Yo Adrian!

October 25, 2007 10:37 AM

If you like boxing (or "Rocky") you might enjoy this youtube video of the Arturo Gatti - Mickey Ward fights recut to resemble Rocky II.

If you don't enjoy either of those things, why did you bother clicking the link?

posted by dersins (10 comments total)

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posted by dersins at 10:39 AM on October 25, 2007

Interesting timing. They were showing one of the classic Gatti v. Robinson fights on ESPN last night. What an amazing amount of punishment Gatti could take while still fighting hard.
posted by gnutron at 10:44 AM on October 25, 2007

A film is being made called The Fighter about Micky Ward (there's no 'e' in Micky) starring Mark Wahlberg and Brad Pitt.

Just in case people don't know, the beginning of that video is the 9th round of Gatti-Ward I, and is thought by many to be one of the greatest rounds of boxing ever. Others say this one is featuring the late Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo. Or you can go older with Round 1 of The War (Hagler/Hearns).
posted by ALongDecember at 10:56 AM on October 25, 2007

Oh, thank you so much for this. That Gatti-Ward fight is the reason I understand why people love boxing. I was screaming for blood like a psychopath and I loved every second of it.
posted by Dormant Gorilla at 11:01 AM on October 25, 2007

That was a classic fight. You don't always see those kind of give-it-your-all warrior matches like that. Gatti was a first-rate boxer.
posted by Alexandra Kitty at 11:04 AM on October 25, 2007

I always thought "sweet science" was supposed to be ironic. Now I know that some people are just...not right.
posted by DU at 11:09 AM on October 25, 2007

If you don't enjoy either of those things, why did you bother clicking the link?

Because I misread "Mickey Ward fights recut to resemble Rocky II" as "Micky Ward fights, recut, to resemble Rocky II", and thought it was some weird artsy combination of self-mutilation and pugilistic picture-show pastiche.

That being said, pretty impressive.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 12:19 PM on October 25, 2007

Dang - I've watch a lot of classic fights, but generally steer clear of the bogus "star vs tomato can" fights that seem to be standard now. I had no idea there was any boxing this good in this century.
posted by smartyboots at 1:08 PM on October 25, 2007

Corrales v. Jose Luis Castillo... that was an amazing fight.

The term "Sweet Science" comes from Pierce Egan's writings on Pugilism n the 1820's later popularized by another New York sports writer A.J. Liebling.

It was ORIGINALLY "The Sweet Science of Bruising."

The moniker is not necessarily ironic.

Some of the first instances of "sport science" (in a very literal sense) were adapted to boxing.

Because of boxings roots as a Martial Form (and war making was indeed studied like a science) scientific training methods were applied to the ancient sport of Pankration and later followed and adapted through the ages. This was far in advance of other sports.
posted by tkchrist at 2:19 PM on October 25, 2007

Great vid. Never saw this before - these two have had some epic battles - this is an amazing round.
posted by lubujackson at 9:46 PM on October 25, 2007