Boxing Memorabilia > Boxing Autographs >
Arturo Gatti vs Mickey Ward Autographs
A Large Colour 16x20 Action Photograph from
the greatest trilogy of recent times involving Irish Mickey
Ward and Arturo Gatti that has been signed by both boxers.
This wonderful item comes complete with our Certificate
of Authenticity and photographs of both signing, so you
can be rest assured you are buying a genuine autograph.
Gatti v Ward
SOLD
Most of modern boxing history’s most famous bouts
are title fights. You’ve heard the legend of Hagler-Hearns,
Bowe-Holyfield I, Morales-Barrera I. But this one, despite
being a non-title 10-rounder, may have outdone them all
for sheer, opening-to-final-bell action. Arturo "Thunder"
Gatti and "Irish" Mickey Ward had similar reputations.
They were high-output power punchers. Defense was far down
on their list of priorities. And they had an unlimited supply
of guts and resilience. Most people expected a war. What
they got was closer to The Apocalypse.
Blood was spilled early. Gatti absorbed the fight’s
first few shots, but appeared quicker then Ward. He seized
his first opportunity. Gatti pounced on Ward with a four-punch
combo that immediately cut Ward. Ward’s cutman Al
Gavin would have to be a magician to keep his fighter going
the full ten. Gatti added to Ward’s misery by bloodying
his nose with a right uppercut in the second round. And
he stung Ward repeatedly with the jab, 92 of them in the
first three rounds.
Ward got to Gatti in Round Four--left hook to the body,
right hand club to the jaw. Gatti responded with a flurry;
Ward came back with rib-cracking body shots. They traded
at center ring, toe-to-toe. The crowd roared its approval.
The white-hot action continued in the fifth, the fighter’s
matching punch for punch. Gatti turned his focus from Ward’s
head, and began to whack away at the midsection. Keep in
mind, that the average fighter lands 20 punches in a round.
In the fifth, Gatti and Ward landed 98—88 of them
power shots! Unfortunately in Round Five, referee Frank
Cappuccino took a point from Gatti for a low blow. This
point deduction would turn out to play a big role in the
final scoring decision.
Ward had hurt Gatti late in Round Five, especially with
a jolting right uppercut. So it was amazing to witness Gatti’s
rally in the sixth and seventh. He went back to his original
fight strategy and boxed--sticking the jab, sidestepping
Ward’s attack and popping stiff counter shots. You’d
think Ward would be demoralized, seeing an opponent bounce
on his toes after withstanding so much punishment earlier
in the fight. But "Irish" Mickey Ward is not just
any fighter.
Still bloodied from early round damage, Ward made his move.
The eighth was the first round that Ward threw more punches
than Gatti. He caught Gatti with long straight rights, and
short, powerful left hooks. He cornered Gatti at the end
of the round, scoring heavily with a vicious volley. The
bell saved Gatti, whose wobbly legs barely got him back
to his corner.
Every great fight has its climax, and the ninth round was
it. Ward landed a left hook to the body that crumpled Gatti,
forcing him to take a knee for a nine count. Ward smelled
knockout, and went after Gatti behind a hailstorm of flying
left hooks and straight rights. Summoning all of his considerable
courage, Gatti ripped into Ward’s body, slowing his
advance. He drove Ward back with sledgehammer combinations.
As Gatti moved in, he was caught by a huge right to the
temple. Now Ward charged in with a flurry that had Gatti
against the ropes on jelly legs. The bell saved Gatti again.
Once more, remember the average punches landed by a fighter
in one round is twenty. In the ninth, Ward and Gatti landed
110 total punches—102 of them power shots! In the
first round of Hagler-Hearns in ’85, considered by
many to be the best round of action ever, the fighters landed
106 total punches. Gatti and Ward’s ninth round beats
that by four punches!
Miraculously, after being out on his feet in the ninth,
Gatti came back firing bombs in the tenth, landing 51 of
99 punches thrown. He peppered Ward mercilessly. Ward, still
spent from the ninth round, managed to engage Gatti in one
last toe-to-toe barrage. The two warriors traded until the
final bell made them stop.
The scoring was razor close. One judge scored it a flat-out
draw. The others scored the fight 94-93 and 95-93 for Ward.
The point deduction in the fifth round, and the knockdown
in the ninth won the fight for "Irish" Mickey.
Gatti and Ward had a rematch 6 months later, with Gatti
sticking more to his jab-and-move strategy. The fight, while
more tactical, was also a hard-fought, riveting crowd-pleaser.
But this time, Gatti took a unanimous decision. Now the
rubber match comes next month. And if you’re a betting
person, the smart money’s on another slugfest.
