Irish Thunder : The Hard Life and Times of Micky Ward

by Bob Halloran

• ISBN13: 9781599212203
• ISBN10: 159921220X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-11-01
• Publisher: Globe Pequot Pr

Summary

"Irish" Micky Ward was a Golden Gloves junior welterweight from Lowell, Massachusetts, always known as the underdog but with the ability to suddenly drop his opponent late in the fight. After 15 years, a string of defeats and even three years of retirement, Ward battled Arturo Gatti in 2002, and the battle was later named Fight of the Year by Ring magazine and "Fight of the Century" by boxing writers around the country. Ten rounds of brutal action ended with Ward winning by decision, and reviving enthusiasm for a sport that had been weighted down by years of showboating and corruption. ESPN and Boston television reporter Bob Halloran recounts Ward's rise to hero status, his rivalry with his imprisoned brother, and the negotiations, betrayals and drugs that ultimately shaped a wild youth into a nationally respected boxer.

Author Biography

Bob Halloran is a well-known and well-respected television journalist in Boston. He is currently the weekend news and sports anchor at the number one rated news station in theBoston market, WCVB-TV,Channel 5. Prior to that, he gained a degree of national recognition as an ESPN anchor and columnist for espn.com for three years. He has been working as a news and sports anchor in New England for over 20-years, having made extended stopson Cape Cod, Rhode Island, and a combined seven years in Boston.

Excerpts

A dozen bellies cozied up to the bar. Shooters all around. Shots and beers for a small group of men, some of whom had just gotten off work, others who were on their way to work, and the rest who had no work at all. It was nine o’clock in the morning, and for those with nowhere else to go, drinking seemed like a good idea, and for those in no hurry to get where they were supposed to be, drinking also seemed like a good idea. It had been this way at the Highland Tap for the better part of three decades, and if it stayed that way for three more, that would suit these men just fine.
The Tap was their comfort zone. It was dark and it was quiet. The faces were as familiar as the conversations. It was a no frills bar, uncluttered with only the essentials, a handful of tables and enough wooden stools to surround a small, oval bar. The walls were adorned with pictures of fighters, boxers, local guys whose photos served to fill these patrons with a sense of parochial pride. If you grew up in Lowell, you were tough, because Lowell made you that way. There were times in Lowell’s history when it was a good place to raise a family. The rest of the time, it was a good place to raise a little hell. Most of the men who ventured into the Highland Tap had done both.

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Excerpted from Irish Thunder: The Hard Life and Times of Micky Ward by Bob Halloran
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