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In a Phone booth |
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By TED SARES
Staff Writer FightNightNews
Salem,
New Hampshire is about an hour and a
half South from where I live and I
wasn't about to miss this one.
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I knew
one of the fighters well (having
followed him from his amateur days
in Lowell (MA) and smelled an action
packed brawl.
It was high time "Irish" Micky Ward
got over the hump of beating a world
class contender...in this case,
Reggie "Showtime" Green (30-4, 14
KOs) coming in. The slick Green,
ranked No. 7, had whipped Ray
Oliveira and lost a razor thin MD to
Sharmba Mitchell in a fight prior to
Ward.
That's not to say Ward was incapable
of an upset. After all, he beat
promising Louis Veader twice for
something called the WBU
Intercontinental Light Welterweight
Title. |
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He also put Larry Merchant and the rest
of the HBO team in shock when he iced
the then undefeated Alfonso Sanchez with
his patented (and lethal) left hook to
the liver in the seventh round. This was
on the De La Hoya-Whitaker under card
and exposed Micky to a wider viewing
audience, though he already was a big
ESPN fan favorite.
True, he had
been having an off night, but he did not
warrant Merchant's vicious insults which
said more about the caustic Larry, who
clearly had done no research on Ward,
than it did about that affable Micky.
But enough build up, suffice to say
“Irish” Micky Ward needed a career
resurrecting fight and opportunity
loomed in Salem.
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I had my trademark
60 ring corona
stoked up and was
ready for the bell.
The referee was Norm
Vel'ue. Most of the
first two rounds
were feeling out
rounds with Green
taking the clear
edge and Micky
having trouble
fighting from the
outside which was
his wont.
But then he landed
one of his wicked
hooks to Green's
head buzzing him and
the fight quickly
went from "bout" to
"brawl" just like
that. Now we had
begun to enter close
quarters. |
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Landing an
overhand right
to Green's head
to start round
three, Ward, who
was superbly
conditioned,
soon found
himself confused
by Green's speed
and polish. Then
it happened.
After Micky
missed with a
right cross, he
was hit flush by
a perfectly
timed left hook
that Green
seemed to take
from Ward's own
play book.
Staggering back
into the ropes,
Ward was badly
hurt, perhaps
more so than at
any time in his
career up to
that point. Not
until Gatti
parked Ward into
the ropes in
their second
fight have I
ever seen Micky
in such danger.
How he stayed on
his feet was a
miracle, but
somehow he
willed himself
to stay upright,
his rubbery legs
all but gone
Going in for the
anticipated
kill, Reggie let
both hands fly,
but to the
amazement and
delight of his
fans, Micky
stayed upright
until the bell
rang. He would
later say, "He
[Green] was very
sharp. He was
ranked like
third in the
world at that
point. He had a
good left hook.
He threw one of
the best left
hooks I got hit
by ever. I
believe it was
in the third
round. That was
a war."
Letting Ward off
the hook in the
next canter,
Green foolishly
waited for a
opening for one
big shot to end
matters. In the
meantime, Ward
somehow got the
cobwebs out and
recuperated.
Remarkably, he
then waved
Reggie in and
Green obliged
but found
himself in a dog
fight as the
pivotal round
for Ward ended.
Green continued
to hit Micky
with punishing
jabs but Ward
kept coming,
boring in until
he could do some
inside work with
his short ad
vicious left
hooks. But,
again stealing a
page out of
Ward's book, the
willing and
surprisingly
aggressive Green
traded hooks and
landed better
ones along with
sharper
counters. By
then, Micky's
face was
bleeding from
multiple areas
and this
continued
through the
seventh as he
fell behind in
the scoring.
Showing his
ability as an
all around
fighter,
"Showtime" moved
his attack back
to the outside
where he could
continue to
carve up "Irish"
Micky like a
Thanksgiving
turkey. It was
not pretty to
watch and those
of us rooting
for Micky (the
majority of the
crowd) were
stunned into
silence by
Green's
punishing and
ceaseless work
as he widen his
lead going down
the stretch.
Going into the
8th, Ward found
himself beaten
and trailing on
all scorecards.
His mouth, nose
and eye were now
bleeding and his
face was a
hideous and
bloody mess. He
badly needed to
pick up the pace
and intensity if
he was to
prevail....and
that's just what
he did.
Simultaneously,
Green made a
terrible
tactical mistake
by inexplicitly
going back
inside with
Micky. Hey, the
phone booth
belongs to
"Irish” Micky
and Green had no
business in
there with him.
While Green had
seemingly held
his own in the
ninth, Micky's
inside work had
taken something
out of him and
he was tiring
badly. Ward now
had the
opportunity he
was looking for.
His fans sensed
it as they rose
to their feet
and began the
roaring that
accompanies
every “Irish”
Micky Ward fight
in the Boston
area.
The 10th was one
for the ages as
a visibly tired
but still
dangerous Green
was stalked by
Ward. The
beginning of the
end came when
Green got caught
with a left hook
upstairs. Badly
hurt, he
staggered into
his corner where
Micky literally
ran after him
and savaged him
with a series of
left hooks.
Somehow, Green
escaped from the
ropes, but was
visibly wobbly
and ready to go.
Micky again went
after him with a
furious assault
of more brutal
punishment, this
time from both
hands including
gut wrenching
shots to the
body. As the
referee moved in
to save Green
from further
hurt, and with
only 20 seconds
remaining in the
final round,
Ward punctuated
matters by
nailing Reggie
with a final and
debilitating
left hook. The
gritty Green hit
the canvas. He
was finished.
Coming from
behind and
pulling off a
critical win, a
bloody "Irish"
Mickey Ward took
out the WBA's
No. 7 ranked
junior
welterweight
contender in the
last round of a
rousing slugfest
in which both
fighters could
hold their head
high.
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Later I was told
that Teddy Atlas
had said on ESPN
that this was
what boxing was
all about...two
warriors giving
their all and
willing to pay
the price to
give the fans
their money's
worth. He went
on to pay both
quite a tribute
for their gutty
performances.
Writer Ron
Borges also
would pay both
fighters a
tribute in a
poignant piece
he did for the
Boston Globe.
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Teddy and Ron
were there and
knew what had
transpired that
night. Luckily,
so was I. We had
seen something
very special in
Salem on October
1, 1999. This
was before
Augustus and the
Gatti trilogy,
but I think it
may even have
been more
special.
In his next
fight, Mickey
would destroy
Shea Neary for
the WBU Light
Welterweight
Title and
finally rid
himself of
contender
status,
positioning
himself for the
thilling series
of fights that
would mark the
end of his
remarkable
career. In that
series, he
earned "Fight of
the Year" honors
three times,
putting him in
rarified
company.
"When Ward gets
someone willing
to fight in a
phone booth with
him, there is
action so
incredible that
you wonder if
you will ever
see a fight like
that
again....Its
almost
unimaginable to
expect to see 10
rounds of
nonstop, face
first, toe to
toe action like
in this
fight...brawls
like this come
along only every
so often, and
Micky has been
the star of more
than a few." A
unidentified
blogger's quote
from the web
Ted Sares is a
member of the
Boxing Writers
Association of
America and is a
boxing
historian. He
can be reached
at
tedsares@adelphia.net |
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