After weeks of negotiations, "Jesse" James Leija and Arturo Gatti have reached an agreement on a fight early next year in Atlantic City, N.J.

The 12-round bout, which may or may not be for a world title, will take place Jan. 22 or Jan. 29. The final date will be determined by HBO, the cable network televising the fight.

Although no contracts have been signed, Leija said Friday the deal "is all but done."

"It's a relief," he said, "but I still have a lot of work to do to get ready."

Under terms of the agreement, Leija, 38, will earn $600,000, the largest payday of his career.

Gatti, 32, reportedly will receive between $2 million and $3 million.

Michael Miller, Leija's attorney, said the final negotiating point concerns options that New Jersey-based Main Events, Gatti's promoter, is seeking on Leija should Leija win the fight.

Leija (47-6-2, 19 KOs) is promoted by Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions of Los Angeles.

"There shouldn't be a problem," Miller said. "They'll be able to work it out. We're just waiting for the final draft. It's going to happen."

The contract contains a rematch clause, Miller added.

Leija said he was not concerned that Gatti's World Boxing Council junior welterweight title might not be on the line.

The WBC has yet to decide if it will sanction the fight. According to WBC rules, Gatti (38-6, 29 KOs) is supposed to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr., the No. 1 contender and mandatory challenger, next, not Leija.

The hope is that the WBC will allow Leija and Gatti to fight for the title, with the winner meeting Mayweather at a later date.

Lester Bedford, Leija's manager, said they insisted during negotiations that the purse be the same with or without a world title at stake.

Carl Moretti, chief of boxing operations for Main Events, confirmed Friday that the fight is all but set. He also said Gatti would be willing to give up his belt in order to fight Leija "if need be."

Wait up, if Mayweather steps aside for this one, does he stil get dibs on the winner?

why the hell would gatti give up his belt for this ****ty fight? i dont want to say leija is a bum and i know he won his last fight with bojado but leija is to small for 140 and to small to fight gatti. it seems like gatti is trying to avoid pretty boy, which is probably wise but that does'nt mean it looks good, especialy since he called floyd out after his fight with dorin.

This will be a good fight between a couple vets, I think Gatti's to big for Jessie James though. But you never know. I wounder who Floyd will get next

yea i know i wanted to see gatti vs floyd already..i dont get it..either way when gatti beats leija..he goes to floyd anyway...but whatever...winner gets floyd so i am not that pissed..and it should be a good fight...

Gatti and his people are so scared of Floyd its not even funny. Hell I wouldn't be surprised to see Leija win this fight.

Gatti gets 2 to 3 mil, that's pretty good

wow, what a waste of time this fight is. Leija is an over the hill bum fighting over his weight and its only happening because he's promoted by odlh and hbo is rewarding gatti with easy fights for good money because of what he has done in the past. If I have anything better to do I will not go out of my way to watch this fight.

Gatti needs to fight PBF already and stop wasting his fans' time.

- just for the record, Gatti is probably my favorite fighter

winner gets floyd so i am not that pissed..and it should be a good fight...

yeah, a good fight if you are Gatti's manager. He KO's this bum within 3 rounds and his (Gatti) face doesn't even swell.
:eek:

PBF will make Gatti look like a fool when they fight. The real question is will Gatti weigh in at 140 and come to the fight weighing 160?

Hold on to your horses people . . . patience . . . that Gatti/Mayweather fight is bound to happen no matter what. I'm sure promoters are setting up the stage for that big event. Meanwhile don't be suprised if Gatti and Mayweather are getting easy fights while waiting, they need to stay in shape and get themselves busy. ;)

Gatti is living the easy life at the moment, He's been able to hand pick easy fights for big money.

Gatti needs to fight Mayweather, Cotto or Hatton. Something the fans would like to see rather than beating up on light-weights.

yeah and dont ever count gatti out versus those fighters..one punch..or body punch can change everything...i think there is more to gatti then u can see..

and if he does go down to cotto/hatton(lol sure he will..hatton plz)/floyd(good chance at beathing gatti)..gatti will go down fighting..cheers people..3 hours to go till mayorga/tito fight cant wait..yeah!!!..i am ok :D

why leija, i will bet my house on gatti to win. he calls out big names but ends up with leija, well hes getting paid pretty well

yeah and dont ever count gatti out versus those fighters..one punch..or body punch can change everything...i think there is more to gatti then u can see..

and if he does go down to cotto/hatton(lol sure he will..hatton plz)/floyd(good chance at beathing gatti)..gatti will go down fighting..cheers people..3 hours to go till mayorga/tito fight cant wait..yeah!!!..i am ok :D

If any happen, i'll bet you Cotto and Hatton will beat Gatti.

1000(or more) on it?

ur on when it happens i will bet with u..i will even go up as high as 5000 if u want..i am game (its not like its real money anyway)..besides i will win

ur on when it happens i will bet with u..i will even go up as high as 5000 if u want..i am game (its not like its real money anyway)..besides i will win

:D

Your on, I rate Gatti highly but i'd slighty favour Cotto and Hatton to win. I'll bet you a million if if its Cotto&Hatton vs Gatti!!

Here's my take--Gatti's people are going to squeeze in a few more decent paydays for Arturo before a final 'retirement party' big money fight against Floyd Jr.. They're just biding their time.

Gatti via tko..

If Cotto and Gatti meet I'll bet my entire bankroll on Cotto KO inside of 8.

I'd bet on anyone in the top 5 at 140 against Gatti

If Cotto and Gatti meet I'll bet my entire bankroll on Cotto KO inside of 8.


I think Cotto needs some more seasoning before he goes after Gatti. A Hatton/Cotto fight is more realistic at present . . . well just my point of view.

I think Cotto needs some more seasoning before he goes after Gatti. A Hatton/Cotto fight is more realistic at present . . . well just my point of view.

Point respected...I still think that Cotto would annihilate him right now. Cotto should probably take another preparation fight before he goes after the big dogs however.

Point respected...I still think that Cotto would annihilate him right now. Cotto should probably take another preparation fight before he goes after the big dogs however.


That's right That's exactly what I'm saying . . . just to ensure that he'll be much prepared to meet the big old dog. Getting one or two more fights against named opponents behind Gatti will set up a big stage for that GRAND BRAWL. Fighters build up confidence through experience . . . and there's no substitute for that.

Hey you guys making it sound like Cotto would EASILY burn through Gatti. First off, has Cotto been up against HARD punching fighters? How about, how has he been fully tested with his will or heart? We sure know Gatti will get up and keep going. Gatti also punches with all his power and can go a full fight like that. Do you think Gatti will want to let a young newcomer take his place? I think Gatti will want to make a statement that even though he's the older, he still has the heart and we will definitely see some fireworks. Can't wait for a match like that to come along :)

Hey you guys making it sound like Cotto would EASILY burn through Gatti. First off, has Cotto been up against HARD punching fighters? How about, how has he been fully tested with his will or heart? We sure know Gatti will get up and keep going. Gatti also punches with all his power and can go a full fight like that. Do you think Gatti will want to let a young newcomer take his place? I think Gatti will want to make a statement that even though he's the older, he still has the heart and we will definitely see some fireworks. Can't wait for a match like that to come along :)


No . . . no . . . friend it may sound just like that but what you are saying is exactly what I mean. Cotto still needs seasoning, establish himself fight the guys, around Gatti so he'll get the experience that he needs before he go after the MAIN MAN. I like both fighters and the last thing I want to see is another wasted talent going down to the drain.


If ever Cotto decides to go for Gatti at anytime he better make sure he is REALLY READY.

PBF will make Gatti look like a fool when they fight. The real question is will Gatti weigh in at 140 and come to the fight weighing 160?

Gatti may be tough in the ring but IMO hes a ***** for running from Floyd

Not happy bout this at all. Gatti should go for Pretty boy now, Leija is over the hill and even after Gatti beats him hes gonna have 2 fight him again before Floyd cuz of the re-match clause. Aaaarrrrggggggghhhh, piss me off.

The same people that are saying Gatti will easily beat Leija are probably the same people that thought the old Pro Leija had no shot against a rising prospect in Bojado.When will you all ever learn?

Here's my take--Gatti's people are going to squeeze in a few more decent paydays for Arturo before a final 'retirement party' big money fight against Floyd Jr.. They're just biding their time.

Gatti via tko..


im gonna second that.

come on we wanna see mayweather gatti

well we saw last nite tito dont make full 160 either
so thhis fight might take place at 154
either way i still pick DLH
same as b4
Trinidads still the bigger hitter
DLH can still be elusive
OR as we saw against hopkins he can also try to make it a strait up fight if he wants
but i dont think he'd risk that with tito
he wants to beat him for sure and knows that he can
with hopkins he knew he would most likey lose so he figured he was gonna at least go out in a blaze of glory
but with tito hed prolly do the same as the firts fight
except not take the last rounds off
DLH by KO

Gatti's one of my favorite fighters of today and not because of talent, cause the man gots a big-time heart, however I think some of y'all are crazy for thinking he'll beat either Cotto or Mayweather. I see Cotto knocking him out if not tko and Cotto is ready to go straight to him right now! Mayweather, to be honest the last full fight I saw of Ugly Boy Floyd was the one w/ Corrales and I 've seen highlights of him here and there since he moved up. I don't know what kinda power Mayweather brings to 140, but he's not gonna need bombs in both hands to beat Gatti silly, it may turnout to be a borefest just as long as Pretty Boy stays on the outside, cause he'll be potshottin' the overrated Gatti all-night. This Leija- Gatti matchup is something I'd rather see than the annhilation Gatti will receive from the 2 other fighters. I think Leija can pull a mild upset here, remember he just beat a very young speedster in Bojado, this is going off the subject but I think Bojado shouldn't have taken the fight w/ Leija he went up against a very good veteran it just wasn't time for the young kid to take someone on with Jesse James experience, Bojado should go down in weight he looks more like a natural 130-135 he doesn't have the same pop like he did at 130. I hope Bojado doesn't burnout cause the kid's got a world of talent and carry a good relationship with his trainer Buddy Mcgirt would definitely do wonders for his career

The same people that are saying Gatti will easily beat Leija are probably the same people that thought the old Pro Leija had no shot against a rising prospect in Bojado.When will you all ever learn?

Yeah though ok, Bojado was younger, less experienced. This obviously showed because he didn't go right after Jesse when he knocked him down like he should have. He gave Jesse enough time to put himself together again and mount an offense strong enough to get the decision. Theres no way he'd have a chance vs Gatti. Gatti hits so much harder than Bojado and goes right after you after your down. This will be 2 experienced fighters though one with the power advantage that will probably pave the way of the fight.

Yeah though ok, Bojado was younger, less experienced. This obviously showed because he didn't go right after Jesse when he knocked him down like he should have. He gave Jesse enough time to put himself together again and mount an offense strong enough to get the decision. Theres no way he'd have a chance vs Gatti. Gatti hits so much harder than Bojado and goes right after you after your down. This will be 2 experienced fighters though one with the power advantage that will probably pave the way of the fight.
Yeah I remeber thinking that if Bojado would have piled on the pressure after that knockdown, he would have won the fight. I also think Bojado needs to ****-can mayweather. mayweather couldn't even make it to his fight. He had to devote his time to ruining another fighter.

Any fight with the name Arturo Gatti on it is always a possible candidate for Fight of the Year. He's one of my favorite fighters simply because he's a true warrior, always fights with passion and has the heart of a lion. However, at the moment he's not really the best at his weight class which is perhaps the hottest in boxing today. There's Tszyu, Mayweather, Cotto, Mitchell, Harris and Hatton. Simply WOW! Gatti's just biding his time with this proposed Leija fight. I see him winning but it's not gonna be easy against a good old veteran like Jesse James. JJL's coming off a tight but impressive win over a young talented fighter in Bojado. He's been through tough wars too against Tszyu, Ward, Lazcano, Mosley and de la Hoya - he's got the experience.

A win over Leija should set-up his next big payday against Cotto or Mayweather. I see Cotto knocking him out in a slugfest and Mayweather by way of a sleek boxing clinic. Bad fights but good paydays for him so I'd rather see him against untested Ricky Hatton. Should be another entertaining fight for boxing fans. This could go either way.