I’d heard David O. Russell’s The Fighter was pretty close in terms of being factually accurate when it came to the true story of boxer Micky Ward. However, as Laremy Legel was putting together his top ten of 2010 he called me and we got into a discussion of a film’s quality if it’s based on a true story, but then fudges the facts. There were a few inaccuracies he came across in doing some online research, but most of what he came up with, we pretty much agreed, was most likely changed for narrative emphasis.
One example of this would be when Ward (Mark Wahlberg) faces Max Mungin as a late replacement early in the film. It is said Mungin outweighs Ward by almost 20 pounds when in actuality the difference was 8.5 pounds and Mungin was only 145 pounds, nowhere near the 165 pounds the film claims him to be. My reasoning for this change was the filmmakers probably assumed a larger weight differential would be better understood by a wider audience, most of whom probably wouldn’t see 8.5 pounds as a significant difference.
However, just how accurate is the final fight between Ward and Shea Neary? Well, Kevin B. Lee has gone to the tape and delivered a side-by-side comparison.
One fact mentioned in the video is how Ward’s record is listed as 30 wins and 7 losses, 20 by way of knock-out when in fact his record at the time was actually 34 wins and 9 losses with 24 knock-outs. Well, one answer I have for that is while the Neary fight was made to look like it happened immediately after Ward beat Alfonso Sanchez, it actually took place nearly three years later.
In those three years Ward faced six fighters and two of those fights Ward actually lost. Add these to the mix and you have a 34 and 9 record, which explains the first factual error. The video wrongly adds the win over Neary and assumes Ward has 35 wins.
Sometimes dramatic license must be taken to ramp up the emotion and I’d argue it worked big time with this movie. Now it’s time for you to decide, as Kevin writes in his YouTube description, “The comparison sheds light on how the filmmakers aimed to realistically re-enact the fight while indulging in old-school Hollywood dramatic effects, two approaches that you would think would be at cross-purposes. Did they try to have their cake and eat it, or blend the best of both worlds? See for yourself.”
The one aspect I’m upset wasn’t real was Ward raising his hands, that part was so silly I assumed it had to have happened. Unfortunately, it did not. You can watch the complete fight right here.
