Arturo Gatti v. Mickey Ward

A while back, Mr. Grumpy sent me a tape of the Gatti/Ward fight. The two boxers are scheduled for a rematch, and once again, I need to stress how amazing their first match was to watch.

Me, I’m not a big boxing fan. Never really made it a point to watch, never really understood the attraction to the sport. But the first fight between Gatti and Ward… un friggin’ believable. I had my hand over my mouth, amazed, for most of the match.

Yeah, there was a lot of the typical boxing: two guys slugging away at one another. But after only a few rounds, it started to dawn on me how much punishment each one was taking. The more I watched, the less it mattered "how hard" one hit the other. What ended up fascinating me, enrapturing me, was watching both men continue.

As easy a word as it is, the best word to describe it is "heart." I know, I know… it’s an overused sports term, driven into the ground anymore. Sportscasters throw this word around like nothing, peppering their sentences with it like commas. But in this original fight, "heart" is the best word to describe both fighters.

Towards the end of the match, I was cringing with each blow. Each time one fighter was hit, I thought to myself "that’s it, he’s done for." And each time I thought that, I was proven wrong. Each hit I thought was the final knockout blow – both Gatti and Ward proved me wrong.

I say this in all seriousness: I could literally see each person reach down and will themselves to continue. Both fighters weren’t content to just remain standing; they repeatedly found the strength to persevere, to throw another punch, to keep moving.

In the first fight, after a few rounds, I no longer cared about a winner or loser. Instead, I watched two men push each other to greater heights. They withstood an incredible amount of hurt and pain. They pushed each other, and what came across that television screen was a markedly American image. In a strange sense – I saw a form of teamwork. Both Gatti and Ward were good fighters in and of themselves. But because each pushed the other, each fighter challenged the other to go a bit farther, to continue just a little bit more.

And in their first fight, that’s exactly what they did. They kept going, a little bit more, each time. Until the final bell.

Gatti and Ward are scheduled for a rematch, airing November 23, on HBO. I urge you- watch this boxing match. I am not someone who’s even remotely close to a sports fan. I attended Indiana University and in those four years, never attended a single basketball game. I attended Ohio State University and in those three years, never attended a single football game.

I say this as a non-sports person: Watch this fucking fight.

November 23. HBO.

Grumpy’s hosting an excerpt of the promo here. It’s a bit of a download, but well worth it.