By Sammy Rozenberg

The cheering crowd at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey was quickly silenced as Carlos Baldomir (42-9-6, 12 KOs) overpowered a game Arturo Gatti (40-7, 31 KOs) to stop him in the ninth round.

The fight started off with Gatti boxing, but Baldomir began to show by the second round that he is the bigger and stronger man. He began to land the right hand in the second round and Gatti could not find a way to get away from the right hand.

As the rounds progressed, Baldomir was getting stronger and Gatti was getting weaker. Gatti learned a lesson in this fight, that he is not full-fledged welterweight. Baldomir was able to take flush power punches from Gatti and walked right through them.

By the ninth round, Gatti’s face was busted up, bleeding and he was visibly tired. Fighters like Pernell Whitaker and Paulie Malignaggi were yelling at ringside for Gatti to box, but that strategy was difficult to play out as Baldomir kept coming forward and rarely gave Gatti breathing room.

As Baldomir hurt Gatti with a right hand that backed him into the ropes, a follow-up left hook sent Gatti crumbling to the mat. Gatti was able to get up, but Baldomir leaped in with an accumulation of punches that sent Gatti crashing down on his back. The moment Gatti hit the deck, the referee waved off the contest.

Baldomir, undefeated for over seven years, is now a champion and a major player in the welterweight division. The ironic thing in this Cinderella story is that Baldomir was considering retirement prior to his January upset win over Zab Judah.

The welterweight division has once again become the star division of boxing. The amount of big names within the weight class is far above all other weight divisions in the sport. Baldomir has choices galore for a big payday.

Some of the more recognizable welterweights include undefeated WBA welterweight champion Ricky Hatton of England, undefeated pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and WBO welterweight champion Antonio Margarito.

Shane Mosley is planning to move down to the welterweight division in 2007, and Miguel Cotto is planning to move up to the welterweight division before the end of the year. Other players within the division include Paul Williams, Sharmba Mitchell, Luis Collazo, Zab Judah, Kermit Cintron, Demetrious Hopkins, Carlos Quintana, and Joshua Clottey.

At age 35, he needs to think of which direction he wants to take his career in its final stage. Baldomir has to sit down with his promoter and make a career decision as to whether or not he is going to go after the biggest fight possible regardless of whether he thinks he can win the fight , or the biggest possible fight that he can actually win.

It comes down to whether or not he wants to cash in his chips and get one last big payday or fight several recognizable names of lesser caliber to stretch out the life span of his career.

At this point of his career, every fight is a dangerous fight. He is no longer in his prime and the reflexes are slowing down.  What Baldomir needs if he wants to continue fighting for another two years is to face stationary opponents. Baldomir has problems with opponents who can move and possess great boxing skills.

The one thing that can shorten his life span in the welterweight division is if the alphabet organization that controls his title, the WBC, orders him to face the next available contender for his next fight. The current number one contender to the WBC title is Floyd Mayweather, Jr., and since Baldomir is calling Mayweather out, the fight is likely to happen is Mayweather wants the fight. Most would say that Mayweather has too much speed and boxing skill for Baldomir, but they also said the same thing about Zab Judah. Baldomir has proved that if you do not bring you’re A-game, he will capitalize on the error.

For Gatti, his long journey as the “blood and guts” warrior may have now come to an end. He admitted after the Baldomir fight that he would seriously consider retirement because of the beating he took from Baldomir.

On the undercard

Heavyweight Malik Scott (24-0, 10KOs) fought his way to an eight round decision over Marcus McGee (15-11, 8KOs). The scores were 80-72 on all three cards.

Undefeated middleweight Giovanni Lorenzo (21-0, 13KOs) scored a sixth round TKO over Bryon Mackie (27-13, 10KOs). Lozenzo put Mackie down with a hard right in the sixth round. Mackie was able to beat the count, but his corner stopped the contest.

Mariusz Cendrowski (15-0, 6KOs) picked up a majority decision over Patrick Thompson (10-7-1, 4KOs) in an eight round scrap. The scores were 77-75 and 77-75 for Cendrowksi, and a 76-76 draw.

James Moore (8-0, 6KOs) handed Jorge Gonzalez (4-1) the first loss of his career by way of a unanimous decision. The scores were 60-54 on all three cards for Moore.

Undefeated Henry Crawford (11-0-1, 3KOs) took a unanimous decision victory over Roberto Valenzuela (17-25-2, 16KOs). The scores were 60-54 on all three scorecards.

Welterweight Alex Perez (6-0, 5KOs) stopped David Hernandez (3-4-2, 2KOs) in four rounds. Hernandez hit the mat in rounds three and four.