Gatti vs Ward, 2002-2003: Thirty Rounds, a Ninth Round for the Ages and a Friendship Forged in the Ring

Between May 2002 and June 2003, Arturo Gatti and Micky Ward met three times over ten rounds, a total of thirty rounds in which neither man was stopped. The first fight produced one of the most replayed rounds in boxing history, the second left Ward fighting with a ruptured eardrum, and the third ended with both men in hospital. What followed outside the ring was stranger still: the two rivals became close friends, and Ward ended up in Gatti's corner.

Two Fighters Built for the Same Kind of Night

Gatti, nicknamed "Thunder," was born in Cassino, Italy, in April 1972 and moved to Jersey City, New Jersey, as a teenager. By 2002 he was already known for bloody, back-and-forth fights that drew big crowds in Atlantic City. Ward, from Lowell, Massachusetts, was a durable veteran whose signature weapon was a left hook to the body. Neither was regarded as the best technician of his era, but both had a reputation for refusing to quit, and the matchup at junior welterweight looked like a collision of two men who would not take a backward step for long.

Mohegan Sun, May 18, 2002: The First Fight

The first meeting took place at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, scheduled for ten rounds and refereed by Frank Cappuccino. One reference account lists the date as May 19, which likely reflects the late finish; most sources give May 18. The fight was close from the start and grew more violent as it went. In the fourth round a low punch from Gatti put Ward on the canvas in pain; Cappuccino ruled it was not a knockdown and deducted a point from Gatti for the foul. That single point would matter at the end of the night.

Ward broke his right hand during the fight, according to his own later account to ESPN, yet kept pressing forward. Gatti, the sharper boxer, landed cleaner combinations in many of the middle rounds, and the outcome remained in doubt deep into the contest.

The Ninth Round at Mohegan Sun

The ninth round is the reason the fight is still discussed. Ward opened it by walking Gatti down and sinking his trademark left hook into the liver. Gatti dropped to the canvas, folded by the body shot, and looked unlikely to beat the count. He rose anyway. For the rest of the round the two men traded almost without pause, with Gatti badly hurt for long stretches and Ward unable to finish him.

The punch statistics underline how relentless it was, though the published figures vary by source. One account credits Gatti with more than 40 power punches landed in the round and Ward with more than 60; another gives a combined total of 110 punches landed, 102 of them power shots. Late in the round Gatti was absorbing heavy punishment, and Cappuccino, a referee known for letting fighters try to work their way out of trouble, allowed it to continue. Gatti survived to the bell. Trainer and commentator Emanuel Steward called it the "Round of the Century," and it was named Round of the Year by The Ring and by USA Today.

Ward took a majority decision after ten rounds. Both fighters were taken to a trauma center afterward. The bout was named Fight of the Year for 2002 by The Ring and by the Boxing Writers Association of America.

Atlantic City, November 23, 2002: The Rematch and Ward's Eardrum

The rematch moved to Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, a venue where Gatti had long been a major draw. This time Gatti used his speed and footwork far more, boxing from range rather than standing in front of Ward. The decisive moment came early. In the third round Gatti landed a right hand to the side of Ward's head, near the ear, and Ward went down into the corner. The blow burst Ward's left eardrum, which affected his balance for the remainder of the fight.

Ward got up and survived a sustained attack from Gatti, who could not land the finishing punch. Years later, Ward summed up the round to ESPN's Brian Campbell this way: "I got knocked out and woken up in the same round on my feet." He went the full ten rounds, but Gatti won a clear unanimous decision, and once again both men needed hospital treatment afterward. Sources reviewed for this article did not agree on, or did not fully document, the official scorecards for this bout, so they are not repeated here.

Boardwalk Hall, June 7, 2003: The Third Fight

Ward announced before the third fight that it would be his last. He was 37. The rubber match returned to Boardwalk Hall, which was sold out with a crowd of 12,643, according to the Associated Press. Gatti was paid $1.7 million and Ward $750,000. Across the trilogy Ward earned roughly $3 million, the biggest paydays of his career.

Gatti controlled the early rounds, but his right hand, which had been surgically repaired twice before, broke during the fight when a body shot struck Ward's hip. Sources differ on the round: the Associated Press report and the Indiana Daily Student account put it in the fourth, while a MaxBoxing report carried by ESPN placed the injury in the third. Either way, Gatti fought much of the remaining distance with little use of his best hand.

In the sixth round Ward finally connected, landing a left hook and a right that put Gatti down just as the round ended. The bell sounded before the count could be completed. Gatti afterward described it as a flash knockdown. Ward later told ESPN that the effort drained him and that he spent the last few rounds mostly holding on. Gatti remained the busier fighter; the AP reported that in the seventh round alone he landed 61 of 101 power punches.

The judges scored it 96-93, 96-93 and 97-92, all for Gatti, giving him the series two fights to one. Both men were sent to hospital with suspected hand fractures, and Ward left before the post-fight press conference. He kept his word and retired, turning down later offers. The Ring named the bout its 2003 Fight of the Year, which meant Ward had been part of the magazine's Fight of the Year three years running, from 2001 to 2003, a run not seen since Rocky Marciano and Carmen Basilio in the 1950s.

From Rivals to Friends

The friendship that grew out of the trilogy is well documented. On August 14, 2003, a retirement party for Ward was held at Mohegan Sun, where the first fight had taken place. HBO broadcasters Jim Lampley and Larry Merchant spoke, along with promoter Lou DiBella. Gatti presented Ward with a diamond ring to mark their three fights and then showed him that he had bought a matching one for himself.

Gatti's own career continued. He won the vacant WBC junior welterweight title against Gianluca Branco in January 2004, defended it twice, and lost it to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in June 2005. In January 2006 he won a minor welterweight belt against Thomas Damgaard.

Ward in Gatti's Corner

After a 2006 loss to Carlos Baldomir, Gatti split with trainer Buddy McGirt and turned to his old opponent. Ward served as Gatti's head trainer for what became his final fight, on July 14, 2007, at Boardwalk Hall against Alfonso Gómez. Gatti was stopped in the seventh round and announced his retirement afterward.

Gatti died on July 11, 2009, at the age of 37. In December 2012 he was voted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. The trilogy with Ward is still routinely ranked among the finest in the sport's history: thirty rounds, three trips to hospital, and a rivalry that ended with the two men on the same side of the ropes.

Sources

• Micky Ward, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
• Arturo Gatti, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
• Frank Cappuccino, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
• Gatti wins rubber match with Ward (AP report), ESPN.com, June 7-8, 2003
• Gatti-Ward III report, Peter Mooney (MaxBoxing.com), ESPN.com, June 8, 2003
• Micky Ward recalls his standout fights, Brian Campbell, ESPN.com, December 22, 2010
• Gatti wins rubber match in junior welterweight rivalry, Indiana Daily Student, June 2003
• Who was the tougher man, Arturo Gatti or Micky Ward?, James Slater, Boxing247, January 27, 2021
• Ward vs Gatti: Boxing's Greatest Fight Trilogies Part 2, The Jesuit Roundup, April 12, 2023