Was the first fight on the undercard of anything else? How did it come about that these two would fight each other? Anyone know the story behind the trilogy?
The first fight topped the bill in a small venue if I remember correctly. Don't know much about the reasoning behind the match-up, except that it seemed like a naturally exciting fight in the making. I don't think there was anything that structured about it apart from that guaranteed blood-and-guts outcome. Yet I don't think anyone expected it to be that good. Ward had just lost to Jesse James Leija, while Gatti was one fight removed from a one-sided beating at the hands of De la Hoya. As an aside it took place on the same night that Naseem Hamed had his last ever fight (v Manuel Calvo).
:good find it strange it got so much HBO attention considering Ward wasn't the most high profile fighter, and that it topped the bill. Great fight tho.
The cynic in me thinks that it was something of a test for Gatti, to see how much he had left. I think the general consensus was that he had been in decline since the losses to Manfredy and Ivan Robinson (x2). He'd reeled off a few half decent results after that, but nothing to suggest he still deserved to stamp about in the league of his prime. I think Ward was something of a litmus test in that regard. But even in defeat, it was such a fantastic fight that the rematches made themselves. Gatti was much better in the second and third fights. Plus Gatti had revealed his new "boxer-puncher" style (Buddy McGirt and all - "drink some water, baby"), which enabled him to be not such a complete outside odds bet coming into the fight with Mayweather (how stupid that seems now).
i ordered the tyson v lewis fight through sky sports and in the build up they showed this i think it was a week before tyson v lewis,i remember i was tired and saying ill give this 3 rounds and ill put the alarm on.Well glad i stayed awake 1 of the great fights.
Ward was known as a tough workhorse. He was a regular on Tuesday Night Fights and ESPN fights. It didnt take a rocket scientist to know what would make a great fight with Arturo Gatti. Even a guy like Ivan Robinson made a great fight with Gatti, so it didnt take much more than a guy who stood in the pocket and threw a lot of punches.
