The Thirty Greatest

Over the past couple of days I've had a friend who has asked me about boxing. It is no secret that I entertained the notion of being a boxer in my younger days and have always followed the sport.

I'm no Bert Sugar when it comes to history but I'm decent in my own right when it comes to the sport and what is and isn't good. What makes a great fighter and what makes a bad fighter. So I was inspired to look up on You Tube the best boxing match EVER!

Now most people believe that the three greatest rounds were between Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns. Well that was three fast paced, frenetic rounds, three.

The thirty best rounds ever fought, yes thirty, three entire non title fights! Well they were fought between Irish Mickey Ward and Arturo Thunder Gatti. You can find a nice recap on You Tube to see the brutality these men put themselves through.

Thunder is known for taking punishment and dishing out just as much if not more. He bleeds easy to his own detriment since fights tend to be called for blood in his eyes. He swells easy around his eyes as well and looks like a car accident victim at the end of most of his fights. He is a genuine warrior though. He never quits.

Irish Mickey Ward is your typical blue collar guy who has taken fights on very very short notice. He fought mostly on the club level and even hung up his gloves after several defeats at the start of his career. He doesn't have an ounce of flash in him. He isn't pretty and takes tons of damage to land one punch. He is also one of the few boxers who could knock out someone with a body shot. It is hard enough to KO someone with a head shot but read this again my friends, he could knock out opponents with a body shot.

Mickey Ward and Arturo Gatti fought three of the most ferocious fights ever. They are great friends now out side of the ring but in the ring they were enemies and gave no quarter and refused to ask any.

Ward retired after the third fight in 2003 I believe and has stood by his word refusing bigger money to come back. Gatti has had great fights since then but his peak was clearly the Ward fights with nothing more at stake than a win.

The ninth round of the first fight might very well be the greatest round ever fought in any era my friends. Both fighters could have quit and if it had been any other two fighters than Ward and Gatti, who's reputations for brawling fights and threshold for punishment had the ref allowing more latitude than normal, would have been stopped at least two times in that round alone. It was allowed to continue though and that turned the fight of the year into the fight of the century!

I still feel deeply honored to watch the battle they put on. It tells me that this is what boxing should be. Honest and respectful, giving your all while your opponent gives his all with the best man coming out on top. Who really won these three fights is immaterial in the overall picture, both fighters earned a spot in boxing immortality with the thirty greatest rounds ever fought.

If I ever get the chance to shake the hand of Mickey Ward and Arturo Gatti it will be with deep reverence and respect.