters who threw everything in the ring a combined 100 times, including three times against each other. James Lupton revisits the pair’s notable trilogy with Hall of Famer Buddy McGirt, who coached Gatti while working on the trilogy.
The fights between the two fighters will last forever, with many considering the first fight to be the best fight ever. However, as the pair headed to the ring, no one could have expected the action that was about to unfold.
McGirt recalls standing in the corner and realizing this fight was going to be special; “[Arturo] he hit Micky Ward with that combination and Micky slammed his glove and said, “Fuck.” And I said, “It’s going to be a long night.”
Perhaps the only thing more memorable than the fights themselves are the photos and memories of Arturo lying in a hospital bed and “The Irishman” Micky Ward next to him – an iconic moment captured, frozen in time.
The pair exchanged blows, giving them a bond that remained forceful until Gatti’s death.
“I think each fight brought them closer together, not only as fighters but also as friends. And the funniest thing is that he had his last fight and Micky was training him for that last fight. McGirt told proboxing-fans.com.
When I asked Buddy why he thought these fights were fan favorites, his answer was straightforward; “because there were two guys there who were really trying… I won’t say they killed each other, but just two guys who didn’t operate anything scientific, they just go to war.”
During these fights, Gatti was part of a gym that housed substantial names such as McGirt himself, Laila Ali and Vernon Forrest within its four walls, but Arturo was a reserved figure until he gained his trust.
“Well, he didn’t trust a lot of people, but if he trusted you and liked you, he was a great guy. He was energetic and worked very demanding.”
Arturo was a fighter who liked to get into a shootout sometimes, sometimes a little too often, in Ward’s case it was often a shootout. Intrigued by the opportunity to get inside the coach’s mind, I asked McGirt if the game plan was to fight fire with fire?
“Okay, okay. I wanted him to do the same thing he did in the second fight and just blow him away. But in the third fight he broke his arm, so we had to do something different.”
“And when he got knocked down, he got up and felt it, he had to get it back. So it was quite intense.”
I immediately took a shot at Buddy and counterattacked, remembering that Gatti also broke his arm in Ward’s second fight, to which McGirt blocked me and hit me with “yeah, but he didn’t say anything in the second fight. The third fight he had.”
So now the coach found himself in a hard situation, his player reported that he had lost one of his weapons, and his hand was only fully functional. What’s next?
“Honestly, when we talked about the second fight, he said the adrenaline was flowing so much that he didn’t think about the pain.
“So I thought if in a fight I could take his mind off the hand and the way the fight was going, the intensity of the fight, the adrenaline would start flowing and he would start using it. And he did.
“The key was not to ask about his arm again after he told me it was broken.”
While McGirt believes we will soon see more trilogies in boxing “because we have a lot of good teenage fighters now”, the 57-year-old admits we won’t see anyone like Gatti-Ward again.
Buddy continues by emphasizing the importance of rematches and trilogies, recalling three trilogy contests from the past; “You have to have it because every fight should be better than the last one.
“I mean the Ali-Frazier trilogy, the first fight was the most vital because Ali was coming back.
“In the second fight, both of them were not champions. Then there was the third fight which was supposed to be over the hill but in the third fight they both put it all on the line which in my opinion was better than the first two because of the intensity and determination they both showed in the fight. this third fight at Thrilla in Manila.
“We will never see anything like this, ever.
– Not Gatti-Ward, Tarver-Jones. These two and Thrilla in Manila – you will never see such intensity and determination in a fight. Because it was a 15-round match and they put it all on the line for 15 or 14 rounds.
To end the conversation with McGirt, I asked him why don’t we see more of these types of fights, what has changed in the last 20 years?
“I think the mindset is different. I think everything is different. These were two men, Ali-Frazier, who had something extra.
“They have champions and then you have some champions who have that extra something. They had this little extra, you know what I mean? I can’t explain it, but if you watch the fight, you’ll see it.”
Eddie Hearn believes Tyson Fury will retire after a legacy-defining clash with Anthony Joshua.
Fury stunned the boxing world on Monday when he announced his retirement from the sport, leaving behind a megafight with Joshua.
The “Gypsy King” announced his shocking decision less than a month after suffering, among other things, second defeat in a row against Oleksandr Usyk in Riyad, but Joshua’s promoter, Hearn, is convinced that the fighter from Morecambe will return to the ring to fight the long-awaited showdown with “AJ”, who is returning after a fifth-round defeat to Daniel Dubois.
“In my opinion, I think he will come back,” the 45-year-old said talkSPORT.
“But I don’t know him well enough to judge that.
“He’s coming back after two defeats, and these defeats hurt the boys.
“AJ was devastated by the defeat to Dubois and I’m sure Fury was too [with his defeats to Usyk]both are winners.
“I don’t know if Fury can leave one of the biggest fights in the history of the sport on the table.
“I know he’s a competitor. I know he will want to give the British fight fans what they want and I hope we see more of him.
“But if we don’t, God bless the speed and all the best.”
Fury hung up his gloves after defeating Dillian Whyte in April 2022, only to return eight months later for a third fight with Derek Chisora, whom he defeated comfortably at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Hearn said Joshua will now look to secure a clash with the winner of the February 22 fight between his former rivals Dubois and Joseph Parker, who will fight in Riyad for the IBF heavyweight world title.
If Fury returns to fight AJ, the Matchroom boss insists the loser would have nowhere to go.
“They would both be devastated by defeat,” he added.
“It’s one thing to lose the world heavyweight title, but at the same time losing in a fight of this magnitude is the biggest bragging rights.
“At this stage of their career, the last word is goodbye.
“Whoever loses this fight is finished and whoever wins it moves on and that’s what you fight for.
“You’re not just fighting for a legacy, you’re fighting to save your career.
“It’s a huge fight, but it’s not on the table right now.”
Callum Simpson defended his British and Commonwealth super middleweight titles after a second-round victory over Steer Woodall on Saturday at the Park Community Arena in Sheffield.
Simpson (16-0, 11 KO) proved too good for Zak Chelli in his last competition and went on to sweep wide and claim the British and Commonwealth titles last August. Woodall (19-3-1, 12 KO) picked up his best career win, stopping Lerrone Richards in six rounds in an upset in Bolton last June.
This attack ended quickly in the second round, with a right uppercut that left Woodall on wobbly legs, and then another attack punctuated by another right uppercut, leaving “The Stallion” on the deck.
Despite beating the count, referee Mark Bates waved off the fight shortly afterwards.
Simpson dedicated his victory his dead sisterwho died tragically in August in a road accident.
“It’s bittersweet,” the 28-year-old said Heavenly sports after the fight.
“I won these titles in front of all my fans, but there’s one person that I think everyone knows who I wish was here, but I know she’s looking down on me and I make her proud.”
Dubois is tied with Camara
On the card below, Caroline Dubois (10-0-1, 5 KO) made her first defense of her WBC lightweight title against Canadian Jessica Camara (14-4-1, 3 KO), but the fight ended in a technical draw.
The fight was stopped due to a cut to Camara’s left eye from the head collision, and she also went down in the first round.
Forrest stops Miller
Cruiserweight prospect Scott Forrest needed just two rounds to defeat Deevorn Miller.
Miller (8-3, 6 KO) lost once in the first and second rounds, while Forrest (7-0, 4 KO) won outright.
Undercard remaining
In the featherlight heavyweight division, where Billy Deniz defeated Mickey Ellison (15-8, 5 KO) by one point.
Deniz (13-0, 5 KO) won with a score of 77-76.
In the six-round middleweight division, Sam Hickey (2-0, 1 KO) stopped Lewis Howells (3-2) three times en route to a first-round victory, and Mauro Silva (7-0, 3 KO) scored a 59-56 victory against Emmanuel Zion (6-3, 3 KOs).
Ellis Price (2-0, 1 KO) stopped Liam Fitzmaurice (0-1) twice en route to a first-round lightweight victory.
Lauren Price believes Natasha Jonas was pressured into fighting her ahead of their March 7 unification clash.
Price will put his WBA and IBO welterweight titles on the line when he faces IBF and WBC champion Jonas live at the Royal Albert Hall. Heavenly sports.
Jonas’ coach, Joe Gallagher, has said he would prefer to see the 40-year-old retire, and Price, who won Olympic gold in 2021, is doubtful whether her rival wants to face her.
“I don’t think either of them wanted this fight,” the 30-year-old said proboxing-fans.com.
“But like I said, she has two belts, I have three and it’s just a great fight.
“The fight is signed, sealed and announced, so on March 7 we will see who will be the best.
“If you look at my amateur record, Olympic gold medalist, I haven’t lost a single round as a professional.
“The performance I am up against [Jessica] McCaskill in Cardiff against the legitimate world champion, the proof is in the pudding.
“I’ve got it. I’m in my youth.
“She’s coming to the end of my career and I don’t blame her, but in the end she has something that I want and that’s really it, there’s nothing personal.”
Jonas secured the WBC crown with a unanimous decision victory over then-champion Ivana Habazin in December in Liverpool, moments after Price defeated Bexcy Mateus in three rounds on the same bill.
The pair then clashed during a heated post-fight interview to confirm their upcoming match.
The Welshwoman believes that her youth, speed and dominance in the ring will allow her to defeat the experienced Liverpool resident on Friday in eight weeks.
Asked what her advantage was over Jonah, Price added: “Probably my youth.
“Reading the fight, my ring IQ, my speed.
“The little feints, the triggers I do, people reading me.
“Everyone says they will do it, they will do it until I stand in front of them, so we will see on March 7.
“But overall I think I’m just better and I believe I’ll win.”
Watch the full interview with Lauren Price:
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