On Inaccuracies and Boxing in The Fighter

Guest review by Mohammed Al-Amin

Mark Wahlberg stars in David O. Russell’s The Fighter as Micky Ward. A popular, former light-welterweight boxing contender known for his exciting ring brawls and wicked left hook to the body. Micky Ward grew up in the rough, crack riddled times of Lowell, Massachusetts and is the half brother of former fighter and crack addict Dickie Eklund, famed for his 10 round decision loss to modern boxing great Sugar Ray Leonard.

Boxing films always seem to over-dramatise the sport, from Raging Bull to Ali, filmmakers have been turning up the action to make these films more ‘big screen’ friendly. However these days, it is difficult to do this and get away with it in these seemingly non-fictional, cut and paste portrayals since the actual fights and boxer’s records are available to anyone with a keyboard and internet connection.

The Fighter is no exception to over-dramatisation and this is to be expected although in some instances, these inaccuracies seem to be there for no reason whatsoever.

Frustratingly, the film pays great attention to detail in some instances. Such as Ward’s name being spelled incorrectly on his trunks early on in his career as ‘Mickey’ and having his trainer Mickey O’Keefe appear as himself adds some legitimacy. The film is also shot and based in Micky Ward’s hometown of Lowell, Massachusetts which gives it an authentic feel.

Christian Bale is brilliant as Ward’s half brother and trainer Dickie Eklund. If his performance comes across as over the top, have a look for the Rich Farrell filmed HBO documentary, High On Crack Street: The Lost Lives of Lowell which is seen to be filmed in the movie’s opening scene and referred to throughout. This documentary followed Dickie Eklund and some other subjects around the rough streets of Lowell and shows Eklund at the height of his addiction, with his delusional proclamations that HBO are making a movie for his ring comeback. Bale shines throughout with his believable and at times disturbingly accurate take on the unforgettable and intriguing character of Eklund. Torn between his crack addiction and responsibilities as a trainer to his half brother Micky.

Early in his fighting career, Ward was victim of police brutality (refuted by Lowell police officers of course) while trying to break up a scuffle Eklund had got involved in outside of Lowell’s infamous Cosmopolitan Cafe. Following this incident, Micky’s decision to take up the services of Lowell police officer and boxing trainer Mickey O’Keefe, during his brother’s imprisonment, was seen as a strange and unwelcome move to Micky’s immediate family and witnesses at the scene. A dislike for O’Keefe from Ward’s family is depicted throughout The Fighter but the reasons are not portrayed successfully, leaving the viewer to believe that this dislike of O’Keefe was merely due to jealousy.

The fight scenes are well shot and in some parts true to reality, with the Sanchez fight being the closest to the real thing, although O. Russell, while doing a good job, fails to portray how bizarre the fight really was. Real HBO commentary of the fights are a welcome addition with Wahlberg’s physique (although too big for the real Ward who was a light-welterweight whereas Wahlberg looks more like a super-middle) and movement are reminiscent of the real Ward.

Boxing purists will be quick to point out the aforementioned inaccuracies, inconsistencies and in some cases untruths in the movie. There is an emphasis of Ward being outweighed by 20 pounds in his fight with Mungin. At the time of the real fight, Ward weighed in at 136.5 and Mungin at 145, an 8.5 pound difference. Ward never fought a middleweight as viewers are led to believe. Ward is also seen as taking a terrible beating, in reality the fight went the full ten rounds with Mungin winning by a very narrow margin.

The head-scratching moment of the movie, comes in a montage that mentions a number of Ward opponents: Hernandez, Manetti and Collins. Ward never fought anyone by those names. What was the point of this? Micky Ward had a total of 51 professional fights, why fabricate opponents when you have more than enough names to choose from? This can be excused as it’s a fleeting moment in the film that gets the point across that Micky Ward had a string of successful comeback fights against unknown opposition before the Sanchez upset.

The Fighter makes a big deal out of Ward’s fight with Neary being for the world title. In reality, it was for the WBU (World Boxing Union) title. No one considers the WBU titleholder to be the true world champion. Neary, who fought exclusively in the UK and Ireland, won the vacant WBU strap by defeating Darryl Tyson, who ‘earned’ his shot at the title by getting stopped by Oscar De La Hoya in two rounds. Neither Ward nor Neary were ever recognised as legitimate world champions during their careers.

The movie shows Ward being knocked down in the third round whereas Ward was never down during the Neary fight. Incorrect career records and weights of Ward and Neary are examples of strange inaccuracies that do nothing to add to the movie’s drama.

How Ward’s title shot to Neary came about is also incorrect in that the film makes it seem that he earned his right to fight for Neary’s title following his upset of Alfonso Sanchez when in reality, Ward fought for the WBU title three years and several fights later. Although this kind of oversight is to be expected as covering all of Ward’s fights would make the film far too long.

Regrettably, the film ends before Ward’s career defining trilogy against the late Arturo Gatti. These fights, especially the first of the series (voted as Fight of The Century by boxing fans and writers of Ring Magazine) earned Ward worldwide recognition and would not require any over-dramatisation if depicted in a motion picture. In fact, this trilogy can be made into a movie without any additions or mention of either fighter’s personal background and it will make for exciting and dramatic cinema. Ward and Gatti spending time in the emergency room after their first encounter and becoming good friends as a result of this is something for the ages. The fact that O’Russell completely omits this and arguably the most memorable round of the trilogy (the ninth round of the first fight) is disappointing.

Boxing purists may cry foul at the inconsistencies of Ward’s record, weight and opponents however the film is merely ‘based’ on a true story and is not supposed to get it all right. Much like Ron Howard’s Cinderella Man, some of the changes are puzzling and do not add to the excitement of the movie if they were portrayed correctly. Unlike Cinderella Man, the changes and omissions in The Fighter do not hurt Ward’s story and the overall unravelling of events in the film are genuine.

Where The Fighter fails in the accuracy of recounting the boxing career of Micky Ward, it succeeds in its gritty display of the harsh events that occurred during Ward’s rise to recognition as one of the true warriors of the modern era of Boxing. It also succeeds in its portrayal of Ward’s close yet turbulent relationship with Eklund and the battle he faced with his family’s involvement in his professional and personal life.

If you want a truly non-fictional take of Micky Ward’s life and ring accomplishments then read Bob Halloran’s mesmerising recount of Ward’s achievements in Irish Thunder: The Hard Life and Times of Micky Ward. Whereas The Fighter is to be enjoyed as a decent depiction of the hardships faced by Ward outside of the ring during his dramatic career.