Ward’s blue collar boxing portrayal a knockout success

But rough streets frequented by prostitutes and dealers provided a potent breeding ground for his underlying talents

A CHORUS of cynicism greeted ‘The Fighter’ when David O’Russell’s film hopped into the ring with some heavyweight movies for the lucrative Christmas market in the US.

Could this really be another boxing flick about a struggling underdog who overcame adversity to gain a shot at the big time? And was there any way of reacting to the cinematic representation of ‘Irish’ Micky Ward without being TKO’d by cliché-infested fighting talk?