[FIGHT BIO] “Irish” Micky Ward | The Toughest Boxer In The World

Who Is Micky Ward? A Bried History

George Michael Ward Jr., also known as “Irish” Micky Ward is a former professional American boxer born October 4th, 1965 in Lowell, Massachusetts.

He won the New England Golden Glove championship 3 times before turning pro.

Micky competed in the pro division from 1985 to 2003, holding the IBF Light Welterweight title in 1997 and the WBU Light Welterweight title in 2000.

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Micky stopped boxing temporarily after losing 4 of his fights in a row.

During Micky’s time away from boxing, he used money he made from his day job doing road paving to have his right hand operated on.

Strengthening the bones in his hands, preparing him for an incredible professional career.

He came back to boxing with a bang, winning his first nine fights in a row.

Claiming and defending the WBU’s Intercontinental Light Welterweight Title against Veader in 1996.

Micky earned a fight for the IBF Light Welterweight Title in 1997 against Vince Phillips.

Unfortunately, he lost by TKO after the fight was stopped in the 3rd round due to bad cuts.

His next big win would be over Shea Neary in 2000 for the WBU light welterweight title, winning by TKO.

Micky’s victory over Emanual Augustus (Emanuel Burton) was voted The Fight Of The Year in 2001 by The Ring magazine.

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Here’s a great interview with the man himself:

What Happened To Micky Ward?

Police Officers purposefully broke Micky’s left hand in 1987 when he tried to stop them from arresting his brother Dickie. An injury that plagued his entire career.

In 2012, he also revealed in his book that he was sexually abused at the age of 9 for 3 years by his brother’s friend.

Micky fought his attacker in the ring at the age of 15 in a local gym and even confronted him afterward about the abuse.

He was chosen as the “Fighter Of The Year” for 3 years in a row – 2001, 2002, and 2003.

There was also an Oscar award-winning film made about his life called “The Fighter”.

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Is The Fighter Based On A True Story?

The Fighter is a movie based on Micky Ward’s life and boxing career. It’s a true story of him and his half-brother going through difficult times in their lives.

He had to build his own legacy in boxing while under the shadow of his brother, Dickie Eklund who was more famous in the sport at the time.

Micky was trained by his brother, who was struggling with drugs and a life of crime.

What’s Micky Ward doing now?

After Micky retired in 2003, he opened an ice rink and started managing and training fighters at his own gym, co-owned by his half-brother Dickie Eklund. Ward suffers from CTE which started in 2005 when he was 40 years old, a brain disease resulting from all the blows to his head during his career.

He’s currently working for the Concussion Legacy Foundation, convincing parents to keep their kids out of contact sports at least until the age of 14.

Micky lives in Lowell with his wife Charlene Fleming, and her daughter.

He’s also created a workout of his own called “Irish Micky Ward Routine”, and is used by trainers around the world.

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How Much Is Micky Ward Worth?

Micky has an estimated net worth of between $500 thousand and $1 million. He’s made most of his money from boxing and some from his businesses.

Today, Micky earns his income from his ice rink and his gym where he manages and coaches up-and-coming boxers.

Unfortunately, Micky lost quite a bit of money from the surgeries he had on his hand.

How Good Was Micky Ward?

Micky Ward was known as someone who could take a punch and never show pain. He had an iron chin, shaking off head blows if they were nothing. Micky had a lot of courage and was a fearless fighter in the ring, not scared of anything or anyone.

He had a record of 38 wins and 13 losses, of which 27 wins were by knockout.

Keep reading to see more on Irish’s most memorable bouts.

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Who Beat “Irish” Micky Ward?

“Irish” Micky Ward lost 13 of his 51 fights over the period of 18 years.

His career losses were against:

1. Edwin Curet
2. Mike Mungin
3. Frankie Warren
4. Harold Brazier
5. Charles Murray
6. Tony Martin
7. Ricky Meyers
8. Vince Phillips
9. Zab Judah
10. Antonio Diaz
11. Jesse Jame Leija
12. Arturo Gatti x 2

Let’s look at Ward’s fights more in detail.

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Micky Ward Vs Arturo Gatti 1

The brutal war of Ward and Gatti happened on March 18th, 2002 in the Mohegan Sun Arena.

It was scheduled for 10 rounds and they fought to the end.

The fight started quite hectic with both fighters throwing brutal punches at each other.

Ward’s right eye was cut open early in round one, but he shook it off like he was known to do.

Gatti knocked down Ward in round 4 with a low body shot to his stomach, but Ward stood back up and carried on fighting.

Ward started coming back with beautiful combinations and heavy left hooks to the body hurting Gatti and making him woozy.

Micky knocked Gatti down with another hard left hook to the body in round 9.

Gatti got back up but was mostly defending against Ward’s left hook and combinations.

Ward went on to win the fight by majority decision.

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Micky Ward Vs Arturo Gatti 2

The second battle against Ward and Gatti took place on the 23rd of November, 2002 in Atlantic City.

The fight started evenly, both boxers swinging at each other and taking big hits to the head and body.

Gatti started looking more aggressive and started landing more shots than Ward.

He knocked Ward down in round 3 with a powerful right hook to the head, but Ward continued fighting.

Ward was dizzy but kept a good posture, not showing any pain.

The two boxers kept pounding on each other for the duration of the scheduled 10 round fight, leaving everything in the ring.

Gatti won their second fight by unanimous decision.

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Micky Ward Vs Arturo Gatti 3

The 3rd and final installation of Ward vs Gatti took place on June 7th, 2003 in Atlantic City.

The fight was scheduled for 10 glorious rounds and it went all the way to the end.

Ward and Gatti both came out their corners throwing bombs.

Every round was close until Ward knocked Gatti down in the 6th round with a right hook to the head, but Gatti was saved by the bell.

The last few rounds were brutal, both throwing heavy punches without even defending.

Both looking for a quick victory.

The fight ended with Gatti winning by unanimous decision.

It was named Fight Of The Year.

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Micky Ward Vs Alfonso Sanchez

Ward fought Sanchez on April 12th, 1997 in Paradise, Nevada.

The fight started with Sanchez coming out strong, putting Ward on the back foot.

Ward barely fought back, defending most of the fight until he was knocked down by Sanchez’s left uppercut to the face in round 5. But Ward got back up.

Sanchez kept coming at him until round 7 when Ward knocked Sanchez out with a powerful left hook to the kidney.

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Micky Ward Vs Shea Neary

The fight between Ward and Neary took place on March 11th, 2000 in London, England.

The fight was scheduled for 10 rounds but it only reached the 8th.

Ward and Neary both fought hard, throwing powerful punches.

But Ward had a bit more power in his shots.

Round 8 came and Ward started fighting more aggressively, keeping Neary on the back foot.

Ward then knocked Neary down for the 1st time in the match with 30 seconds left in the round.

Neary stood back up and fought further until Ward dropped him again for the 2nd and last time in the same round with a left uppercut.

Ward won the match by TKO and took home the WBU Light Welterweight title.

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Micky Ward Vs Zab Judah

The fight between Ward and Judah happened on the 7th of June, 1998 in Miami, Florida.

They fought all of the scheduled 12 rounds.

Judah came out strong and fast.

Ward responded with a few of his own good shots and hurt Judah, but that didn’t put Judah off his game.

Judah kept Ward on the back foot for most of the fight.

The fight ended and Judah took the fight by unanimous decision.

Micky Ward’s “Irish” Profile

Professional Boxing Career

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Source

Wikipedia

Boxing Junkie

Celebrity Net Worth

Tyronne van Aarde

Hi! I’m a Wrestler and Writer for Strictly Fighters, sharing the latest news in martial arts.

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