by Omar Gallaga


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The late boxing great Arturo Gatti appears in the recently released Fight Night Round 4 video game. EA Sports



The big news about the boxers in the recently released boxing video game Fight Night Round 4 was that Mike Tyson, long banished from digital pugilism, was in the game.

But reality intruded when Arturo Gatti was killed recently in Brazil. Gamers who were already playing the new game either as Gatti or against him in matches suddenly were feeling the queasy state you get when reality intrudes on simulation.

Outpourings of admiration spilled out onto video game message boards for the game.

If you browse through the messages, you'll see heartfelt appreciation for Gatti as a sportsman, not the usual sniping and trash-talking common on video game message boards.

Now game fans are hoping Electronic Arts will make boxer Mickey Ward available as a downloadable character so that they can relive the famous Gatti/Ward trilogy, which went from 2002 to 2003.