Micky Ward On Having ‘The Fighter’ Sequel

Micky Ward has revealed that there was talk of having ‘The Fighter’ sequel, which would focus on his three-fights with Arturo Gatti. 

The 2010 film featured Mark Wahlberg as Ward, as he starred alongside Christian Bale and Melissa Leo. Bale won (Best Supporting Actor) and Melissa Leo won (Best Supporting Actress). The film focused on Ward’s personal struggles and his WBU title clash against Shea Neary. Ward emerged victorious in that bout, but the film concluded the boxing portion with that bout. However, Ward confirms that the rivalry with Gatti—which produced three consecutive Fight of the Year contenders between 2002 and 2003—could be brought to the movie theatre.

Ward On A Sequel

“It was great being around the filming. Mark is a great guy. He’s a friend of mine from Boston, and he was a big fan before I even knew him. It was awesome getting to know him and doing the movie. Hopefully, someday we can do the trilogy.

“We were talking about it a while back, but then Covid hit, and it got shut down, delaying plans indefinitely. I don’t really know where it’s at now, but he was talking about it before. That’s what it would be about—the Gatti trilogy, how we fought so hard and tried to kill each other and then came back together as friends. I even trained him for his last fight,” Ward said 

Despite the demand for a sequel, significant challenges remain. The original film was released in 2010, and the elapsed time creates difficulties in securing the original, Oscar-winning cast (Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo) and director David O. Russell. Furthermore, Mark Wahlberg himself has acknowledged that he may have “aged out” of the role of Micky Ward, who was in his mid-30s during the Gatti fights. However, the compelling narrative suggests that a film could follow.