A Boxing Memory: Arturo Gatti
The way he died will perhaps always be in dispute. But the way he fought will never be disputed. Arturo Gatti was a two-weight world champion and was involved in some of the greatest fights in boxing history. The three fights with Micky Ward are a thing of legend. The New York Times called it a 'trilogy of pain' 30 rounds of absolute mayhem. The two fights with Ivan Robinson get lost somewhat in the myth that surrounds Gatti. They shouldn't be. Those two fights with Robinson stand up to the three with Ward. Arguably, they were better. Lou DiBella even compared those two fights to Zale-Graziano. High praise indeed. None of those five fights were about world titles. They were about personal pride and supremacy. Gatti lost both his fights with Robinson, the first one with Ward went against him also. But despite losing many of the big fights he had, Gatti leaves behind a legacy that will stand the test of time.
Gatti became an HBO staple. He finished his career with twenty-one fights on that big American platform that is now sadly lost to boxing. He was showcased on HBO that many times for a reason. Lou Duva said of Gatti. "He was the greatest fan-friendly TV fighter I've ever been associated with. I called him the 'Human Highlight Film.'' Gatti was exactly that. Known as 'Thunder' a moniker that ticked every imaginable box. The perfect fit for his never-say-die attitude. Buddy McGirt was brought in to try and tame some of the natural fighting instincts of Gatti, he did to a certain extent and McGirt without a doubt extended the Gatti career, but fighters normally revert to type in the heat of battle. Gatti battled more than most. He once said he was an animal in the ring in reference to how he could come back from so many beatings.
Gatti boxed for sixteen years and won the IBF super-featherweight and the WBC light-welterweight titles in those sixteen years. Born in Cassino, Italy, in 1972, before he found himself in Canada, where he fought as an amateur and could have represented Canada in the 1992 Olympics, but in 1991, he decided to turn professional. Four years later, he beat Tracy Harris Patterson, who was being groomed for stardom, in a forgotten classic to win the IBF super-featherweight bauble, a title he defended three times before moving up in weight. Gatti had to climb off the canvas to beat Wilson Rodriguez in six rounds, another fight that added a little bit more to the Gatti legend. The final defence in 1997 was another typical Gatti fight, an unrelenting war with the former world champion Gabriel Ruelas, which attained Ring Magazine Fight of the Year status. A big uppercut from the challenger led to a sustained beating for Gatti in the 4th round of their fight in Atlantic City. A round later with Ruelas still in the ascendancy, one left hook was all it took for Gatti to end the fight. The Ring Magazine said the legend of Gatti was born in that fight.
Giving up his title after the fight with Ruelas, Gatti had three fights in 1998 and lost all three of the fights he had in that twelve-month period. Gatti was stopped in eight rounds by Angel Manfredy and lost the two fights with Robinson on points. The Manfredy fight hit Gatti hard, a damaged eye ended the fight. He claimed it was stopped too early and would have won if he had been allowed to carry on. It was his first defeat in six years. Gatti fought hard in the ring, maybe even more so outside of it. The wild lifestyle was undoubtedly a detriment to his boxing career. Wreckless abandon in and outside of the ring. The drinking got worse after the Manfredy loss. When he did return to the ring, a supposed safe return ended up being anything but. Gatti and Ivan Robinson shared twenty amazing rounds, and Gatti had another Ring Magazine Fight of the Year award. But he ended 1998 with three defeats on the bounce. The glory days appeared over.
But four more wins, including a stoppage of Joey Gamache, earned Gatti a fight with Oscar De La Hoya that ended with Gatti getting stopped in five rounds. The fight with De La Hoya was the only time Gatti fought in Las Vegas. His last nine fights were in Atlantic City.
After losing the first fight with Ward, Gatti went on a winning run that started with the two victories over Ward to close out their unforgettable trilogy on top. Gatti got his second world title courtesy of a points victory over Gianluca Branco to win the vacant WBC light-welterweight title in Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City. Gatti defended his title twice before he ran into Floyd Mayweather in 2005.
Mayweather was at his scintillating best against Gatti. Mayweather had Gatti down in the opening round and delivered a masterclass of a performance. Gatti was as brave as ever but was stopped in six terribly one-sided rounds. The career of Arturo Gatti was all but over.
There were three more fights, one win, but his career ended with two straight defeats. Defeats to Carlos Baldomir and to Alfonso Gomez of Contender fame in seven rounds, led to Gatti calling time on his career in 2007. In many ways, it had been coming. A career shortened by the brutality of it. Just two years later, Gatti was dead. Gatti was only 37 when his life ended in 2009 in mysterious circumstances. Gatti was found dead in a hotel room in a Brazillian seaside resort. Suicide or murder. The debate rages on.
One writer said Gatti was at his best when he was being beaten to a pulp. And that pretty much summed up the career of Arturo Gatti. As he demonstrated in some of the fights in his later career, Gatti could box when he wanted to. Too many times, he just didn't want to.
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