Narrative Essay On Micky Ward's Life

“I trained as hard as I could, I ran as much as I could, I sparred hard, I did everything right. I did everything I could possibly do at the age when I could fight. You have to be realistic; you can’t say, ‘Oh, I am smarter now, older and can punch harder.’ You think you can, but you can’t.” Micky Ward did not grow up saying things like, ‘I can’t wait to be a boxer when I grow up, nor was he interested in it as a career at all when he was little. He came from a large family where everyone was required to pitch in and he was struggling with many personal issues. In fact Ward had no interest in boxing until his step brother Dickie Eklund started to make a career of it. Later he would credit Dickie for helping him start his career. It took only
Eklund decided to take back the money from the streets and the dealers who he felt had robbed him. His plan was simple: dress his girlfriend as a prostitute, wait for a dealer to pick her up, bust in, dressed as a cop, and shake down the thug. However when the real cops became involved Dickie was forced to run. On the run, he reached out to Ward for help. With Ward deciding to go to the aid of his brother he made a choice that could have ended his career. Ward was arrested for coming to Eklund’s aid. In the process of being arrested, the police recognized Ward and severely smashed his hand to prevent him from fighting back. With a long list of prior convictions Eklund was sent to prison. Ward was released, but with a wounded hand, no manager, trainer, or brother.
A third contender stepped into the ring. Micky O’Keefe agreed to take over Ward’s career on one condition: that Micky would drop his family. As long as he was training with O’Keefe, his mother Alice Ward would not be allowed to act as manager and his brother Dickie Eklund would no longer train him. They were to start completely over with Ward’s boxing career. O’Keefe had succeeded in separating the family from the fighter, but he was not successful in keeping them out of Ward’s
He followed his dreams and opened not only his own boxing gym but also an outdoor ice hockey rink. He may have retired from the fighting, but he still holds on to his memories. He ended his career with 38 wins (27 knockouts and 11 decisions) and 13 losses (1 eye-stoppage and 12 decisions.) He now works to help others start their own boxing careers. He likes to remind them that the key to success is long, hard practices and a heart to do more. He likes to remind the new kids of this: “I never lost a fight because I wasn’t in shape or because I wasn’t ready. I lost because I was either beaten by a man better than me or, it wasn’t my night.” Ward was never what you would call a sore loser. He feels this is another important lesson for the up and coming fighters. Losing can be just as valuable as winning. When he lost a match he wouldn’t shut everyone out, sit around pouting, or blame others for it. Instead he took the loss as a personal challenge. He would rewatch the fight and focus on where he fell short. He would analyze ways to do things better. He would then return to the gym to practice longer and harder. He readily admits to making many mistakes, both in and out of the ring. However he very rarely made the same mistake twice, and to this he credits a portion of his