What Is Micky Ward's Net Worth?
Micky Ward is an American former professional boxer who has a net worth of $500 thousand. Micky Ward competed from 1985 to 2003. He is probably best known for his trilogy of fights with Arturo Gatti, two of which received Fight of the Year awards from "The Ring" magazine. Ward was portrayed by Mark Wahlberg in the 2010 film "The Fighter," which was based on Micky's early career.
Early Life
Micky Ward was born on October 4, 1965, in Lowell, Massachusetts. His maternal ancestors had fled from Ireland during the 1850s to escape poverty and oppression and arrived in Boston, Massachusetts. They settled in the Acre neighborhood of Lowell and worked as laborers and millworkers. Micky's parents were Alice and George Ward. He grew up with eight siblings and step-siblings. At the age of 7, Ward began training in boxing. One of his step-brothers, Dicky, also trained as a boxer and turned professional in 1975. After Dicky's career came to an end, in part due to drug addiction, he began training Micky, helping him prepare for his professional debut in 1985.
Career
Ward had a successful career as an amateur boxer in the New England area in the late 1970s and into the 1980s. He was a three-time New England Golden Gloves champion boxer, an amateur boxing competition taking place every year in Lowell, Massachusetts. He began training with his brother, Dicky, who had also achieved success as an amateur and then professional boxer and turned pro in 1985. He won his first fourteen fights after turning professional. However, after losing four consecutive fights in 1990 and 1991, Micky decided to take a hiatus from boxing.
During Ward's time away from the sport, he used some of the funds from his day job on a road-paving crew to have surgery on his right hand, which had given him problems during several fights. The surgery used some of the bone from Ward's pelvis to strengthen and fuse the bones in his hand.
Ward returned to fighting and won his first nine fights. In a 1997 fight, he scored a 7th-round knockout against the then-undefeated Mexican Alfonso Sanchez. Up until that point, Micky had been clearly losing on points, and the referee had threatened to stop the fight if Ward didn't become more competitive. He then landed a left hook to Sanchez's body, knocking him out and resulting in a win for Ward. His left hook later resulted in a first-round knockout of Steve Quinonez. Micky earned a 1997 IBF Light Welterweight Championship fight against champion Vince Phillips, though he did not win the championship.
In 2000, Ward traveled to London to take on the WBU Light Welterweight Champion, Shea Neary. He earned a total knockout in the eighth round to win the WBU title.
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In 2002, Micky faced the opponent with whom he became most identified, Arturo Gatti. The fight was evenly matched until Ward managed to knockdown Gatti in the ninth round. Micky won the fight by majority decision. The fight was named the 2002 "The Ring" magazine fight of the year. Both fighters needed care in a trauma center following the match. The two agreed on an immediate rematch. Gatti was able to win the second fight, knocking Ward down in the third round, though Micky managed to finish the fight. The two faced each other again in a third fight, which proved equally as contentious and evenly matched. Gatti was eventually able to win by decision, though Ward had the upper hand at various points in the fight. The fight was named the 2003 "The Ring" magazine fight of the year. The two fighters again needed trips to the hospital following the fight. Micky retired from professional boxing in 2003.
Much of Ward's early career is depicted in the 2010 film "The Fighter." In the film, Ward is portrayed by actor Mark Wahlberg while his brother Dicky is portrayed by Christian Bale. The film received positive reviews from both fans and critics. Ward also has spoken favorably about the film, despite the fact that some creative liberties were taken and differed from the actual reality of his life and career. The film received seven Academy Award nominations and six Golden Globe Award nominations, among other accolades.
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Personal Life
Micky married his longtime girlfriend, Charlene Fleming, in 1999. Fleming is originally from Boston, and the two knew each other before Ward achieved success as a professional boxer. Together, they have a daughter named Kasie.
Ward released an autobiography in 2012 called "A Warrior's Heart: The True Story of Life Before and Beyond The Fighter." The book received praise from readers. In it, he reveals that he was sexually abused as a child by a friend of Dicky, his older brother, identified only by his nickname – Hammer. The abuse began when Ward was nine and continued for three years until Ward confronted his attacker. Ward and Hammer fought against each other in one of his first amateur bouts, which he won by unanimous decision.
Micky continues to live in Lowell, where he is part-owner of a boxing gym and outdoor hockey rink. He manages the boxing gym with his brother and former trainer Dicky, who trains new boxers entering the gym.
