The Fighter Stars Mark Wahlberg and Brad Pitt

There's already considerable buzz about the upcoming movie (The Fighter) about retired boxer "Irish" Micky Ward. It wasn't so long ago that the durable and determined fighter from Lowell, Massachusetts was slugging it out center ring with Arturo Gatti, a fighter who should have retired after his third legendary and bruising battle with Ward.

To fight fans, those three meetings were memorable for their ferocity and for their exhibitions of courage under fire. Some may regard it as hyperbole when one hears a mere boxing match described as a "war". To those who watched, however, the metaphor is fitting inasmuch as it was a war without guns. The movie is simply titled "The Fighter".

Micky Ward never won any of the major titles, yet many boxing fans think he should have a statue or monument placed somewhere in the New England states much as the Rocky statue still adorns the Philadelphia Art Museum. Ward catapulted into prominence after a tremendous 2001 ring struggle with a highly unusual, highly unorthodox, and yet highly talented fighter variously named Emmanuel Augustus, Emmanuel Burton, Shea Neary, and Antonio Diaz.

That man of four names deserves a movie by himself, yet this one, starring Mark Wahlberg in the title role, is about "Irish" Micky Ward and focuses on his three fights with Arturo Gatti. The film also features co-star Brad Pitt playing Ward's older brother, a former fighter turned to drugs.

The combined memories of the millions of fans who have watched Gatti, Ward, and Emmanuel Burton-Augustus-Neary-Diaz virtually guarantees a large audience for "The Fighter." Things would have to go horribly wrong for this project to lose money. One expects that Matt Damon may one day kick himself for bowing out of a role in "The Fighter" now played by Brad Pitt.