By Jack Dutton: Who would’ve guessed, that on a May Saturday night, 2002, at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville Ct, in which no championship belt was up for grabs, we would observe a display of heart, courage and shear tenacity not seen in a handful of title fights which have occurred in the past decade. The fight, as any true boxing fan should know, was the start of the Gatti-Ward trilogy and that Saturday night in May would become heralded as not only candidate for fight of the year, nor decade but bout of the century.

Commentators immediately claimed the fight to be a throwback to the bouts of the 1940s and 1950s fights, the slugfests often the golden age where the non-heavyweight divisions were ruled by the likes of LaMotta, Graziano and Robinson (who was much more of a puncher than people think – just look at his 108 knockout record!). Back then fights like Ward-Gatti were seen on a monthly, if not weekly, basis, and it was this glimpse back to when boxing was at its best which warms us to the three bouts fought by the two fighters.

Quite why this fight, and the two that followed were so similar to this long gone age of the 40s and 50s can be seen not only in the fighters’ refusal to give up but many other aspects that offer a strange sense of déjà vu whilst watching them.
What stands out clearly was the two fighter’s use of the ring. Arguably it was the likes of Ali who mainstreamed the use of the ring as a weapon just as powerful as his fists. Prior to this boxers were often seen to circle each other in the centre of the square circle, exchanging blow for blow, only moving to the outskirts of the ring to either prop oneself up in an attempt to avoid a knockdown or to shatter the jaw of a helpless Jersey Joe Walcott. This dancing centre-stage is prevalent throughout the first Gatti Ward fight.

Despite Gatti’s astonishing display of will power in his slugging towards the later rounds, it was ultimately Ward who must take credit for converting their first boxing match into a brawl. Gatti had been persuaded by trainer McGirt early in 2001 that he needed to show more boxing skill than the brawling talent he was used to. Hence, Arturo danced around Ward following the clang of the bell that opened the first round. But Ward refused to fight Gatti’s fight, and instead of leading with a jab charged in with left hooks, a technique reminiscent of Jake LaMotta. This, combined with his consistent stalking of Arturo, soon led to the developing brawl that would have the audience on their feet applauding way before the fight had finished.
Referee Frank Cappuccino also played his part, showing a typical 1930s resilience in stopping the fight unless completely necessary, something refs have been wary of since the Benn/Eubank era of the 90s, in which Gerald McClellan and Michael Watson both endured traumatic brain injuries as a result of possible poor calls by the then referees.

Therefore what we as an audience received was an awe inspiring feat of bravery, mad determination and fighting skill that was more suited to the pre second world war Madison Square Garden than the boxing rings of today. Who knows when we will see the splendor of fights like these again?