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Micky Ward: 'I was a fighter that wasn't supposed to make it'

'Irish' Micky Ward says he achieved a career he never should have as he reflected on the stardom ...



Micky Ward: 'I was a fight...
Golf

Micky Ward: 'I was a fighter that wasn't supposed to make it'

'Irish' Micky Ward says he achieved a career he never should have as he reflected on the stardom that came from being the subject the Oscar-winning The Fighter (2010).

The 49-year-old Massachusetts-born former boxer joined Ger on Off The Ball in studio to discuss the 2010 movie which was based on he extraordinary time in and out of the ring, 

"I was a fighter or a kid that wasn't supposed to make it," Micky told Ger. "Just kept training ... I didn't listen to people. I listened to myself. I knew I could do it. Luckily I got the chance to do it in the end."

In 1997 Micky's thus-far journeyman career exploded when he stunned Las Vegas with his victory over Alfonso Sanchez in 1997. It boosted his profile and big-fight opportunities which culminated in an epic trilogy against Arturo Gatti in 2002/03.

"It all started by beating the Mexican (Alfonso Sanchez in 1997)," he said. "I was supposed to be a stepping stone for this kid.

"I knocked him out with one body-shot and everything in my life changed." 

While the Gatti bouts didn't feature in the movie, episodes one and three were voted Ring magazine's fight of the year in 2002 and 2003 respectively, cementing Micky's place in boxing folklore, 

Instead the feature film depicted the troubled backdrop to his legacy. Asked if the movie has changed his life, Micky said: "It does and it doesn't. Basically I was well-known to the boxing world. But the movie brought a different audience."

And he also had praise for the accuracy of the film-makers' depiction. "They got it good," he said. "I got a lot of f-yous from my sisters ... 'I wasn't' like that'.

"A few people in the film didn't like it ... the sisters didn't want to be seen in that light ... but the truth is the truth, you know."

He also had special praise for the man who played him, Mark Wahlberg: "Mark and I are good friends. He's a great guy. He's been nothing but good to me and Mark.

"We've stood firm as friends - and visa-versa with Christian Bale and my brother Dicky. Dicky calls him up a lot and they talk."

Listen to Micky Ward's interview on Off The Ball here: 

"My uncle got hurt in an accident. Broke a lot of bones, his back, his neck. Mark reached out, sent some financial aid to him. These guys they're good guy."

One of the main characters in the Micky Ward story is his half-brother and trainer, Dicky Eklund, himself a fine fighter who once went the distance with Sugar Ray Leonard before enduring a colourful if troubled personal life.

"He was a great fighter," said Micky. He fought smart; it's was boxing ... it's called 'hit and not get hit'.

"Drugs and drinking got to him. The drugs did more damage to him than any one in the ring." 

Mickey also revealed that he suffered from "post-concussion syndrome", and has donate his brain to a Boston study of the effect so concussion. 

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