“Everybody’s heart is the same size. It is your will that enables you to take punches and go through pain and to never give up.” –Micky Ward
After seeing the movie, The Fighter, I have become slightly infatuated with welterweight champion boxer, Micky Ward. Everyone must go see this movie, in fact, I don’t think I have ever watched a sports movie that I enjoy more and trust me, I’ve seen a lot of them.
The Fighter is based on a true story about two brothers from Lowell, Massachusetts (go figure my favorite sports movie would have to take place in Massachusetts). It is not only a movie about boxing but about fighting for the ones you love and the importance of family. Everyone’s families are dysfunctional and the relationship between brothers, Dicky Eklund and Micky Ward is no different. Dicky Eklund was a drug addict, specifically a crack-cocaine addict. His addiction to drugs ended up being the downfall to his boxing career but he will forever be remembered as “The Pride of Lowell.” He fought Sugar Ray Leonard in 1978. Some say Eklund knocked Leonard down and others say Leonard slipped; either way, this was Eklund’s most famous fight. Eklund was better known as a trainer than a fighter and helped his brother, Micky, throughout his boxing career.
Micky Ward fought through the ranks and went from a stepping-stone all the way up to a welterweight champion. His best-known fights are the three against Arturo Gatti. In May 2002, Ward and Gatti boxed for nine rounds until Ward’s left-hook body shot knocked Gatti down. Both fighters were beat up but agreed to a rematch that was to take place in November. In their second meeting, Gatti won. With the score tied at one a piece, in June 2003, the two decided to duke it out one last time. By the end of the fight, Gatti had won but both men needed treatment at a hospital for the injuries they suffered during the match.
Ward retired after his last fight with Gatti. In his career as a boxer, he won 38 fights, lost 17, and had 27 KO’s. Micky still lives in Lowell with his family and works out at the gym where he grew up. In fact, the real West End Gym in Lowell was the gym they filmed at for the movie. Also, Lowell police officer, Mickey O’Keefe, played himself in the movie. He watched both Micky and Dicky grow up and trained Micky when Dicky was in prison.
The story of Micky Ward is an inspiring, gritty tale filled with passion and hardships. He always held his head up high and his “stay-positive” attitude took him from being a kid on the streets of Lowell to a famous boxer. What is his secret? Always remember: “head, body, head, body.”
