Boxing never had much appeal to me. Sure, I'd watch the "big fights" if I had the opportunity, but I never really knew anyone outside of Tyson, Holyfield, Foreman and Bowe. So while I knew the top heavyweights, if you pulled out some middleweight I wouldn't have any idea of how he fought.\nI know I am not alone in this. A quarter-century ago boxers were among the most popular athletes out there. Today it is a sideshow, an athletic soap opera. The major networks hardly give it any coverage, save for ESPN2's Friday Night Fights. The only boxing commentator people can name is Max Kellerman, and that is as much from Around the Horn as for his excellent boxing commentary. Boxing has faded from the cultural landscape.\nIf only boxing was able to put together more bouts like this past Saturday's Arturo "Thunder" Gatti (35-6) v. "Irish" Micky Ward (38-12) bout. This was the third and final showdown between these two 140 pounders. The first match, held on May 18, 2002, was truly one for the ages. For 10 rounds the two men fought like warriors. Half of a round would be dominated by one of the fighters, with the other looking like he was on the verge of going down. Then, they would switch roles. That fight ended in a unanimous decision for Ward. \nTheir first rematch on November 23, 2002, was a letdown of the first battle in terms of action, with Gatti winning a unanimous decision of his own.\nAs the two men stepped into the ring for this rubber match of their series, even those watching at home could see it would be a special fight. The first three rounds were fairly even as both fighters felt each other out. Gatti put together a number of good combinations, while Ward continued his trend of starting fights slowly. \nIn the fourth, Gatti injured his right hand when a body blow landed on Ward's left hipbone, and Ward took advantage. Fighting his final fight, Ward landed a flurry of left hooks to the head and the body that had Gatti reeling at several points. The most interesting point of the fight was in between the fourth and the fifth. In his corner, Gatti complained about the pain in his possibly broken right hand. His corner man asked him what he wanted to do. A lesser fighter would have thrown in the towel. Gatti said he wanted to keep going. \nIn the fifth, Gatti looked refreshed, throwing his jab at will. At the end of an even sixth round, Ward caught Gatti with a left over the top and followed it with a right that sent Gatti to the canvas. Ward was back in the fight with the knockdown.\nThe seventh was truly an amazing round. Much like their first fight the two stood toe-to-toe and traded hard punches throughout. It was such an amazing round that even the HBO announcers gave a standing ovation to the two warriors. However, as the eighth rolled on, Ward's age seemed to be catching up to him. Despite landing the occasional combination, Gatti controlled the final three rounds with a clinic on how to keep an opponent at distance and how to fight with only one good hand. In the tenth Ward put together one final flurry of lefts, a fitting display to end his career on. As the final bell sounded, the men embraced at the center of the ring, showing their respect and genuine like for each other. \nWhile Arturo Gatti was the winner on all three scorecards in Atlantic City on Saturday night, the true victors were the fans who had seen 30 rounds of amazing boxing over the last 13 months from these two warriors, and the sport of boxing itself. More matches like this might peak the public's interest in what was once the sport of kings.\nQUICK HITS\n
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- Game Seven in the Stanley Cup Finals is one of the most exciting events in sports (unless your team is involved -- then it is a painful, grueling experience). \n
- • Am I the only one who has gotten sick of hearing about Sosa's corked bat? I understand why it is a big story, but it shouldn't be front-page news for a week. He has been punished (the announcement of which seemed to be timed perfectly to let him appeal and play this weekend against the Yankees), so we all need to move on. There are better sports stories out there. \n
