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Rumble of Thunder: Essence of Arturo
Gatti |
By: Jerrell Ellerbe
FNN Staff Writer
Boxing's human highlight reel, his
rebirth and connection to Atlantic
City, NJ.
Thunder among the horizon.
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Within
the loving hearts of a sold out
crowd in Atlantic City was an Arturo
Gatti.
Win or lose, Gatti gave his body and
soul to defend his home turf. Such a
feat gave him the notoriety he
deserved; labeling him as boxing's
ultimate blood and guts machine. He
wasn't the most gifted, flashiest or
sweetest, he was simply known for
his lion-heart.
Schooling under the tutelage of
Buddy McGirt.
When Buddy McGirt hooked up with
Arturo, he brightened his abilities.
McGirt's brilliance begun to show in
Gatti's new horizon. |
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He sculpted Arturo into a
well-balanced fighter who could box,
punch and avoid combat when
necessary. Never mind the defensive
deficits, he made up for it with
every punch he threw. He was always
capable of making any fight
enjoyable just by his involvement.
He'd be the first willing to trade
punches and or come forward in many
of his fights. At times it didn't
work out to his advantage, but would
make it up with his phenomenal
passion and heart.
The three Trilogies with "Irish"
Micky Ward
The trilogies with Mickey Ward were
highlights of his career. On May 18,
2002, he fought Ward in what was
judged as one of the premiere fights
of the year. The two slugged it out
in ten gruesome rounds with Ward
eventually getting the nod at the
end. The public demands for a
rematch were enormous and on
November 23, 2002, they did it
again. In Boardwalk Hall that night,
they showed another display of heart
for the fans in attendance with
Gatti taking this Unanimous victory.
With now a 1-1 split, a rubber match
was set to take place.
"…I gotta keep going."
June 7, 2003, Arturo Gatti met Ward
again at Boardwalk Hall and Casino
for the final encounter. The third
confrontation was no disappointment
either; both fighters traded punches
virtually every round that night. In
the fourth, Gatti broke his right
hand, when a punch landed on the hip
of Ward. When the bell sounded to
end the round, Gatti quickly made
his way back to the corner:
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Arturo: "My hand!"
Buddy McGirt:
"What!?"
Arturo: "My hand!"
Buddy McGirt: "What
you want to me to
do, champ!?"
Arturo: "… I gotta
keep going."
Buddy McGirt:
"Aight, Imma tell
you what to do!!" |
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McGirt rinsed his
warrior's
mouthpiece, heeded
some words of
encouragement and
sent his solider
back into the
battlefield. For six
rounds, grimacing in
pain, Gatti kept
Ward honest with
jabs, hooks and
occasional right
hand counters. By
the final bell,
Gatti had scored
enough to grab
another unanimous
decision victory
against Ward. The
historical event
that evening
highlighted his
heart and courage.
It was a matchup
that will go into
boxing's
memorabilia.
Lighting and Thunder
By July 2004, Gatti
knocked out Leonard
Dorin in two rounds
with a sensational
left hook to the
solar plexus. By
January 2005, he
stopped Jesse
"James" Leija inside
of five concise
rounds. After his
destruction of Leija,
Gatti set out to
climb one of the
most career defining
mountains in
existence, he would
take on fellow 140lb
pound for pound
king, Floyd
Mayweather Jr. The
idea of him dealing
with this slick and
tenacious assassin
from Grand Rapids,
Michigan was mind
boggling to boxing.
Floyd took shots
during the build up
by verbally
thrashing Arturo in
press conferences
and interviews,
stating he was a
paper champion and
didn't deserve to be
in the ring with
him. During a live
interview via HBO
satellite before
Tarver-Johnson II on
June 18, 2005, on
air he called Gatti
a paper champion and
a ‘C+' fighter. His
exact words,
"He is a ‘C+'
fighter, I am an ‘A'
class fighter. I'm
going to crush him!"
HBO's Jim Lampley
asked Gatti if
Floyd's mind games
were discouraging,
"No, not really. You
guys know me and
know my style. You
know I can punch
hard, its obvious
that Mayweather is
afraid of me and
trying to fool
himself by thinking
he's going to beat
me."
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Floyd's comments
electrified that
last week of wait,
acquitting the fight
build up.
Next Saturday, June
25, 2005, Boardwalk
Hall, Atlantic City,
New Jersey.
Floyd entered the
arena dressed in fur
and carried out on a
throne, representing
paraphernalia of his
ring greatness. He
came in fantastic
shape and seemed
eager to back up his
verbal assault.
Gatti's pyro
entrance was rather
brief as he
hurriedly entered
ring and awaited
introductions from
Michael Buffer.
Within minutes,
introductions were
made and the two
fighters met in the
center of the ring
to receive
instructions and
begin. |
Mayweather
obliterated
Gatti that night
in Atlantic
City. Floyd's
superior hand
speed allowed
him to coast to
a sixth round
stoppage over
Gatti with ease.
In the second,
Mayweather's
assault
deepened.
Floyd's
elusiveness
outpoined Gatti
at every element
in the fight,
leaving Gatti
reticent to
throw anything.
By the fourth,
Arturo's face
had swollen
greatly under
the force of
Mayweather's
accuracy. For
every punch
Gatti threw
Mayweather had
two or three
answers for. By
the end round
five, Gatti
wobbled back to
his corner where
he immediately
voiced his
frustration to
trainer Buddy
McGirt:
"Man fuck, man!"
"Come on
Arturo," Buddy
encouraged,
"Let's get the
head movement
going, just like
we did in the
gym, come on
champ."
Floyd Mayweather
Jr.'s brilliant
gifts raped
Arturo's
confidence in
that fight. What
kept him
standing was his
heart and
granite chin.
The pace of the
fight deepen and
Gatti begun
drowning. In the
sixth, a hard
right upstairs
and two body
shots from
Mayweather
demolished
whatever was
left of Gatti.
He absorbed so
much punishment
in the course of
those few rounds
Buddy McGirt was
forced to stop
the fight.
"I am stopping
it, baby," Buddy
McGirt shouted.
"Hey Ref, that's
it!"
"One more
round," Gatti
pleaded out of
his swollen
eyelids.
"Arturo," McGirt
continued,
"listen to me ya
eyes are closed,
that's it!"
Gatti had lost
WBC 140lb title,
just as
Mayweather had
promised
Atlantic City
that night.
One more Storm…
January 28,
2006, Boardwalk
Hall Casino,
Atlantic City,
New Jersey,
Arturo Gatti
moved up to the
welterweight
division to
challenge
undefeated
Thomas Dammgard
of Denmark for
his IBA
welterweight
belt. That
evening, Gatti
repaid his
forgiving crowd
with a
remarkable
performance. He
stopped a bloody
Dammgard in
eleven rounds to
capture his IBA
welterweight
title. Gatti
chants decked
the halls as
fans littered
the arena. Thus,
he restored his
name amongst the
public by
destroying
Dammgard easily.
He seeked one
more quest for
gold…
The night of
Saturday July
22, 2006, was
heart breaking
to Atlantic
City. Baldomir
swarmed Gatti
from the onset
and overpowered
the smaller
welterweight
challenger,
stopping him in
the ninth. A
devastating left
hook dropped
Gatti to both
knees, followed
more punches
after he beat
the ten count,
Arturo was down
again and out At
2:50 the referee
waved the bout
over with,
stooping over
the challenger's
shell to
retrieve his
gumshield. The
loss to Baldomir
raised question
whether Arturo
should continue
fighting or
consider
retirement.
Why Atlantic
City loves
Arturo.
His magnitude is
one of the few
in the sport and
likely to land
him a place in
the
International
Boxing Hall of
Fame someday. He
was a legend in
the ring but as
of late, The
brutal losses
have provided a
clear visual why
many consider it
over for the
Jersey City born
fighter. We all
should be
thankful that in
this day in
boxing we had an
Arturo Gatti.
With nothing
else left to
prove,
considering
retirement
couldn't
discourage his
ring status. For
a man that has
given boxing his
all and more
doesn't need
more ovation
from his crowds.
We can all
agree, his
fighting genre
will be honored
and passed along
to the legendary
of Hall of fame.
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