@@wttransport5834 he took a lot of his fights on short notice, kinda makes me with he didn’t, cuz if he made better time decisions, he could’ve won almost all of his fights.
How many fights did Burton/Augustus take on just a couple of days notice and give the dude all he could handle? That poor bastard got robbed sooooo many times.
He fought sometimes on a monthly basis with little to no notice on who his opponent was. Sometimes, and I'm not shitting you, he wouldn't know who his opponent was until they stepped in the ring. Absolute warrior.
@@jamarcushutchins9523 you could argue that his record should only show 2 or 3 losses maximum 4 but instead his record shows 34 losses to his 38 wins and 6 draws.
unanimous decision my ass. no wonder Emanuel was known as the most robbed boxer. anyway I thought Emanuel is too nice to be a boxer. he even stopped when he saw Ward lost his footing. a rare fighter indeed.
Yeah maybe there really is a degree of sociopathy required to be a top level fighter. Even though Augustus def was top level and had he boxed in this era we wouldve eaten him up he probably wouldn't have lost as many screwy decisions. But I still think if he was an asshole he could've knocked way more people out. I think he honestly just wanted to put on a show every time he went out there, of course he wanted to win, but I think his top priority was always entertaining the crowd. Such a good soul. So sad to see what's happened to him
@@machetemedina5185 dude got shot by a stray bullet in the back of his head. Hes still alive but lost a lot of motor functions. Crazy how much the world hates this dude I dont get it
@@machetemedina5185 yeah dude spread the word that's how I heard about it at first too. The more people that know means theres a chance someone with money someone could help his situation. Or we could start like a GoFundMe or something idk
I feel like Emmanuel never took more than a day or two off a week. He had to have stayed in fighting shape and trained weekly in order to take these fights on such short notice and still dominate like he did
@@dootmcsploot4180 Yeah hard worker Emanuel Augustus is proof that power really is genetic because if he was blessed with it, he would've had a lot less losses
ProphetofDoom14 They were fighting in Mickey Ward's home town. Explains the judging probably and for sure the booing. Tremendous fight. Remember turning on ESPN to watch the fight just to watch and did not know I would watch a fight this damn good.
I lived in Haverhill, MA at the time, about halfway between Micky's hometown of Lowell and the beach where this fight was held. If the judges gave it to Burton, they'd have needed the damn National Guard to escort them out of New England. You cannot beat a New England fighter on his home turf unless you knock him out. That goes double in New Hampshire, a state with a weak commission.
Nothing but respect for Augustus,he is an honorable and kind man.His opponent slipped and instead of taking advantage of it he pulled back waiting for Mickey to get his balance back.Then after he was robbed he raised Ward's hand...
You should see his fight with Sucre Ray Olivera. Ray injured his neck in the middle of a war. Augustus refused to throw at his head, even just went to the ropes and covered up as Ray was desperately throwing all he had trying to KO him. Ray had to retire after the fight, who knows what would have happened if Augustus teed off.
I love Mickey Ward but I though Burton won that fight on clean effective punching. He really caught Mick with some great stuff in the middle rounds and he looked stronger at the end of the fight too. Mickey I think caught the judges eye because he was being the aggressor but Burton scored more powerful and consistent punches
Ward was 35 Burton was 26. Although I do agree Burton had the edge, you gotta keep in mind Mickey was fighting a guy 9 years younger than him entering his prime. While I was watching the fight I kept thinking to myself even though Mickey was old and gassed he was still landing some beautifully timed combos!
man i feel sorry for Augustus.. the man never gets respect from everyone... you can tell how he conducts himself in the ring that he is very light-hearted , doesnt take things seriously and just plays with whatevers on his hand and willing to give everything away so the people can see what they want.
Only people with his essence can see it, you must have a great soul. And that's why he was so disrespected, because people like that are always going to be taken advantage of, whether they know it or not. It's sad man, nice guys might not finish last all the time, but when they do it tears me apart. The bullshit this man had to and has to endure is absolutely sadistic
98-90 & 96-91 - wanna know how that happened? "judge" 1 scored the first round 10-8 then gave 2 rounds to Burton/Augustus "judge" 2 scored the first round 10-7 then gave 4 rounds to Burton/Augustus got that info from ESPN fight notes. It was a similar same setup in the Augustus v Courtney Burton debacle where two judges where blindly scoring for Courtney Burton, except that they had a dodgy ref in the ring also. Further into the rabbit hole I went into via Boxrec: judge 1 = Mike Nolan was judging his first ever fight. judge 2 = Jim Fagin, was the only fight he ever judged. judge 3 (96-94) = John Stevens was the only experienced judge, and also the only one out of the three to judge another fight on the same night.
Ward won the fight, but you are absolutely right, the judging was an abortion. I just watched the Harrera fight, and man he got fucked. Pacquio - Bradley first fight... I mean, I get some fights are tough to judge. This one was in a way because there were a lot of close rounds. But still... You just end up scratching your head. Is it corruption? Is it incompetence?
John Smith When it is close, I sometimes believe their assertions that judges have a different angle than the TV cameras, but sometimes it is just too much as mrgor pointed out. Other than the Courtney Burton fight, do you have another example where Augustus got robbed? I'm sure there is plenty.
mattsnow81 nothing too blatant like this & the Burton fight, but I would say there were suspect decisions with Soren Sondergaard, Teddy Reid, Arturo Morua (by all reports), Sergey Sorokin, Alvaro Aguilar, and Arturo Ramos (by all reports), not to mention the DQ he got against Barrientes. It's more a common theme in his fights than anything. Even when he loses the scores are way lopsided against him.
You can’t help but feel your heart swell when you see the efforts put on by both men. I watched this fight when it was first broadcast and I felt a sense of pride as a fight fan
Total Punches: Ward 320, Burton 421. Not only that, but Burton landed cleaner and harder punches, in my estimation. Ward actually managed to miss 3 of every 4 punches he threw, thanks to superior defense by Burton. 96-91 Ward + 98-90 Ward = fixed fight I had Burton winning by 2 points, with round 10 even.
I had it 96-93 for Ward, 6 rounds to 4 plus the knockdown, but anyone who's ever seen me score a fight live (I wrote about the sport for five years for pizza money on small sites) knows I tend to reward fighters who move their hands even if all their punches don't necessarily land clean, and that's exactly what Ward did the whole fight and especially in the last round. Watching the fight again, Burton probably won round 10, but that makes my card 95-94, same as Bob had it.
@Snowwy fkn A,he took fights on short notice at away venues.And referees were biased to his flamboyant style.hjs record in no reflection of his ability or the career he had
I know right??? And what about that 96-91 scorecard? How did he get 96-91? He would have had to score 3 rounds 10-8 to get that ridiculous score!!!! I scored it 95-94 for Burton, but the decision was not in any way a robbery.
K'dale Berry i disagree. Augustus landed a terrifying 47% of his punches for the entire fight. The point system alone should be enough to decide who won. Clearly, the crowd was in favor of Ward and so were the judges.
if Emanuel would have stayed on the outside he would've beat ward easy. but he said it himself if he feels no power he was going to bang and give the crowd a show. that's y the drunken master is my favorite fighter of all time.
i dont know why the officals hated him, one offical got mad at him during a fight bc of his style, thats bs the man was all class as well as ward, two cult legends just gave us a tutorial on how it should be done
I've always been a big fan of Mickey, but even with the big round 9, he did not win this fight. Even if he did, he definitely did not win it 98-90. That might be on of the worst scorecards I've ever seen. Except for round 9, there wasn't a round where burton wasn't the stronger fighter who was getting the better of the exchanges. All the respect in the world to Mickey for standing in there like a warrior and taking it. Just for that he should be considered for the hall of fame to join his BFF Gatti. Like I said, I've always been a huge fan. But Emanuel Burton Augustus got robbed big time in this fight. An absolute amazing fight though. Truly epic battle.
Can’t agree with all of what you said. First 3 went to Ward for being the aggressor. 4 & 5 were so close but Burton definitely had much more finesse. It isn’t just about who gets the better of the exchanges, and I don’t agree Burton got the best of all of them. 6 7 & 8 were definitely Burton. Have to give 9 to Ward and 10 Id probably give to Burton. A lot of it came to that knockdown. Can’t say without it Burton won because it happened. Even without the knockdown Ward still won round 9. He threw 200 more punches and while yes his land percentage was lower between that and having Burton on the ropes most of the fight he was absolutely the more aggressive fighter. I do think Ward took this one. However, that being said, this is right up there with WardvsGatti in my estimation. What a fight! And this definitely made me a new fan of Burton! Can not believe all the fights I’ve watched this dude has escaped me this far into my years of being a fan. Really incredible fight.
Well when youre fighting in Lowell Mass, on an extremely close thriller of a fight, what did you think would happen? I would state my case for Mickey winning, but I'm the biggest Mickey Ward fan so I cant be unbiased.
@@Burlykim13 do you hear how you sound? You said it yourself burton landed more punches. Not only that 90 more punches. Thats like 30 percent of the fight PERIOD.
I didn't scroll down to see the comments until i watched the whole fight again...that was my exact reaction. The first time watched the fight (back in 2001) i scored it 95-95 like teddy, the second time I gave it 95-94 Ward...if this were fought in a neutral arena I would expect it to have come out a draw or split for Ward, or at least a 1 or 2 point difference only on the cards. Still one of the best fights I have ever watched.
I've only gotten into boxing recently and I've been trying to catch up on decades worth of fights. I've made a dent in watching boxing history but this has been one of the best fights I've ever seen
It's always a factor . You can give that fight to mickey easily. A knockdown is a knockdown . Judges also count in courage and the way mickey came back around the 8th round is what won him this fight .that being said two of these judges were way off 98 to 90 ?? Gtfoh. Mickey still won 96 to 95
Everybody is talking about how The Drunken Master was robbed but nobody is paying attention to how great of a fight these guys just had. A thing of beauty. We all know Augustus should've won it on the cards.
@@AK-hi7mg I got the same thoughts mate He had a better ring generalship than Burton but both they showed tremendous aggressiveness and Fantastic endurance
@@Fastbreak5000 Exactly the man just put on one of the best shows you ever going to see in a ring Gave you every bit of your money's worth. And they have the nerve to boo the man..... Classless
These are my 2 favorite all time fighters. I love them both, no-one fights like this anymore! Burton & Ward are absolutely total class. I watched the original fight on ESPN & it's like Teddy Atlas said ... "if u've never been to a fight or seen fighters before... You're seeing it! "
@@brainshowers3925 lmao I had a feeling lol. You can see it in someones smile. Augustus had the most warm smile I'd ever seen in the ring. Love the guy so much. I wouldve loved to spark one with him
It was a rule of the sport back in the late 90s and early aughts. If your fight was in the Northeast-anywhere from Hampton Beach to Philly and all points in between-and you wanted a great ref, you got Double S. If you were in Nevada, you got Mills Lane out of his Reno courtroom and into the ring.
I always noticed how Emanuel would smile while fighting his opponents. You could tell he really enjoyed his fights, a true fighter through and through. Really disappointing he got robbed so much!!
Shocking scores from the judges, 98-90? Great fight from both guys, I actually had Augustus winning by a few rounds. Micky landed some great power shots and managed to score a knockdown, but the stats don't lie, he still missed almost 900 punches. Micky may have won the fight but Manny won the boxing match. This is my new favourite fight of all time anyway, regardless of the result.
Simply unbelievable. I gave Ward some of those close rounds where Burton landed more. Just because Micky was dictating the action, but 98-90 is a joke. Complete joke.
Knockdown or not, Burton beat his ass. After the 3rd, I had Ward ahead 2-1. Burton won 5 rounds in a row after that. Each round mirrored the previous. Ward threw more, but landed far less. Burton was as accurate as I've seen any fighter . Ward threw 5 or 6 punches, landing one or two. Burton returned fire with 4 punches, landing 3 or all 4. Ward won 3 rounds, and an extra point for the knockdown. Burton won 7 rounds,and he won the fight. This was a fairly close fight, but Burton won too many rounds to end up losing. Ward did his usual gutsy job, but he tired after 3 or 4 rounds. Burton was consistent until the 9th, and he came back and took the 10th also. If Ward would have won the last round decisively, maybe you could make an argument for a home town decision. Burton won the 10 th round however, and I feel bad for him because coming back and finishing strong, in addition to dominating the middle 5 rounds, he deserved to win. The key to Burtons' edge was defense. Burton has great defensive skills, moving his head in all directions non stop. He made ward miss an extraordinary number of punches, and missing that much was tiring Ward. Great fight, but I get upset when a gifted performance such as Burton gave here, goes unrewarded, and basically he was cheated.
DanIrish409 It was a very good fight. I thought Ward got tired about half way and Burton stayed consistent throughout. I understand the hometown advantage and if it's very close I think it's okay to let the crowd go home happy. In this case, I thought it was a point or two beyond allowing the home town decision. Ward put up a good fight as always, so it doesn't seem as bad as giving him the win without giving his all. Ward always gives and gives, and I think that's what carried the judges. I feel bad for Burton, he fights his ass off and has real good talent, but they take a lot of fights from him because he's not going anywhere in his career. Generally, I agree with you, it was a competitive fight. Thanks for the response and God bless you and your loved ones.
MrMarco855 of course, I love good boxing talk, and thanks for the positive feedback. I think Ward won legitimately, but I'll say this, I think Burton is the better boxer. In fact I think that's quite clear, I don't think Burton fought the right gameplan. They did say after all that he came in at 2 weeks notice, when he did work, and let his hands go on the outside, it was all burton, one way traffic. He laid on the ropes and allowed Ward to load up on eye-catching power shots, And although he slipped many punches, he laid on the ropes just long enough to allow Ward to land clean ones. In fact I think Burton could have even won on the inside had he boxed to his full capacity, I'm not saying Burton didn't give it his all, Burton is one guy you can never take any credit away from, he put his heart and soul into it every time. I just don't think he fought with the belief that he would upset the apple card, just enough to entertain. Had he boxed to his full talent, I believe he would win a UD and we would have seen fairly lopsided scorecards.
K'dale Berry Is it not amazing how poor the judges see a fight. I'm a die hard Ward fan, but even with the 2 point round Burton should have won this fight... 🤔
You could really make a good case for Burton winning this. Ward was the come-forward aggressor the whole fight, but that doesn't necessarily mean it was effective aggression, Burton was slipping most punches and had some beautiful counters and crafty combinations, not to mention and underrated defense. Ward was naturally the harder puncher so of course his punches were more flashy, but Burton landed very clean and good combinations.
ConfrontationalRealist you are basing your entire argument on the fact that Ward scored a knockdown, I could eat a bowl of alphabet soup and shit a better argument than that. There's 10 rounds in this fight, and ward only scored a knockdown in one of them. Ward's aggression was not always effective, and he was often countered by more precise, clean punches from Augustus. Just because a fighter is going backwards, or even to an extent, lying on the ropes, does not necessarily mean they are losing the fight. Augustus fought brilliantly off the ropes, landed some very clean single scoring punches in addition to very clean scoring combinations that seemed to hurt ward at times. Early on it seemed like all of ward's punches were bouncing off of the gloves of augustus or missing altogether. I am fine with either fighter winning, but the FACT is, it was a close fight, and it could have gone to either fighter. You know for a confrontational realist, you have the confrontation part down, but the realist part....extremely lacking, disappointing, you don't deserve your name.
ConfrontationalRealist I just made a good argument as to how you could score for augustus, and all you did was personally attack me without providing any evidence to support your claims, shows me your knowledge on boxing, which is about as shallow as a cup of water.
My god this was a legendary fight! Unforgettable! Instant classic! Man I wish I could see this fight live. Great stuff. Micky won this fight only because of the knockdown. 5 rounds a piece.
Love the way this fight sounds. Lot of guys didn’t get up from that ward body shot. Augustus did it it in the 9th round and smiled at him. Two tough cats.
ward missed or was blocked more times than he landed clean shots... I can understand why people say Emanuel is the most underrated fighter.. He had tremendous skills and movement.. all his shots landed very clean, and he either went with punches blocked them or completely avoided them for the majority of the fight.
What a fight!...That was incredible. Legends, both warriors. The battle of will, wits and skill that these two displayed will remain a classic for the ages, a battle to the very last bell.
One of the best true fights in the history of boxing, sad to see those days are long gone. It was an even fight but the body shots and knockdown were the difference for Mickey, i still would score it a draw. Nothing but respect for these guys giving it all for the fans
Burton won this fight easily! Burton outlanded Ward, and the punches that Ward was landing werent landing cleanly! They were bumping off Burtons shoulders, gloves, forearms. Micky Ward drew Burton into his kind of fight yet Burton was beating him at it! Ward is a superior offensive fighter, but Burton was mixing in his headmovement well into his combination punching, Ward was missing all night. Burton was brilliant, his defense and effective punching should have won him the majority of the rounds against Mick Wards ineffective agresiveness. Burtons performance was phenomenal, he was slipping, rolling and blocking a majority of Wars punches, and countering beautifully with uppercuts and hooks to the body, he dominated all of the long range fighting and toe to toe exchanges. 96-93 Emanuel Burton.
That's a very educated fight observation - I had a draw, mainly due to the 10-8. Too bad Emmanuel got raped so many times, even getting DQ'd for "spinning" -by some jaggoff ref. I'll never forget this fight, better than the Gatti fights, Emmanuel never received his big money fight, and was shot and almost killed a couple years ago, I heard that his health is improving and he may be getting married?
I remember seeing an interview with Mickey and Dickie and Dickie said he didn't want Mickey to take this fight because Burton/Augustus was a very dangerous and underrated fighter.
This was my fight of the decade. A blue collar bought in the finest sense of the word. Emmanuel - we hope you are healthy! We love you and miss you! I can't believe it's been 16 years. I had this as a draw BTW.
Augustus is one of my favourites of all time. In this fight he took on the telephone booth persona. Didn't have to fight this way, but decided to probably to make a memorable battle - and he did! Not many boxeers can can play a role and still compete with the best of their time.
Props to ESPN. I loved watching these fights. I saw so many future champions on ESPN. They told stories behind fighters and always gave respect to fighters like these two guys.
Amazing fight. Wish Emmanuel would get some recognition or something for how good he really was. Also, rip to Steve smoger, he did a great job in this one and the moment at the end was really touching. What a banger
If you've ever been in a rinkydink hall with 6k screaming fans in a tiny area, he just plain didn't hear the bell. And as for the guy being down. You punch until the ref stops you. All fighters know this.
@@deadarmd it's illegal to punch a guy while he's down. boxers have been DQ'd for this many times because it is an illegal blow. Ward wasn't even admonished
Excellent fight Clean, exciting and full of madness. For me it is one of the clearest draw I've seen. I have never gotten better accounts. I think the decision is a bit controversial but it is the least, because they gave us a memorable fight. Ward, with 35 years and at the end of his career and Burton with his particular style. With Ward in his prime I think Augustus would not endure so much punishment on the ropes, but the strategy worked against this Ward. He got tired the first 5 rounds and Burton won 3 of them, then Ward took courage and achieved the fall that defined the fight. Augustus commits madness by exchanging blows in the R9 with the fight more in his favor, or at least for me he was winning. Ward knocked him down and Agustus won the 10th for a draw more than clear. Ward threw more power shots, but Burton's chin didn't flinch until R9 ... Augustus had all the conditions for the new era of modern boxing, he could have won a lot if he wasn't a showman That is carried away by their emotions. The% of his blows, in the era that was approaching (that of Floyd's fencing), could have won most of his fights simply by going away instead of exchanging blows with an expert like Ward. Anyway, great fight between two great fighters that left us a spectacular fight. That's why both are so dear. Thanks for uploading.
Burton's corner did it right: Allow Ward to throw a lot of punches in the first two rounds, perhaps tiring. Later Burton started to answer Ward's punches and the fight suddenly became very interesting. Nice fight for both fighters. w
Was booed by the people, commentators only talked about his opponent, giving little awknowledge when they were unable to hide it, they gave him the tiniest ring so he couldn't move, was punched twice after the bell, got power punched in the head while on the ground, got clearly robbed and yet, he won the fight. With only 2 weeks notice. Congratulations 👏👏👏
It was a good fight, it was a close fight. I had Ward winning also. The only way you throw that many more punches and lose is when the other guy is doing more damage and controlling the ring better. Augustus was a great fighter he fought Ward's fight too much in this one and just couldn't do the damage he needed to.
I absolutely love this fight. these two might as well have been fighting in a phone booth. Beautiful inside fighting from two warriors. In the same vein would be the first fight where I started liking Andre Ward when he fought Allan Green.
9:30 end of the first round Bell. See how Emanuel smiles and ward looks frustrated. Looks right in his eyes. He was pretty much saying I'm not going to be put out on round one like the other guys ward fought
Micky fought his own fights. Literally. It's like what the opponents threw, he simply would equalise through quantity. I don't think I'm being too uncharitable when I infer the "broken clock is right twice a day" analogy. Because I cannot state the contrary any clearer. Micky's superb conditioning, durability and sheer output made him right more than twice a day. Not a points scorer per say. Certainly a scorer of points. A workhorse, trotting through hell to the light. A prize fighter in every sinew of his being. More than respect.
Max respect, Emanuel Augustus-Burton, "The Drunken Master". Any fan of the Sweet Science who is not familiar with the lad need only take a look at his highlight reel, and be astounded.
Only thing that Emmanuel was missing was k.o power, all the rest of it, every single other aspect, is God tier level.That kind of stamina, footwork, rolls, slips, counters, speed, combinations , blocks, parries, angles, anything else you can think of, i dont think there is not one boxer base amatuer rank amateur or pro who wouldnt want to have emmanuels skills. He is a legend.
I watched this fight with my girlfriend at the time. Micky made her into a boxing fan. The fight party we hosted a year later for Ward-Gatti I was one of the most awesome nights of my social life.
These two guys were very entertaining and tough fighters. Before Mayweather fought Cotto, he said that Augustus was his toughest opponent. He could fight, and he could take it too. We all know Ward from the Ward - Gatti trilogy. Genuine tough guy with good power. This was a great fight. These two guys were the real deal.
Very even fight up until the 9th and 10th rounds. I think that throughout the fight Ward was landing the more meaningful punches with the exception of a few rounds where Augustus was teeing off on Ward. The 9th and 10th tho Mickey was wrecking him to the body over and over again.
My boy Augustus always got the short end of the stick in close fights man I can't stand it this was a great fight one of the best but how can you not see that ward lost? He got a lot of good hits but had more bad misses Augustus was sharp as a blade firebombing on homeboy.
I'm a huge fan of Micky Ward the guy is a warrior. I'm thinking maybe Augustus did something happen earlier in his career that may of pissed off someone really important cos he lost a lot of fights he should of been declared winner.
If burton landed 100 more punches in a 10 round fight, then he won the fight. You can voice you're opinion, but you're wrong. That means Burton averaged landing 10 more punches each and every round. What the hell, someone is full of shit. Name another fight where the winner got hit 100 more punches than he hit the opponent. Pack a lunch, because you'll be searching a long time to find one. Burton was landing hard punches and he landed 100 more punches. If a domination in landed punches doesn't win the fight for you, what else is there? These ignorant blind judges would probably pick Hillary Clinton if they were judging the Miss America pageant..
I agree overall but your reasoning is off. You can't take the overall figure and then divide it by 10, fights are scored round by round and if a fighter has two big rounds landing many more punches that has no baring on the next round which he could land less as with the next so you end up 2 rounds each but one guy has landed way more overall. While I believe curruption was at play a lot of the rounds were close and pro boxing isn't simply scored on who lands the most. Burton shouldn't have spent so much time on the ropes because in a close round it's the easy thing to give it to the guy pushing the other back.
they don't judge fights off compubox, and Ward scored a knockdown while fighting with a home field advantage. No surprise Ward won (though the scores were pretty ridiculous.) I've always been a huge fan of Augustus but it's not as if he ran away with the fight, it was close!
@@soulveiw I fully understand that but I was pointing out that Burton landed more punches on average by a wide margin. Many will make the argument you just made but there's a flaw in that logic very often, and that is that it's rarely the case that the example you gave plays out. Those things just don't occur very often and would tend to even out anyway. When someone states the case you made they never show that such a thing took place in the fight being discussed at the time, therefore it would be a moot point for that particular case as it was in this particular fight. I like numbers and refer to them often but I consider the margins from all angles so I'm not trying to make an argument that has no merit. I'm also aware of variables such as which fighters punches were more powerful, the difference between landing a jab versus a strong left hook or straight right hand, and things that many ignore like depending on fouling to be effective and having a referee that's playing with your rules in mind and so on, and I'm not afraid to ignore the score given by the judges in a round where for example, a knockdown gives a guy a 10-8 but the replay indicates that the referee must have drank his lunch that day. In my opinion, Burton gave not less then a magnificent performance in this fight that was a real thing of beauty, and the numbers reflect that he had the upper hand in the blood and guts category so I think it unfair that he has no reward for such a high level performance. I take nothing from Mickey, he's one of the G.O.A.T. in terms of being an honest fighter with cast iron gonads and he's a real credit to the sport. He also performed at a level rarely seen in any fight. Given that he was great in his own right and that he scored the knockdown, I would say it was enough to just barely justify a home town slanted decision and I understand the reasoning for a home town 1 point advantage going in, but I wasn't too happy about it in this case because of the splendid effort by Burton. The punches landed numbers verify that the rule that you made a point of isn't valid here and as I said, is rarely in evidence so the point is lost in this and in most other cases. I get a kick out of the attempt however; citing a possible scenario in which my reasoning would be flawed, even though it's not a factor in the fight that we're discussing. In other words what you're saying is that it's possible for your example to occur and even though it did not occur in this fight, since it is a possibility in general then you're argument wins the day based solely on the possibility,...….. sans the reality of the fight itself. You were careful to not point that out so I made sure to assist you in that regard. If you refer to the punches landed per round chart, just as I said Burton comes out the winner in terms of a round versus round times 10 comparison, or any other numbers comparison. From any angle or perspective the numbers weigh heavily in Burtons favor and infrequent occurrence that you mentioned was less then infrequent here and therefore helps Wards case not at all. The raw numbers show that Mickey landed more in just 3 rounds by the very small margins of 1, 3 and 7 punches while Burton landed more in the other 7 rounds, including the last round, and the margins were very impressive in 5 of those 7 rounds. The punches landed margins that Burton racked up were by 1, 3 , 11, 15, 22, 24, and in the 5th round by a margin of 36 punches. Ward averaged less then 4 more punches in the 3 rounds that he won, Burton landed an average of 16 more punches in the 7 rounds in which he landed more. I like to use the punches landed totals simply because many fights are close and even more fights have questionable/controversial outcomes. Since this is a constant concern and a convenient scenario otherwise exists for ambiguous scoring then why not look at a fight carefully and see who actually placed his fist on the other guys face/body more times then his opponent? Doesn't that help to keep the outcome a little closer to the truth and close off the bullshit decisions that sometimes should result in a jail sentence? Debates about who actually won a fight often include rationale such as...….'F you'.,...and 'your guy is a bitch',.........you know, sophisticated shit like that. You or I could easily improve the method used to get accurate punch totals but the boxing hierarchy won't hear of it, thus an avoidable problem remains a pain in the ass to the fans. The idiots in control thrive and depend on as much ambiguity as they can get because that helps to uphold the tradition of lying, cheating and stealing; all of the things that boxing is so very proud of. Many 'analysts' like to refer to the 5 categories that are suppose to be the overall guide for judging each round but I say that for the most part that method is ridiculous. Note that I didn't say those 4 extra categories were always useless, they may be beneficial in certain situations but by and large they constitute a one man circle jerk. I think someone down on his luck and grasping to explain a losing argument came up with this slight of hand philosophy. It can be useful as an option to use in a debate re: a particular fight by the guy that is trying to explain how his guy should have won a fight in which his guy got his ass kicked. Here's why I believe that this thinking is very overrated; If my fighter clearly wins in the punches landed category, and I said clearly wins in that category, then all other criteria can take a hike. Doesn't it stand to reason that in nearly every instance if my fighter lands far more punches, that he was using the ring well, that he was better on defense then his opponent, that he was more effective aggressively, and so on? These things for the most part go hand in hand, nitpicking notwithstanding. Does it sound right if I say that my guy was hit by 200 more punches then your guy, but my guy was better on defense? Or that my guy sure had control of the ring, or that my guy displayed a more effective aggressiveness? No, it indicates that my guy got his ass handed to him. This is boxing/fighting, but some will try to minimize the very thing that makes the sport, punching the other guy square up his nose . Few if any fans before a fight have been heard to say that they're exciting about the upcoming fight because of one fighters ring generalship. They come to see an ass get kicked, or if they're lucky, both asses getting kicked but their guy getting a less kicked ass then his opponent.
@@soulveiw Back to the ropes shouldn't determine a fight, many guys prefer that posture and fight best that way. Burton was there part of the time and fought back well against the ropes but you're right that Ward probably had a better time of it. Sometimes a guy has no choice if the opponent pushes him there and it takes a lot of energy to get out of the trap sometimes but I think Burton handled himself pretty well and made up for any deficit when they were off of the ropes. Ward was a bigger man and Burton had to deal with that disadvantage and I think that he won in spite of that.
@@NG-cf7zh Basically I agree but overall Burton was just too good on that night to walk away with an 'L' I believe. You're definitely right about the scoring. One judge had it 9-1 for Ward ( 118-109 ). That judge should have been water boarded with raw sewage filtered thru a sasquatch's jock strap until he admitted that bullshit was his constant companion.
Saw this the weekend of my 21st birthday!!! What a fight burton had a big section of fans he was from close to Hampton which is like the most southern NH you could get. ESPN Called it fight on the Decade!!! They didn't lie!!! He became Champion of the world after this by KOing Sean Neary an undefeated champion who had never even been knocked down. Always a fan met him personally ( I'm from Lowell mass) Great Guy
I lost count of how many guys said Emmanuel was their toughest opponent. His record is the most misleading in pro boxing.
Judges were do bias to his style should have won a lot more than he did
It's a reflection of a man who continually tests himself, and pushes for the hard road.
Yes pretty much the judges are to blame for this.
Took this fight on 2 week notice !!! AMAZING!!!
@@wttransport5834 he took a lot of his fights on short notice, kinda makes me with he didn’t, cuz if he made better time decisions, he could’ve won almost all of his fights.
How many fights did Burton/Augustus take on just a couple of days notice and give the dude all he could handle? That poor bastard got robbed sooooo many times.
He fought sometimes on a monthly basis with little to no notice on who his opponent was. Sometimes, and I'm not shitting you, he wouldn't know who his opponent was until they stepped in the ring. Absolute warrior.
@Bryson the Mad Pencil you can't constantly be prepared, I think with better management, Burton could have won a title.
How many robberies did he have
@@jamarcushutchins9523 you could argue that his record should only show 2 or 3 losses maximum 4 but instead his record shows 34 losses to his 38 wins and 6 draws.
one of the most under rated fighters in the last 30 years ...burton was a true warrior
unanimous decision my ass. no wonder Emanuel was known as the most robbed boxer. anyway I thought Emanuel is too nice to be a boxer. he even stopped when he saw Ward lost his footing. a rare fighter indeed.
Yeah maybe there really is a degree of sociopathy required to be a top level fighter. Even though Augustus def was top level and had he boxed in this era we wouldve eaten him up he probably wouldn't have lost as many screwy decisions. But I still think if he was an asshole he could've knocked way more people out. I think he honestly just wanted to put on a show every time he went out there, of course he wanted to win, but I think his top priority was always entertaining the crowd. Such a good soul. So sad to see what's happened to him
@@powerowl2120 what happened to the guy?
@@machetemedina5185 dude got shot by a stray bullet in the back of his head. Hes still alive but lost a lot of motor functions. Crazy how much the world hates this dude I dont get it
@@powerowl2120 no way man. How crazy and yet so sad.
@@machetemedina5185 yeah dude spread the word that's how I heard about it at first too. The more people that know means theres a chance someone with money someone could help his situation. Or we could start like a GoFundMe or something idk
Augustus The Genius....One of a kind....Period.... was robbed over and over by mediocre-minded corrupt boxing judges....Augustus, we salute you Sir
I agree and sum shoots they thew his way he blocked it or combo'd off them
Но микки выиграл этот бой
Bullshit
39:31 - that's sportsmanship. Ward slips, Augustus waits
Yeah and Ward did the same thing at 36:36 punching him when Augustus was down...
He sure did. Commentators totally missed it though.
yeah i saw that too. so much class
Yea that shot while down was damn shameful
Didn't stop ward from punching Emmanuel while he was down
Off two weeks notice who the hell beats up Mickey Ward like this
EMANUEL AUGUSTUS, C'MON NOW...Pay Attention ;) 👍🏽
Emmanuel Augustus that's what he do!!!💥👊🏿
I feel like Emmanuel never took more than a day or two off a week. He had to have stayed in fighting shape and trained weekly in order to take these fights on such short notice and still dominate like he did
@@dootmcsploot4180 Yeah hard worker
Emanuel Augustus is proof that power really is genetic because if he was blessed with it, he would've had a lot less losses
What a war, amazing fight...The people booing Burton at the end of the fight deserve to be fuckin slapped, they both deserve standing ovations
ProphetofDoom14 They were fighting in Mickey Ward's home town. Explains the judging probably and for sure the booing. Tremendous fight. Remember turning on ESPN to watch the fight just to watch and did not know I would watch a fight this damn good.
Yeah I got pissed when I heard them booing Emanuel Burton after that fight.
I lived in Haverhill, MA at the time, about halfway between Micky's hometown of Lowell and the beach where this fight was held.
If the judges gave it to Burton, they'd have needed the damn National Guard to escort them out of New England. You cannot beat a New England fighter on his home turf unless you knock him out. That goes double in New Hampshire, a state with a weak commission.
Nothing but respect for Augustus,he is an honorable and kind man.His opponent slipped and instead of taking advantage of it he pulled back waiting for Mickey to get his balance back.Then after he was robbed he raised Ward's hand...
You should see his fight with Sucre Ray Olivera. Ray injured his neck in the middle of a war. Augustus refused to throw at his head, even just went to the ropes and covered up as Ray was desperately throwing all he had trying to KO him. Ray had to retire after the fight, who knows what would have happened if Augustus teed off.
@@comewatchfights9112 Damn
I love Mickey Ward but I though Burton won that fight on clean effective punching. He really caught Mick with some great stuff in the middle rounds and he looked stronger at the end of the fight too. Mickey I think caught the judges eye because he was being the aggressor but Burton scored more powerful and consistent punches
He did. No Doubt
Gotta remember too that this was a home crowd for Ward.
@@michaelobrien9689 right even in the commentary they said that would be a factor especially in a close fight
i think they judged off ring control, aggression and local influence
Ward was 35 Burton was 26. Although I do agree Burton had the edge, you gotta keep in mind Mickey was fighting a guy 9 years younger than him entering his prime. While I was watching the fight I kept thinking to myself even though Mickey was old and gassed he was still landing some beautifully timed combos!
I like the sportsmanship after the fight with the ref hugging both fighters and with Augustus trainer pouring water on both fighters
The ref held both of them at the end. He knew he had two special warriors.
man i feel sorry for Augustus.. the man never gets respect from everyone... you can tell how he conducts himself in the ring that he is very light-hearted , doesnt take things seriously and just plays with whatevers on his hand and willing to give everything away so the people can see what they want.
Only people with his essence can see it, you must have a great soul. And that's why he was so disrespected, because people like that are always going to be taken advantage of, whether they know it or not. It's sad man, nice guys might not finish last all the time, but when they do it tears me apart. The bullshit this man had to and has to endure is absolutely sadistic
It would be great to see a memorial to Emmanuel
@@NwoDispatcher He's not dead..
Hes one of my favorite fighters ever so is Micky. Im so grateful for this fight 🙏😆
98-90 & 96-91 - wanna know how that happened?
"judge" 1 scored the first round 10-8 then gave 2 rounds to Burton/Augustus
"judge" 2 scored the first round 10-7 then gave 4 rounds to Burton/Augustus
got that info from ESPN fight notes.
It was a similar same setup in the Augustus v Courtney Burton debacle where two judges where blindly scoring for Courtney Burton, except that they had a dodgy ref in the ring also.
Further into the rabbit hole I went into via Boxrec:
judge 1 = Mike Nolan was judging his first ever fight.
judge 2 = Jim Fagin, was the only fight he ever judged.
judge 3 (96-94) = John Stevens was the only experienced judge, and also the only one out of the three to judge another fight on the same night.
Fucking right, 96-94 was a good judging. The others were terrible. I had it 95-94 Ward. Thanks for the info mrgor!
Ward won the fight, but you are absolutely right, the judging was an abortion. I just watched the Harrera fight, and man he got fucked. Pacquio - Bradley first fight... I mean, I get some fights are tough to judge. This one was in a way because there were a lot of close rounds. But still... You just end up scratching your head. Is it corruption? Is it incompetence?
John Smith When it is close, I sometimes believe their assertions that judges have a different angle than the TV cameras, but sometimes it is just too much as mrgor pointed out. Other than the Courtney Burton fight, do you have another example where Augustus got robbed? I'm sure there is plenty.
mattsnow81
nothing too blatant like this & the Burton fight, but I would say there were suspect decisions with Soren Sondergaard, Teddy Reid, Arturo Morua (by all reports), Sergey Sorokin, Alvaro Aguilar, and Arturo Ramos (by all reports), not to mention the DQ he got against Barrientes.
It's more a common theme in his fights than anything. Even when he loses the scores are way lopsided against him.
He lost so many good, close fights...
You can’t help but feel your heart swell when you see the efforts put on by both men. I watched this fight when it was first broadcast and I felt a sense of pride as a fight fan
I felt my heart swell once. That was a fun night in the emergency room. :D
@@SimuLord Was it after your covid injection, by any chance?
I too watched this fight live, and it was one of those times you feel treated to a totally unexpected surprise
Burton lost the fight before the fight even started
They were going to give to Mickey regardless.
BS
100%
Total Punches: Ward 320, Burton 421.
Not only that, but Burton landed cleaner and harder punches, in my estimation.
Ward actually managed to miss 3 of every 4 punches he threw, thanks to superior defense by Burton.
96-91 Ward + 98-90 Ward = fixed fight
I had Burton winning by 2 points, with round 10 even.
100 punches round 5 for ward and landed 21 thats low score anyday to me
I had Ward by a round. It doesn't matter though, the scores should have been close whichever way it went.
I had it 96-93 for Ward, 6 rounds to 4 plus the knockdown, but anyone who's ever seen me score a fight live (I wrote about the sport for five years for pizza money on small sites) knows I tend to reward fighters who move their hands even if all their punches don't necessarily land clean, and that's exactly what Ward did the whole fight and especially in the last round. Watching the fight again, Burton probably won round 10, but that makes my card 95-94, same as Bob had it.
Draw or Ward by 1 pt for the knockdown
@@SimuLordnot to be a freak but, how did you get into sports writing on the side? id love to be able to haha
you could see it on Mickey's face, he really didnt feel like a winner. left a piece of his soul in there.
A lot of Burton's opponents felt that way.
You spoke the truth. He left some of his soul by Accepting a victory he didn't really get? A real Warrior would not accept the win.
Faces don't mean nothing look at his opponent he did not seem like a winner either Ward won
Emanuel Augustus not the best career but by far one of the most entertaining for me
Great career maybe not best record but great career 👊
@CallMeSnowwy thank you. He blocks and slips better than most.
Trained on ganja and lol vid game's
@Snowwy fkn A,he took fights on short notice at away venues.And referees were biased to his flamboyant style.hjs record in no reflection of his ability or the career he had
@Snowwy yep
What a fight! Holy shit!! Those 2 judges are a freaking joke. 98-90? He should have to take one of those body shots from Ward
I know right??? And what about that 96-91 scorecard? How did he get 96-91? He would have had to score 3 rounds 10-8 to get that ridiculous score!!!! I scored it 95-94 for Burton, but the decision was not in any way a robbery.
K'dale Berry i disagree. Augustus landed a terrifying 47% of his punches for the entire fight. The point system alone should be enough to decide who won. Clearly, the crowd was in favor of Ward and so were the judges.
if Emanuel would have stayed on the outside he would've beat ward easy. but he said it himself if he feels no power he was going to bang and give the crowd a show. that's y the drunken master is my favorite fighter of all time.
Any word on how he is? Is he out of the hospital yet?
He did beat him easy
i dont know why the officals hated him, one offical got mad at him during a fight bc of his style, thats bs the man was all class as well as ward, two cult legends just gave us a tutorial on how it should be done
I've always been a big fan of Mickey, but even with the big round 9, he did not win this fight. Even if he did, he definitely did not win it 98-90. That might be on of the worst scorecards I've ever seen. Except for round 9, there wasn't a round where burton wasn't the stronger fighter who was getting the better of the exchanges. All the respect in the world to Mickey for standing in there like a warrior and taking it. Just for that he should be considered for the hall of fame to join his BFF Gatti. Like I said, I've always been a huge fan. But Emanuel Burton Augustus got robbed big time in this fight. An absolute amazing fight though. Truly epic battle.
You're right 100%. I had it 96/95. Without the knockdown it was a clear win for Augustus.
Can’t agree with all of what you said. First 3 went to Ward for being the aggressor. 4 & 5 were so close but Burton definitely had much more finesse. It isn’t just about who gets the better of the exchanges, and I don’t agree Burton got the best of all of them. 6 7 & 8 were definitely Burton. Have to give 9 to Ward and 10 Id probably give to Burton. A lot of it came to that knockdown. Can’t say without it Burton won because it happened. Even without the knockdown Ward still won round 9. He threw 200 more punches and while yes his land percentage was lower between that and having Burton on the ropes most of the fight he was absolutely the more aggressive fighter. I do think Ward took this one.
However, that being said, this is right up there with WardvsGatti in my estimation. What a fight! And this definitely made me a new fan of Burton! Can not believe all the fights I’ve watched this dude has escaped me this far into my years of being a fan. Really incredible fight.
I definitely agree with you
Well when youre fighting in Lowell Mass, on an extremely close thriller of a fight, what did you think would happen? I would state my case for Mickey winning, but I'm the biggest Mickey Ward fan so I cant be unbiased.
@@Burlykim13 do you hear how you sound? You said it yourself burton landed more punches. Not only that 90 more punches. Thats like 30 percent of the fight PERIOD.
The scorecard from the judges for this fight was fucking joke.... Smh.... 98 - 90 .... What fight was he watching ?
wow
I didn't scroll down to see the comments until i watched the whole fight again...that was my exact reaction. The first time watched the fight (back in 2001) i scored it 95-95 like teddy, the second time I gave it 95-94 Ward...if this were fought in a neutral arena I would expect it to have come out a draw or split for Ward, or at least a 1 or 2 point difference only on the cards. Still one of the best fights I have ever watched.
I've only gotten into boxing recently and I've been trying to catch up on decades worth of fights. I've made a dent in watching boxing history but this has been one of the best fights I've ever seen
What a sham. Burton won that fight. One knockdown wasn't enough to make a difference. That was home cooking all the way. Disgraceful.
It's always a factor . You can give that fight to mickey easily. A knockdown is a knockdown . Judges also count in courage and the way mickey came back around the 8th round is what won him this fight .that being said two of these judges were way off 98 to 90 ?? Gtfoh. Mickey still won 96 to 95
Everybody is talking about how The Drunken Master was robbed but nobody is paying attention to how great of a fight these guys just had. A thing of beauty. We all know Augustus should've won it on the cards.
Standard racist bullshit.
@@AK-hi7mg I got the same thoughts mate
He had a better ring generalship than Burton but both they showed tremendous aggressiveness and Fantastic endurance
That was one of the greatest fights ever recorded.
yes sir
Watch the respect the ref had for both fighters at the final bell
Steve Smoger is the best ref in boxing bar none. Any era, any decade.
Too bad the fans that were booing Augustus at the end of the fight didn't have the same class.
@@Fastbreak5000 Exactly the man just put on one of the best shows you ever going to see in a ring Gave you every bit of your money's worth. And they have the nerve to boo the man..... Classless
I have been a Ward fan for awhile but I can now say I am also a huge Emanuel Augustus fan. What a great fighter.
WHAT A FIGHT! These fights bring tears to my eyes.
+Greg K Me too! I just watch Smoger hug them at the end and the crowd is on fire.... Awesome
Ye..i don't know what's up with these boxers today
saaaame
YES TEARS!!! GREAT FIGHT! THE DRUNKEN MASTER REALLY WON.
These are my 2 favorite all time fighters. I love them both, no-one fights like this anymore! Burton & Ward are absolutely total class. I watched the original fight on ESPN & it's like Teddy Atlas said ... "if u've never been to a fight or seen fighters before... You're seeing it! "
Emanuel only trained two weeks for this fight!
CHRISTIANNWO damn son, that must be a dj smokey exclusive
CHRISTIANNWO yes but Burton was always in shape & always ready for a fight. He really took care of himself & was in great condition always.
Haris Pilton
I've been around him personally and Emanuel is a big weed head and always has been, even during his career
@@yoyoholck ayeee
@@brainshowers3925 lmao I had a feeling lol. You can see it in someones smile. Augustus had the most warm smile I'd ever seen in the ring. Love the guy so much. I wouldve loved to spark one with him
Great classic fight! Always a pleasure to come back and watch these proud men lay it on the line. Fights like these are timeless
3 key ingredients made this an outstanding fight.... 2 incredible boxers and a superb ref who actually allowed them to fight..
Unfortunately the judges were more or less the same as any other Augustus fight.
It was a rule of the sport back in the late 90s and early aughts. If your fight was in the Northeast-anywhere from Hampton Beach to Philly and all points in between-and you wanted a great ref, you got Double S. If you were in Nevada, you got Mills Lane out of his Reno courtroom and into the ring.
@@SimuLord Steve Smoger was the best ref of my generation. I miss that guy have not seen him in about 10years. He must be getting up there.
I always noticed how Emanuel would smile while fighting his opponents. You could tell he really enjoyed his fights, a true fighter through and through. Really disappointing he got robbed so much!!
Maywether vs Pacman true worth = $10,000
Micky Ward vs Emanuel Burton true worth = $100,000,000
Pacquiao and Mayweather isnt worth shit Mayweather is no fighter. Micky Ward is a fighter /brawler
Oscar Moreno how about you watch mayweather vs burton
AHMED HERSI They don't want to because then they would realize they were wrong all this time.
Oscar Moreno Mayweather vs Burton = 1,000,000,000,000?
***** yo man wrong abot what?
Shocking scores from the judges, 98-90?
Great fight from both guys, I actually had Augustus winning by a few rounds. Micky landed some great power shots and managed to score a knockdown, but the stats don't lie, he still missed almost 900 punches. Micky may have won the fight but Manny won the boxing match. This is my new favourite fight of all time anyway, regardless of the result.
Best fight was LEONARD VS HEARNS 1. EASILY!!!
Your a casual
The Drunken Master was robbed once again. I love Ward and this fight was amazing but I had it 96-95 to Augustus.
Well it was a good fight up until I heard the cards. Talk about overcooking on the cards.
Edward Jones Emanual was robed for 2/3 of his loses, he's used to it. But Micky desurved the victory, it should have been closer though.
+Ruben Aerts he definitely was not robed dude... he was wearing trunks with no shirt.
Simply unbelievable. I gave Ward some of those close rounds where Burton landed more. Just because Micky was dictating the action, but 98-90 is a joke. Complete joke.
@@deadarmd agreed, 98-90 taints the fight. Judges should just be real about it, whoever wins wins.
Knockdown or not, Burton beat his ass. After the 3rd, I had Ward ahead 2-1. Burton won 5 rounds in a row after that. Each round mirrored the previous. Ward threw more, but landed far less. Burton was as accurate as I've seen any fighter . Ward threw 5 or 6 punches, landing one or two. Burton returned fire with 4 punches, landing 3 or all 4.
Ward won 3 rounds, and an extra point for the knockdown. Burton won 7 rounds,and he won the fight. This was a fairly close fight, but Burton won too many rounds to end up losing. Ward did his usual gutsy job, but he tired after 3 or 4 rounds. Burton was consistent until the 9th, and he came back and took the 10th also. If Ward would have won the last round decisively, maybe you could make an argument for a home town decision. Burton won the 10 th round however, and I feel bad for him because coming back and finishing strong, in addition to dominating the middle 5 rounds, he deserved to win.
The key to Burtons' edge was defense. Burton has great defensive skills, moving his head in all directions non stop. He made ward miss an extraordinary number of punches, and missing that much was tiring Ward. Great fight, but I get upset when a gifted performance such as Burton gave here, goes unrewarded, and basically he was cheated.
Well, I don't think that the decision was a bad thing. Had Burton won the fight, the Ward-Gatti trilogy never would've happened.
MrMarco855 yea augustus won
MrMarco855 I had Ward winning, but close fight, you can certainly make a good case for a Burton victory, I can't argue against it.
DanIrish409 It was a very good fight. I thought Ward got tired about half way and Burton stayed consistent throughout. I understand the hometown advantage and if it's very close I think it's okay to let the crowd go home happy. In this case, I thought it was a point or two beyond allowing the home town decision. Ward put up a good fight as always, so it doesn't seem as bad as giving him the win without giving his all. Ward always gives and gives, and I think that's what carried the judges.
I feel bad for Burton, he fights his ass off and has real good talent, but they take a lot of fights from him because he's not going anywhere in his career. Generally, I agree with you, it was a competitive fight. Thanks for the response and God bless you and your loved ones.
MrMarco855 of course, I love good boxing talk, and thanks for the positive feedback. I think Ward won legitimately, but I'll say this, I think Burton is the better boxer. In fact I think that's quite clear, I don't think Burton fought the right gameplan. They did say after all that he came in at 2 weeks notice, when he did work, and let his hands go on the outside, it was all burton, one way traffic. He laid on the ropes and allowed Ward to load up on eye-catching power shots, And although he slipped many punches, he laid on the ropes just long enough to allow Ward to land clean ones. In fact I think Burton could have even won on the inside had he boxed to his full capacity, I'm not saying Burton didn't give it his all, Burton is one guy you can never take any credit away from, he put his heart and soul into it every time. I just don't think he fought with the belief that he would upset the apple card, just enough to entertain. Had he boxed to his full talent, I believe he would win a UD and we would have seen fairly lopsided scorecards.
This is the greatest fight I have ever seen in my life....
From 10:30 on the fight was Burton's. He taught Ward everything he knows in 10 rds. Bravo to both warriors.
I scored it 95-94 for Burton, but it was a GREAT fight. One of the best fights. Those 96-91 and 98-90 scorecards were TERRIFYING!!!!!!!
K'dale Berry Is it not amazing how poor the judges see a fight. I'm a die hard Ward fan, but even with the 2 point round Burton should have won this fight... 🤔
95-94 BURTON OR A DRAW!
You could really make a good case for Burton winning this. Ward was the come-forward aggressor the whole fight, but that doesn't necessarily mean it was effective aggression, Burton was slipping most punches and had some beautiful counters and crafty combinations, not to mention and underrated defense. Ward was naturally the harder puncher so of course his punches were more flashy, but Burton landed very clean and good combinations.
ConfrontationalRealist that means nothing
ConfrontationalRealist you are basing your entire argument on the fact that Ward scored a knockdown, I could eat a bowl of alphabet soup and shit a better argument than that. There's 10 rounds in this fight, and ward only scored a knockdown in one of them. Ward's aggression was not always effective, and he was often countered by more precise, clean punches from Augustus. Just because a fighter is going backwards, or even to an extent, lying on the ropes, does not necessarily mean they are losing the fight. Augustus fought brilliantly off the ropes, landed some very clean single scoring punches in addition to very clean scoring combinations that seemed to hurt ward at times. Early on it seemed like all of ward's punches were bouncing off of the gloves of augustus or missing altogether. I am fine with either fighter winning, but the FACT is, it was a close fight, and it could have gone to either fighter. You know for a confrontational realist, you have the confrontation part down, but the realist part....extremely lacking, disappointing, you don't deserve your name.
ConfrontationalRealist I just made a good argument as to how you could score for augustus, and all you did was personally attack me without providing any evidence to support your claims, shows me your knowledge on boxing, which is about as shallow as a cup of water.
ConfrontationalRealist what an intelligent response
ConfrontationalRealist I don't play, I win
TOP 5 FIGHTS IVE EVER SEEN ..PERIOD!
FACTS
Mickey got his ass WHOOPED!!!!
WARD LOST.
Ward beat the other guys ass you clown
My god this was a legendary fight! Unforgettable! Instant classic! Man I wish I could see this fight live. Great stuff.
Micky won this fight only because of the knockdown. 5 rounds a piece.
He didn’t win at al lol
yeah he did
@@SCORP1ONF1REno he did not!
Love the way this fight sounds. Lot of guys didn’t get up from that ward body shot. Augustus did it it in the 9th round and smiled at him. Two tough cats.
Best fight I’ve ever seen. Amazing each and every time. RIP Steve Smoger.
ward missed or was blocked more times than he landed clean shots... I can understand why people say Emanuel is the most underrated fighter.. He had tremendous skills and movement.. all his shots landed very clean, and he either went with punches blocked them or completely avoided them for the majority of the fight.
rose tinted glasses. ward busted him up.
@@SCORP1ONF1REward definitely had his moments but let's not pretend like he wasn't missing most of his shots and getting countered
What a fight!...That was incredible.
Legends, both warriors. The battle of will, wits and skill that these two displayed will remain a classic for the ages, a battle to the very last bell.
98-90???? WTF Mate Burton was robbed, it was more 99, 96 to Burton. I guess the body shot was something.
Absolute treasure of a fight. Both competitors to the end! Bravo.
One of the best true fights in the history of boxing, sad to see those days are long gone. It was an even fight but the body shots and knockdown were the difference for Mickey, i still would score it a draw. Nothing but respect for these guys giving it all for the fans
Burton won this fight easily! Burton outlanded Ward, and the punches that Ward was landing werent landing cleanly! They were bumping off Burtons shoulders, gloves, forearms. Micky Ward drew Burton into his kind of fight yet Burton was beating him at it! Ward is a superior offensive fighter, but Burton was mixing in his headmovement well into his combination punching, Ward was missing all night. Burton was brilliant, his defense and effective punching should have won him the majority of the rounds against Mick Wards ineffective agresiveness. Burtons performance was phenomenal, he was slipping, rolling and blocking a majority of Wars punches, and countering beautifully with uppercuts and hooks to the body, he dominated all of the long range fighting and toe to toe exchanges. 96-93 Emanuel Burton.
maybe it was the knockdown that changed the fight
jon athan i was at this fight, i had micky winning by 2, i thought it was going to be a draw but the knock down put him ahead. in my eyes anyway
Burton didn't think he won the fight...
jon athan thats xactly what changed it brotha
That's a very educated fight observation - I had a draw, mainly due to the 10-8. Too bad Emmanuel got raped so many times, even getting DQ'd for "spinning" -by some jaggoff ref. I'll never forget this fight, better than the Gatti fights, Emmanuel never received his big money fight, and was shot and almost killed a couple years ago, I heard that his health is improving and he may be getting married?
I remember seeing an interview with Mickey and Dickie and Dickie said he didn't want Mickey to take this fight because Burton/Augustus was a very dangerous and underrated fighter.
This was my fight of the decade. A blue collar bought in the finest sense of the word. Emmanuel - we hope you are healthy! We love you and miss you! I can't believe it's been 16 years. I had this as a draw BTW.
Would've been mine if it weren't for Ward-Gatti I a year later.
Just rewatched this for like the 10th time. One of the best in fights ever
Augustus is one of my favourites of all time. In this fight he took on the telephone booth persona. Didn't have to fight this way, but decided to probably to make a memorable battle - and he did! Not many boxeers can can play a role and still compete with the best of their time.
Augustus was the Ronaldinho of soccer for sure. Dude boxed like if he was in a game, did whatever he wanted. That's love for the sport!
I didn't see this fight growing up. Glad I saw it now. What a great fight
Really great announcer crew at their peak. 2 fighters at their peak. Fantastic fight ages like fine wine.
This fight wasn't even close.....Burton beat him very soundly!!
All Mickey ward fights are entertaining
Props to ESPN. I loved watching these fights. I saw so many future champions on ESPN. They told stories behind fighters and always gave respect to fighters like these two guys.
Amazing fight. Wish Emmanuel would get some recognition or something for how good he really was. Also, rip to Steve smoger, he did a great job in this one and the moment at the end was really touching. What a banger
This is one of the best fights I've ever watched... Burton won!
Not many fights entertain someone for 10 rounds , WOW what a fight !!!!!
This one of my go to fights . Never gets old
Ward is either dirty or deaf hitting after the bell numerous times. He also tried to punch the man while he was down.
If you've ever been in a rinkydink hall with 6k screaming fans in a tiny area, he just plain didn't hear the bell. And as for the guy being down. You punch until the ref stops you. All fighters know this.
For fucks sake read the rules it clearly says that bell does not save the fighter
@@deadarmd it's illegal to punch a guy while he's down. boxers have been DQ'd for this many times because it is an illegal blow. Ward wasn't even admonished
The ref looked like he really appreciated the fight they put on.
Excellent fight Clean, exciting and full of madness.
For me it is one of the clearest draw I've seen. I have never gotten better accounts. I think the decision is a bit controversial but it is the least, because they gave us a memorable fight.
Ward, with 35 years and at the end of his career and Burton with his particular style. With Ward in his prime I think Augustus would not endure so much punishment on the ropes, but the strategy worked against this Ward. He got tired the first 5 rounds and Burton won 3 of them, then Ward took courage and achieved the fall that defined the fight. Augustus commits madness by exchanging blows in the R9 with the fight more in his favor, or at least for me he was winning. Ward knocked him down and Agustus won the 10th for a draw more than clear. Ward threw more power shots, but Burton's chin didn't flinch until R9 ... Augustus had all the conditions for the new era of modern boxing, he could have won a lot if he wasn't a showman That is carried away by their emotions. The% of his blows, in the era that was approaching (that of Floyd's fencing), could have won most of his fights simply by going away instead of exchanging blows with an expert like Ward.
Anyway, great fight between two great fighters that left us a spectacular fight. That's why both are so dear. Thanks for uploading.
I saw this fight when it aired. To this day it's the best fight I've ever seen.
watch this shit many times. fucking loving it.
Burton's corner did it right: Allow Ward to throw a lot of punches in the first two rounds, perhaps tiring. Later Burton started to answer Ward's punches and the fight suddenly became very interesting. Nice fight for both fighters.
w
It's amazing that Ward can still talk so sharply to this day. :)
He must have a skull like Homer Simpson not to have turned into Muhammad Ali in his old age.
Omg what a figth Mikey ward & burton two greats legend warriors non stop the 80's 90's always the best figths damm 🥊
Was booed by the people, commentators only talked about his opponent, giving little awknowledge when they were unable to hide it, they gave him the tiniest ring so he couldn't move, was punched twice after the bell, got power punched in the head while on the ground, got clearly robbed and yet, he won the fight. With only 2 weeks notice. Congratulations 👏👏👏
Ward won the fight you blind fuck
It was a good fight, it was a close fight. I had Ward winning also.
The only way you throw that many more punches and lose is when the other guy is doing more damage and controlling the ring better.
Augustus was a great fighter he fought Ward's fight too much in this one and just couldn't do the damage he needed to.
Mike Nolan was having a sleep it seems...90 for Burton...this man should instantly be fired
I absolutely love this fight. these two might as well have been fighting in a phone booth. Beautiful inside fighting from two warriors. In the same vein would be the first fight where I started liking Andre Ward when he fought Allan Green.
9:30 end of the first round Bell. See how Emanuel smiles and ward looks frustrated. Looks right in his eyes. He was pretty much saying I'm not going to be put out on round one like the other guys ward fought
the drunken master won many of his fights they said he lost because they didn't like his style!
Yep
Not just that but he fought more marketable fighters. Judges and promoters tend to follow the money.
Exactly
AWESOME FIGHT.
THIS IS BOXING!!!
This Fight Brings Honor And Respect To Both Fighters And Honor And Respect To The Sport Of Boxing!!!
Excellent fight this is the first time I seen this one lots of respect for both fighters.
Micky fought his own fights. Literally. It's like what the opponents threw, he simply would equalise through quantity. I don't think I'm being too uncharitable when I infer the "broken clock is right twice a day" analogy. Because I cannot state the contrary any clearer. Micky's superb conditioning, durability and sheer output made him right more than twice a day. Not a points scorer per say. Certainly a scorer of points. A workhorse, trotting through hell to the light. A prize fighter in every sinew of his being.
More than respect.
Max respect, Emanuel Augustus-Burton, "The Drunken Master".
Any fan of the Sweet Science who is not familiar with the lad need only take a look at his highlight reel, and be astounded.
THIS FIGHT SHOULD HAVE BEEN A DRAW OR BURTON WINNING BY ONE POINT!
Agree
Thanks for this gem
I’ve watched this fight about 100 times now
Only thing that Emmanuel was missing was k.o power, all the rest of it, every single other aspect, is God tier level.That kind of stamina, footwork, rolls, slips, counters, speed, combinations , blocks, parries, angles, anything else you can think of, i dont think there is not one boxer base amatuer rank amateur or pro who wouldnt want to have emmanuels skills.
He is a legend.
Emanuel "The Drunken Master" Augustus.
Great fight💯
I watched this fight with my girlfriend at the time.
Micky made her into a boxing fan.
The fight party we hosted a year later for Ward-Gatti I was one of the most awesome nights of my social life.
These two guys were very entertaining and tough fighters. Before Mayweather fought Cotto, he said that Augustus was his toughest opponent. He could fight, and he could take it too. We all know Ward from the Ward - Gatti trilogy. Genuine tough guy with good power. This was a great fight. These two guys were the real deal.
Wow, Emanuel won that by at least two rounds, maybe three. What the fuck were the judges thinking?
Very even fight up until the 9th and 10th rounds. I think that throughout the fight Ward was landing the more meaningful punches with the exception of a few rounds where Augustus was teeing off on Ward. The 9th and 10th tho Mickey was wrecking him to the body over and over again.
@@Kostly nah
My boy Augustus always got the short end of the stick in close fights man I can't stand it this was a great fight one of the best but how can you not see that ward lost? He got a lot of good hits but had more bad misses Augustus was sharp as a blade firebombing on homeboy.
I'm a huge fan of Micky Ward the guy is a warrior. I'm thinking maybe Augustus did something happen earlier in his career that may of pissed off someone really important cos he lost a lot of fights he should of been declared winner.
Got this one on VHS LOL
One of the best I've ever seen a few years back.
If burton landed 100 more punches in a 10 round fight, then he won the fight. You can voice you're opinion, but you're wrong. That means Burton averaged landing 10 more punches each and every round. What the hell, someone is full of shit. Name another fight where the winner got hit 100 more punches than he hit the opponent. Pack a lunch, because you'll be searching a long time to find one.
Burton was landing hard punches and he landed 100 more punches. If a domination in landed punches doesn't win the fight for you, what else is there? These ignorant blind judges would probably pick Hillary Clinton if they were judging the Miss America pageant..
I agree overall but your reasoning is off. You can't take the overall figure and then divide it by 10, fights are scored round by round and if a fighter has two big rounds landing many more punches that has no baring on the next round which he could land less as with the next so you end up 2 rounds each but one guy has landed way more overall. While I believe curruption was at play a lot of the rounds were close and pro boxing isn't simply scored on who lands the most. Burton shouldn't have spent so much time on the ropes because in a close round it's the easy thing to give it to the guy pushing the other back.
they don't judge fights off compubox, and Ward scored a knockdown while fighting with a home field advantage. No surprise Ward won (though the scores were pretty ridiculous.) I've always been a huge fan of Augustus but it's not as if he ran away with the fight, it was close!
@@soulveiw I fully understand that but I was pointing out that Burton landed more punches on average by a wide margin. Many will make the argument you just made but there's a flaw in that logic very often, and that is that it's rarely the case that the example you gave plays out. Those things just don't occur very often and would tend to even out anyway. When someone states the case you made they never show that such a thing took place in the fight being discussed at the time, therefore it would be a moot point for that particular case as it was in this particular fight. I like numbers and refer to them often but I consider the margins from all angles so I'm not trying to make an argument that has no merit. I'm also aware of variables such as which fighters punches were more powerful, the difference between landing a jab versus a strong left hook or straight right hand, and things that many ignore like depending on fouling to be effective and having a referee that's playing with your rules in mind and so on, and I'm not afraid to ignore the score given by the judges in a round where for example, a knockdown gives a guy a 10-8 but the replay indicates that the referee must have drank his lunch that day.
In my opinion, Burton gave not less then a magnificent performance in this fight that was a real thing of beauty, and the numbers reflect that he had the upper hand in the blood and guts category so I think it unfair that he has no reward for such a high level performance. I take nothing from Mickey, he's one of the G.O.A.T. in terms of being an honest fighter with cast iron gonads and he's a real credit to the sport. He also performed at a level rarely seen in any fight. Given that he was great in his own right and that he scored the knockdown, I would say it was enough to just barely justify a home town slanted decision and I understand the reasoning for a home town 1 point advantage going in, but I wasn't too happy about it in this case because of the splendid effort by Burton.
The punches landed numbers verify that the rule that you made a point of isn't valid here and as I said, is rarely in evidence so the point is lost in this and in most other cases. I get a kick out of the attempt however; citing a possible scenario in which my reasoning would be flawed, even though it's not a factor in the fight that we're discussing. In other words what you're saying is that it's possible for your example to occur and even though it did not occur in this fight, since it is a possibility in general then you're argument wins the day based solely on the possibility,...….. sans the reality of the fight itself. You were careful to not point that out so I made sure to assist you in that regard.
If you refer to the punches landed per round chart, just as I said Burton comes out the winner in terms of a round versus round times 10 comparison, or any other numbers comparison. From any angle or perspective the numbers weigh heavily in Burtons favor and infrequent occurrence that you mentioned was less then infrequent here and therefore helps Wards case not at all. The raw numbers show that Mickey landed more in just 3 rounds by the very small margins of 1, 3 and 7 punches while Burton landed more in the other 7 rounds, including the last round, and the margins were very impressive in 5 of those 7 rounds. The punches landed margins that Burton racked up were by 1, 3 , 11, 15, 22, 24, and in the 5th round by a margin of 36 punches. Ward averaged less then 4 more punches in the 3 rounds that he won, Burton landed an average of 16 more punches in the 7 rounds in which he landed more.
I like to use the punches landed totals simply because many fights are close and even more fights have questionable/controversial outcomes. Since this is a constant concern and a convenient scenario otherwise exists for ambiguous scoring then why not look at a fight carefully and see who actually placed his fist on the other guys face/body more times then his opponent? Doesn't that help to keep the outcome a little closer to the truth and close off the bullshit decisions that sometimes should result in a jail sentence? Debates about who actually won a fight often include rationale such as...….'F you'.,...and 'your guy is a bitch',.........you know, sophisticated shit like that. You or I could easily improve the method used to get accurate punch totals but the boxing hierarchy won't hear of it, thus an avoidable problem remains a pain in the ass to the fans. The idiots in control thrive and depend on as much ambiguity as they can get because that helps to uphold the tradition of lying, cheating and stealing; all of the things that boxing is so very proud of.
Many 'analysts' like to refer to the 5 categories that are suppose to be the overall guide for judging each round but I say that for the most part that method is ridiculous. Note that I didn't say those 4 extra categories were always useless, they may be beneficial in certain situations but by and large they constitute a one man circle jerk. I think someone down on his luck and grasping to explain a losing argument came up with this slight of hand philosophy. It can be useful as an option to use in a debate re: a particular fight by the guy that is trying to explain how his guy should have won a fight in which his guy got his ass kicked. Here's why I believe that this thinking is very overrated; If my fighter clearly wins in the punches landed category, and I said clearly wins in that category, then all other criteria can take a hike.
Doesn't it stand to reason that in nearly every instance if my fighter lands far more punches, that he was using the ring well, that he was better on defense then his opponent, that he was more effective aggressively, and so on? These things for the most part go hand in hand, nitpicking notwithstanding. Does it sound right if I say that my guy was hit by 200 more punches then your guy, but my guy was better on defense? Or that my guy sure had control of the ring, or that my guy displayed a more effective aggressiveness? No, it indicates that my guy got his ass handed to him. This is boxing/fighting, but some will try to minimize the very thing that makes the sport, punching the other guy square up his nose . Few if any fans before a fight have been heard to say that they're exciting about the upcoming fight because of one fighters ring generalship. They come to see an ass get kicked, or if they're lucky, both asses getting kicked but their guy getting a less kicked ass then his opponent.
@@soulveiw Back to the ropes shouldn't determine a fight, many guys prefer that posture and fight best that way. Burton was there part of the time and fought back well against the ropes but you're right that Ward probably had a better time of it. Sometimes a guy has no choice if the opponent pushes him there and it takes a lot of energy to get out of the trap sometimes but I think Burton handled himself pretty well and made up for any deficit when they were off of the ropes. Ward was a bigger man and Burton had to deal with that disadvantage and I think that he won in spite of that.
@@NG-cf7zh Basically I agree but overall Burton was just too good on that night to walk away with an 'L' I believe. You're definitely right about the scoring. One judge had it 9-1 for Ward ( 118-109 ). That judge should have been water boarded with raw sewage filtered thru a sasquatch's jock strap until he admitted that bullshit was his constant companion.
i remember to have seen this at the time but i realize just now augustus got robbed.
what a fighter, what an entertainer.
Saw this the weekend of my 21st birthday!!! What a fight burton had a big section of fans he was from close to Hampton which is like the most southern NH you could get. ESPN Called it fight on the Decade!!! They didn't lie!!!
He became Champion of the world after this by KOing Sean Neary an undefeated champion who had never even been knocked down. Always a fan met him personally ( I'm from Lowell mass) Great Guy
Micky won but who the hell scored this 98-90. Stupid Judges.
Micky could've got a title fight after first gatti fight but took an immediate rematch.
TheIrradiatedGamer i
there was no rematch
naturalselector85 Gatti and Ward fought three times. They were one of the best fights in a century. What are you talking about? ROFL
U don't no jack about boxing
Mickey lost hometown robbery as usual