Irish Micky Ward vs. Dragon Master Emanuel Augustus Fight of Year 2001

By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent

 We’re not in Manilla, but this is the thriller in Hampton Beach!” said ringside commentator Teddy Atlas, at the end of round five, which was clearly won by the rallying Emanuel (Burton) Augustus, who outlanded Micky Ward 57 to 21 in the round with a 50 percent landing percentage of punches thrown.

 In a classic 10 round go for broke let yourself go confrontation between Irish Micky Ward and Emanuel ‘The Dragon Master’ Augustus, on July 13, 2021, the Fight of the Year for 2021 was televised, and emerged as a classic battle between two nonstop rock ’em sock ’em robots. Action resulted the way the boxing public live and at home wants to see, nonstop excitement bringing a thrill a minute, and Ward and Augustus delivered the show.

 Augustus took the 10 round super lightweight fight on only two weeks of notice. The walking weight of Augustus was 145 pounds in his prime, so making weight was not an issue, only conditioning. Augustus had been in the gym ready for any bout on a moment’s notice, which created an unanticipated hellfire barnstormer of a bout.

 The late Steve Smoger refereed the wild battle, with Ward going down in the eighth round (ruled a slip by Smoger), and Augustus going down in the ninth round (from a lean pinpoint body shot to the solar plexus of Augustus, who beat the count and opted to fight on). Scores of 98-90, 96-91 and 96-94 added to the confusion. Without the knockdown, Augustus might have drawn on the third scorecard. Where 96-91 came from to this day remains a mystery as to where the three missing points vanished to. 98-90 was just not called for by one judge. Over the last few rounds, Ward emerged ahead on the overall punch count, but the rounds and the bout could truthfully have gone either way. It depends on the way a judge score and how a particular judge views a point in terms of punches thrown, landed, and effectiveness and type of blows.

 Punches in bunches is a good way to describe the flow of this bout. Augustus settled into the ropes right away, and did a good job of trying to get Ward to punch himself out. Once the bout settled down to its rock ’em sock ’em tempo, the majority of the bout was fought inside of a telephone booth. The video of the bout cannot do it justice. To have seen this bout live rivaled Muhammad Ali versus Smokin’ Joe Frazier I at Madison Square Garden on closed circuit. Simply put, Ward versus Burton was crazy, with both fighters fighting for the win and a possible world title shot at a frantic pace. Both Ward and Burton could have knocked each other out at any moment, and the excitement of the bout hinged on its anything can happen at any moment seesaw battle.

 This reporter went with the 96-94 score for Ward with the knockdown of Augustus. Like some classic confrontations, the back and forth nature of bouts like this make many rounds difficult to score. The way these two were going at it in the ring, it was if the gas tank kept getting refilled, and anybody could get stopped at any time. It was like two rock ’em sock ’em robots, one green (Ward) and the other orange (Augustus) perpetually trying to knock each other’s block off.

 It became obvious from the onset this bout was going to be won on points. In a war of attrition, both combatants had done the training work, and neither was going anywhere. The question was only who could outwork whom, and in many respects this classic bout was too close to call. Ward worked really well with Burton on the ropes, while Augustus countered really well inside. Since both men were in each other’s face, there was no time for a break or letup.

 Ward kept leaning on Burton on the ropes, but by fighting so close with so much inside fighting, Ward left himself perpetually vulnerable to the Augustus uppercut. Augustus was conservative with his punches at times, luring Ward into a false sense of confidence to punch himself out. Ward tried to time Burton, however the punches from both combatants seemed to be counters in between the other’s punches. Augustus was like a human windmill, with both Ward and Augustus forced to keep fighting while pressuring one another. Holding was nonexistent in this bout, leaving referee Steve Smoger as an absolute spectator except to separate the two fighters at the end of each round. Smoger let them fight, the sign of a truly great referee, which Smoger was in his time.

 Ward was landing more effectively by a bit during the second half of the bout.  However, Augustus was landing effective left and right hands to the body. Ward was more active, throwing more punches overall. Augustus was landing more, and was frequently switching between orthodox and southpaw stance to confuse Ward. In particular, Augustus landed some wicked left hooks to the body of Ward.

 In round 10, the two fighters had their heads so close they appeared to be punching one another nonstop in a broom closet. In the final round, to win it, Micky Ward threw 175 punches in the round! As it happened, Augustus and Ward threw nonstop atom bombs in the center of the ring to try to win the round. Only the final bell and referee Steve Smoger ended the slugfest. The crowd gave the 2001 ‘Fight of the Year’ a standing ovation.

 Beyond a certain point, the bout became a war of minds and guts, as both fighters wailed upon each other. Augustus mixed his punches between body, head and uppercuts, keeping Ward on the defensive. Ward landed several pinpoint body shots in the eighth which dropped Augustus to one knee. Teddy Atlas had Augustus ahead by one point in round eight at the time of the lone knockdown of the bout. Mention of the knockdown of Augustus mysteriously does not appear on BoxRec.

 Ward and Burton threw more thunder and conveyed more heat than any ring battle this reporter has ever seen. The only way to experience is to watch the bout in its entirety. The outcome of the bout was controversial. Micky Ward landed 320 of 1,182 punches thrown, a landing percentage ratio of only 27 percent. Augustus landed 421 of 918 punches thrown, a  46 percent landing ratio. Augustus landed more punches and was far more accurate. How one judge had it 98-90 Ward which was clearly a hometown verdict. This reporter scored the bout 97-94 for Augustus. It all depends how you see each round, and for sure it would have looked differently at ringside from the judging perspective.

 Augustus was the great opponent who often did not get the decision. Micky Ward went on to fight a three bout trilogy with Arturo Gatti at the end of his career. Augustus went on to fight a 10 round draw with future IBF World Lightweight champion, the late Leavander Johnson, among his many bouts which followed. Augustus finished his career 38-34-6 with 20 knockouts. A 2014 shooting of Augustus in Baton Rouge, Louisiana ended any hopes of a comeback, though Augustus eventually recovered. Ward finished his career 38-13 with 27 knockouts.

 It can be said in historical retrospective the career records of both Micky Ward and Emanuel Augustus are deceiving. Even today’s fighters would not like to meet either Ward nor Augustus in a dark alley. Both Ward and Augustus always gave the boxing public their money’s worth. Augustus, like the different boxing style of Michael Spinks, featured his ‘Dragon Master’ boxing style which often did fit into any known boxing style and confused opponents. Against Ward, even though he did not win, Augustus was a genius in the way he punches between punches.

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Robert Brizel - Head Boxing Correspondent
Robert Brizel - Head Boxing Correspondent
Robert is the Head Boxing Correspondent for Real Combat Media Boxing since 2013. Robert is also a photographer and ringside reporter for the RCM Tri State region which includes NJ, NY and PA. Robert conducts exclusive interviews, provides historical boxing articles and provides editorial ringside coverage of major boxing events. You can contact or follow Robert on Facebook and by email at [email protected].