By Rick Reeno
Gatti, the name stands for excitement and intensity. When people hear the name Gatti, they know right away that whoever the opponent may be, its going to be a fight worth watching.
The one thing that hardcore Gatti fans do not want to admit is that their favorite fighter will never be the top fighter of any division that he occupies.
No matter what trainer Gatti has in his corner, he will always have a weak defense. I decided to watch the Gatti-Branco fight over the weekend and all I could think of is if Tszyu or Mayweather landed just two of the right hands that Branco landed flush, it would be goodnight Arturo. If Branco had any type of KO power in that right hand, he would have won that fight. Gatti's face looked like a mess by the end of the fight and that was the end result of damage inflicted by an opponent that doesn't have any real power. Can anyone even imagine what would happen if Gatti went twelve rounds with Mayweather, Tszyu or Judah? If Gatti fought any of three men I mentioned, he would not make it to the halfway point of the bout.
Noone seems to question the chin of Gatti but Gatti does not have the best chin. He seems to get stunned, knocked down or hurt in nine out of every ten fights. The double edge sword to that statement is if Gatti didn't get hurt so often, he wouldn't be as exciting to watch. People watch a Gatti fight waiting for two things, Gatti getting a KO or Gatti getting hurt and having to make a comeback. While it is exciting to watch it happen against mid level fighters like Ward, if Gatti gets in a jam against the best of 140, he will never make it out of the round.
The fight that would have been the best choice for Gatti to take was against Ricky Hatton. Hatton like Gatti, does not have the best defense and also tends to have problems with swelling and bruising of the face. A fight between those two men would have ended up being a fight of year matchup.
The camp of Gatti knows that he cant hang with a Tszyu or Mayweather so they look elsewhere for big fights. Gatti can make millions fighting anyone, he sells tickets and his bouts bring high ratings to HBO. Gatti doesn't need Mayweather or Tszyu, they need him. Gatti is where the money is and every fighter at 140 knows it. Arturo Gatti is the Mike Tyson of the 140 pounders, everyone wants to fight him in the division.
Gatti may have more heart and desire then any other fighter in the sport. Gatti is the only guy other then Tyson who he can lose fights and people will still scream to see him get in the ring again. Gatti has to be one of my favorite fighters but I call them like I see them and based upon Gatti's skill level, he can only go so far.