Local boxing: Famed fighter Ward to appear at 13th Basilio Quest For Champions

Sep. 15—WATERTOWN — A photograph of former junior welterweight boxers Micky Ward and Arturo Gatti, waging battle in one of the most thrilling non-title fights in history, sits above the training timer that's activated during sparring practices at the Watertown Area Boxing Club gym.

"When the guys are sparring and tired and don't want to go another round, I've got a picture of Arturo and Micky above the bell," said WABC president Johnny Pepe, of the famed May 18, 2002 bout. "So when they get tired I say, 'Look at that picture and you're going one more round.' It does motivate them."

Some of those WBC boxers will see the source of that motivation in the flesh Saturday evening when "Irish" Micky Ward appears as the guest of honor for the 13th Carmen Basilio Quest For Champions at Exhibition Hall at Alex T. Duffy Fairgrounds. Doors open at 5 p.m. and fights begin at 6.

Ward, who competed from 1985-2003, won that first 10-round bout with Gatti by major decision and it set up two more fiercely contested clashes between the two, who each fought a similar "take no prisoners" style. Gatti won the later two fights and the first and third contests between the two each were named 'fight of the year."

Pepe knows that those Gatti-Ward bouts will fire up his boxers because it sparked him more than 20 years ago when he saw the first epic battle.

"I remember watching it live that night and I was so excited after watching it," he said. "I couldn't believe it, it was just amazing. I went downstairs, hit my heavy bag, I had to work out. It was just extraordinary, really, two warriors, just the will they put into the fight, it was amazing."

Pepe said that he tries to welcome a boxer to the Basilio event who fought in the same scrappy manner that Basilio did during his Hall of Fame championship career that included connections to the north country. In 2018, the WBC welcomed Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini to the Quest For Champions.

"I kind of pick fighters like Ray Mancini and Micky Ward (with) the same tenacity," Pepe said. "They fight with their heart, they're very exciting fighters and they have no surrender in them. Micky and Arturo, if you've seen any of those fights, you know, and Micky is one of those guys, he's a warrior. Boom Boom Mancini was and Carmen was. Sometimes (Basilio) wasn't the bigger guy or the stronger guy but fought with his heart and soul and made it work. That's why I pick guys like that. It's going to be an honor to have (Ward) there."

Pepe has seen Ward many times at the International Boxing Hall of Fame ceremonies in Canastota and said Ward is "mobbed wherever he goes." Ward's early boxing career was made famous in the 2010 Academy Award-winning movie "The Fighter," starring Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale. A sequel focusing on the Ward-Gatti fights is being planned.

It's that kind of history that will visit Exhibition Hall this weekend, although Pepe mentioned that Ward, a native of Lowell, Mass., is a quiet and modest man. Ward gave the induction speech for Gatti, who died in 2009, when Gatti was honored by the Hall of Fame in 2013.

Pepe hopes to feature as many as 14 or 15 bouts Saturday over the typical 12. Boxers from Rochester, Syracuse and Elmira are expected as well as sisters Randi and Rikki Griffith from Gouverneur, each of whom are on their way to the U.S. Air Force Academy after graduating from high school.

Boxers from the University of Massachusetts are planning to participate and Pepe hopes three boxers from Crandall University in New Brunswick, Canada, will be able to attend, given the path of Hurricane Lee, which is expected to hit New England and The Maritimes on Saturday and Sunday.

A few WBC boxers will compete, although veteran Ryan Lobdell, who was supposed to fight in one last amateur bout Saturday before turning pro next spring, will miss a ring appearance after breaking some fingers while weightlifting.

WBC member Alonso Palafox, who is originally from Los Angeles, will compete in a 132-pound fight. That's the class that he won in the state Golden Gloves tournament in March in Buffalo. The sub novice bout was stopped in the second round and awarded to Palafox, who was in just his second sanctioned bout.

The young boxer has been with the WBC for a year-and-a-half but this will be his first Quest For Champions appearance and he's looking forward to the crowd.

"Just some good action-packed fights, some good boxing, some good action for the fans, with everybody watching," Palafox said. "Put on some excitement, you know."

Greg Sorrentino, who trains boxers in Syracuse and was trained himself by Basilio, will make his traditional appearance. Winning boxers will pose next to the banner that shows a young Basilio in his competitive days.

The boxer who used to train in Alexandria Bay died in 2012 but his name lives on through events like the one in Watertown, which began in 2009 during a winter storm at the Italian American Civic Association.

"I can't believe we're on our 13th this year. It's been going a long time," Pepe said. "Back in 2009 we had that Dinner With A Champion at the Italian American Club in January and I asked him if we could do a fight in his honor, a tournament, and he said yes, and we've been doing it ever since."

Pepe said that at the end of the 2009 dinner, Basilio drove back home to Rochester in the storm. Pepe was happy that Basilio agreed to the tournament but never planned on it lasting 13 years.

"I thought maybe a few years but it just seems to grow and that name just seems to bring out the fighters and bring out the coaches," he said. "There's always somebody who had an interaction, especially up here in the north country with Alex Bay and stuff. I'll be in the store or be somewhere and someone will come up to me and tell me a story about Carmen. It always touches me heart."

Tickets are $20 and available at the door or at www.watertownareaboxingclub.com