Micky Ward and the best answer I have yet heard...

So earlier tonight I was in Rhode Island for the Bika-Manfredo fight... Before the fight I was in Peter's dressing room and it was a thing where they asked that myself, Micky Ward and Vinny Paz walk Peter out to the ring, we have all sparred with him quite a bit in the past and they felt we were like part of his boxing family so we could walk him out, etc etc...OK,so once we are in the ring and I am standing there during a lull in the proceedings before they did the announcements...the crowd is very loud and excited, Peter is bouncing around the ring...Bika is a few feet away getting himself ready, too...this is THE moment, you know? And I ask Micky right then, "Does this make you ever want to get back in there again?" I honestly assumed he would say, "Yeah, maybe." But the Mick has always been a real type of guy and he has stayed that way. He told me, "You know, I feel like I did everything I could do in every single fight. I left everything I had in each ring I was in. I left it all there." Man, I really loved that answer... I thought abou this past wars and knew what he meant...he is one guy who really did put it all out there against everybody he met up with...to go through all that and then be able to feel that sense of closure with you sport, that's rare, believe me...then I asked him about sparring and he looked at me like I was crazy....he never spars -even for fun- and has no desire to do so, either....a guy like me, though, this year alone I have sparred 428 rounds so far...if I can make 500 by December 31 I will....and not to get too deep or philosophical with you or anything but, I don't feel like I left it all in the ring like Mickey did, I don't have that sense that I did all I could like he does... maybe there's something deeper to that, i dont know...or maybe it's just that I love to spar, I love the competition, the fact that I can go to the gym anytime I want to do and there wil be someone there to bang it out with...one thing I have learned over the years, and this proves it even more, is that as much as most fighters have in common, there is just as much that makes them so different in the way they think and feel about the game...

Comments (20)

i read that gatti and ward watched that round 2-gether on a big screen showing at a fight last year

17y ago

BORIQUA_POWER

hgaler-hearns 1 and gatti-ward 9, yes, great rounds for boxing history. but what about castillo-corrales the 10th?????????????????????

17y ago

ICEMAN_JOHN_SCULLY

Me, too...I have some guys I have sparred with over the years...good friends of mine even, but there was always that unspoken agreement between us that if we get each other hurt and can finish him...we go for it!! Also, to clarify....I mean, everybody can tell you about a guy who in the gym is like a defensive wizard...he's elusive, slips punches , etc etc..but on fight night he cant get as loose, he fights in more of a slugger type style...people see you in the gym one way and on fight night another, sometimes its hard to believe its the same guy...

17y ago

ICEMAN_JOHN_SCULLY

exactly! for some reason some people tend to think that in sparring guys go half speed, try not to hurt the other guy, etc..... where im from thats def not the case Me, too...I have some guys I have sparred with over the years...good friends of mine even, but there was always that unspoken agreement between us that if we get each other hurt and can finish him...we go for it!!

17y ago

Mr_Ryan

John: but do you think that there are just certain fighters that do better in the real fight than in sparring? It's like Ken Griffey Jr: I hear he was a bit of a slacker when it came to practice...same with Iverson ;)...but come Game time; it was high level. I always factor in some of those fighters wanting to work out the kinks and maybe take some shots to build some tolerance. If they are knocking everybody out than there is no more sparring. Not that a fighter wouldn't want to stay fresh by not taking damage, but you do need to get used to taking shots in sparring to take shots in fights, right? We're talking about practice. Not a game, practice.

17y ago

James78

Round 9 of Ward-Gatti 1...as good as any of the three Hagler-Hearns rounds, Bowe-Holyfield (10th round of first fight), etc etc. Agreed?? Yeah I agree with that Iceman, I must have watched that round 50 times and I still aint tired of it. Thats a beautiful thing that Mickey said too, and its truth.

17y ago

Fenom

Some guys are not sharp in the gym like they are in real fights, sure...some guys like to mix it up more in the gym so they get hit more...they relax more and dont feel that urgency to get ou tof the way and make you miss every single shot because they know that there is no money or judges decision on the line...but, like I say, you take a good fighter and put him in the gym with an elite fighter in the gym, the good guy will land his share of punches sometimes...there are MANY factors that make it this way but one of the biggest from my experience is just the fact that many guys have skills but they cant translate to high pressure situations...its like you could see Roy Jones in his prime make a guy look totally inept....but you see that guy spar with another top fighter in the gym and you'd be surprised at how much skills he actually did have...more than he was able to show aginst Roy when the high intensity pressure was present...another thing people really do need to understand is that contrary to popular belief, sparring in the gym is not a cake walk, it is not like it is just for fun and the punches dont hurt...people get KO'd in the gym, people get cut, they get ribs broken, bruised , etc...many have the impression that sparring is not a really tough thing to do, that it is not a painful experience etc...I seriously beg to differ. exactly! for some reason some people tend to think that in sparring guys go half speed, try not to hurt the other guy, etc..... where im from thats def not the case

17y ago

Fenom

LOL yes he is, I think his name on here is The White Hope or something like that hahaha. i thought he might be.... i've seen worse than his before... does he talk a lot of crap or something?

17y ago

Benny_Leonard

By the same token, though, I can tell you guys you never heard of who will go spar right now today with top contenders and champs in their weight classes and they will not get KO'd , no matter how hard the top guys tries... I Believe you. It's all in the Mind as they say. That's why I always say a fighter has to be prepared mentally and physically to do well or he will not. I think so. So much goes into preparation to be great. That's why I think Ali was something else. It's also why I think Roy was never the same after moving back down...just like Tarver and Chris Byrd. And, why Hopkins was smart enough not to move back down; he saw what happened to them. If an athlete loses his physical gifts; it's hard to be strong up top.

17y ago

Benny_Leonard

Sure, that's a factor with some guys... you put that mental squeeze on some guys and their adrenaline goes way up and they throw punches that they might be too hesitant to throw in the gym...they know they HAVE TO throw them in the real fights and they come out...that's why I always say when a guy is in good shape for a fight, his adrenaline as much or more than than anything will carry him through the tough times... It reminds me of that movie "Glory"? There's a scene when the Soldier is shooting well at the targets...but to make a point, the Colonel goes right up next to him and tells him to shoot. Right about when the soldier is going to shoot, the Colonel shoots and yells, "fire, "reload," and keeps taunting him to fire, reload, fire, reload, all while shooting his gun next to his ear. The battle is different than practice. Pressure is crazy. Some guy’s brains just freeze, others are just brilliant. The Fog of War is another thing. Or I could have just used Reggie Jackson: Mr. October.

17y ago

ICEMAN_JOHN_SCULLY

John: but do you think that there are just certain fighters that do better in the real fight than in sparring? It's like Ken Griffey Jr: I hear he was a bit of a slacker when it came to practice...same with Iverson ;)...but come Game time; it was high level. I always factor in some of those fighters wanting to work out the kinks and maybe take some shots to build some tolerance. If they are knocking everybody out than there is no more sparring. Not that a fighter wouldn't want to stay fresh by not taking damage, but you do need to get used to taking shots in sparring to take shots in fights, right? By the same token, though, I can tell you guys you never heard of who will go spar right now today with top contenders and champs in their weight classes and they will not get KO'd , no matter how hard the top guys tries...

17y ago

ICEMAN_JOHN_SCULLY

Maybe some fighters thrive more on that bit of extra adrenaline they get in a real fight? Sure, that's a factor with some guys... you put that mental squeeze on some guys and their adrenaline goes way up and they throw punches that they might be too hesitant to throw in the gym...they know they HAVE TO throw them in the real fights and they come out...that's why I always say when a guy is in good shape for a fight, his adrenaline as much or more than than anything will carry him through the tough times...

17y ago

ICEMAN_JOHN_SCULLY

17y ago

paul750

Maybe some fighters thrive more on that bit of extra adrenaline they get in a real fight?

17y ago

Benny_Leonard

http://icemanjohnscully.com/images/scully_jones_88_sparring_video.gif :) You would be surprised at how some sparring sessions go....many guys are just better, looser, sharper and more relaxed in the gym....I wasnt saying I was killing RJ in the gym, man, but did I hold my own?? DEFINITELY, 100 pct. Yes. (He did, too, though :) John: but do you think that there are just certain fighters that do better in the real fight than in sparring? It's like Ken Griffey Jr: I hear he was a bit of a slacker when it came to practice...same with Iverson ;)...but come Game time; it was high level. I always factor in some of those fighters wanting to work out the kinks and maybe take some shots to build some tolerance. If they are knocking everybody out than there is no more sparring. Not that a fighter wouldn't want to stay fresh by not taking damage, but you do need to get used to taking shots in sparring to take shots in fights, right?

17y ago

Benny_Leonard

Guys like Maurice Harris, Ishe Smith and Emmanuel Augustus stick out in my mind as being great gym fighters. They could do amazing things but for whatever reason it didn't come out on fight night. With Harris especially, Mo Bettah could've been a champion at 200 pounds. His problem is that he suffered from stage fright, he froze. But in the gym, he was amazing to watch. Emmanuel Augustus schools world champions in the gym, in fact one world champion once got so upset that he threw a stool at Augustus' trainer. Not telling who, though. I hear Kostya Tszyu liked Augustus; and Augustus liked him. Augustus said Tszyu was a beast in the gym and sparring from what I hear. With Kostya, I wonder if it had to do with weight: he didn't have to drain himself when he was sparring so he was still "fresh"

17y ago

ICEMAN_JOHN_SCULLY

There are so many guys like that...some of the best sparring sessions I have ever had, some of the best wars, hardest punches, etc came with guys you never heard of...

17y ago

Benny_Leonard

PS - and you would know this if you had any experience with it- but many boxers are just better in the gym than they are in real fights. I always say, if you want to see what a guy can REALLY do then watch him in the gym...I have seen journeymen knock out (cold) top 10 cotenders...I have seen world champions go at it like Castillo-Corrales- with fringe contenders...etc etc...the fight is different because of so many factors..some guys just cannot fight up to their potential on fight night....I have seen -myself included- guys do things in sparring that they have never done in real fights...boxers are generally looser, sharper, think better, flow better, etc in the gym...it's the ones who can translate it to real fights that make it big...but do not think for one minute that even thegreatest champions have everything go all their way every day in the gym...you'd be surprised at who has done what to whom behind closed doors...I could tell you stories, man... Yes, I've heard this. Most fighters only take a fraction of their gift into the ring. Many fighters can't deal with the pressures that come with being under the light; in the spotlight. It's what seperates a Pro fighter from the rest. Steve Lott said something like it about Tyson; how he was better in the gym than in fights...and he had footage to back it up. You also have McCall who had wars with Tyson but McCall couldn't always put it together inside the ring under the lights. I think that was a drug problem though??? which I guess shows you something as well. I heard Frazier was good at beating the shit out of people in the gym though. I heard stories of Ali getting roughed up but I always figured it was him working out the kinks and getting used to being hit. I also remember reading about a Philly fighter who was a gym legend who took apart top Fighters all the time, but wasted his life on drugs. Don't remember his name.

17y ago

ICEMAN_JOHN_SCULLY

I asked about the KRONK because Bones Adams told me recently that when he was training at the KRONK the locals weren't too keen on him. He said they would throw stuff and shout "F-- you white boy" when he would do his running. He said the environment was hostile. If I recall, you are lighter than Bones. How were the locals to you? No, no, I didn't train at KRONK, I have just heard from someone who did that there were times when Mayweather Sr. had his way with many of the better fighters there in the gym...

17y ago

Mr_Ryan

Ryan, thats right, man.... I talk about it a lot in my book..so many guys who have been very impressive in the gym...I dare put myself in that category...the gym was so much sharper for me....I could think better, react better, plan things better, EXECUTE better... I had my moments in real fightds, of course, but in the gym I was sharper...I have several guys inmy book who were AWESOME in the gym...I will talk to you more about Mo, etc....I have heard that there was a time when Floyd Sr. was a terror at the Kronk Gym in Detroit...some people (obviously) dont understand these aspects of the game... I asked about the KRONK because Bones Adams told me recently that when he was training at the KRONK the locals weren't too keen on him. He said they would throw stuff and shout "F-- you white boy" when he would do his running. He said the environment was hostile. If I recall, you are lighter than Bones. How were the locals to you?

17y ago