By Rick Reeno
The Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey will once again transform into a battlefield. Arturo Gatti (40-7, 31 KOs) tries to capture a third world title when he meets WBC welterweight champion Carlos Baldomir (42-9-6, 12 KOs) of Santa Fe, Argentina.
Baldomir has not lost a fight since 1998 and on January 7, 2006, Baldomir pulled off one of the biggest upsets in recent memory when fought his way to a twelve round decision over undisputed welterweight champion Zab Judah. He not only upset the champion, but also beat him before a hometown crowd in New York’s Madison Square Garden.
The underlining story to this fight is Gatti’s campaign to one day enter the Boxing Hall of Fame. Gatti feels that if he wins a third world title in a third weight division, he will have a strong argument to enter the hall. Some have downplayed his two prior championship wins because in both outings Gatti did not beat the recognized champion of the division to win the title. This time around, he faces the recognized linear champion of the welterweights. Baldomir beat Judah, who was the undisputed champion and if Baldomir had paid sanctioning fees to the WBA and IBF, he would be holding all of the titles today.
The staff of BoxingScene comes together to voice their opinions, predictions and strategies for the big fight.
Hank Kaplan – Baldomir is an ordinary fighter, nothing special about him. Zab Judah didn’t have his head together when he fought him. He barely trained for the fight. If you take away the win over Judah, Baldomir is just another Argentinean fighter.
Gatti should win this fight by decision.
Tim Smith - Baldomir is a tough guy, just ask Zab Judah. But he is not a polished boxer. He has slow hands and comes forward, which makes him a perfect target for Gatti, who has decent boxing skills.
It's enough for Gatti to win a decision.
Ron Borges - Although I think Baldomir could pull off an upset because he is strong and will be able to take what Gatti dishes out, he does not seem to me that he can punch hard enough to beat Gatti down. Gatti will have learned his lesson by seeing the fate that befell Zab Judah and do enough to win a fairly close decision.
Carlos Irusta – Baldomir should win, only if he is in a real top condition. Gatti is not a welterweight and has had a lot of battles in his career. He always appears open in a fight and receives a lot of counterpunches. Baldomir can do it, but he must be ready for a real brawl.
Baldomir by knockout.
Kevin Kincaide - Every now and then, you just have to go for the upset; and I am on this fight. Arturo Gatti is one of the toughest fighters to come along in recent memory; but he’s been battling for a while, chalking up mile after mile on his fists and his whiskers. Welterweight, I feel, is honestly too big for Arturo, as was evidenced by the thrashing Oscar De La Hoya gave him a few years ago. His last fight with Damgaard was essentially a set up against an overrated, untested, undefeated fighter; or, for someone with Gatti’s resume, easy pickings.
Nobody’s questioning Gatti’s heart. He’s always had it and always will, so he’ll always be in a fight, no matter what the situation; but what about Baldomir’s heart? Carlos hasn’t lost a fight in 8 years and hasn’t been stopped in 12. He has struggled and toiled in the cold darkness far beyond the glow of the spotlight where Gatti grew up before our very eyes. When Baldomir climbed into the ring with Zab Judah back in January, he was a tune-up for “Super’s” showdown with Floyd Mayweather. Who da thunk it? For 12 rounds Carlos fought his heart out in front of the Garden crowd and nearly finished Judah off in the last round. It’s been a long hard road from Argentina to the top of the world; and I don’t see Carlos relinquishing his grip just yet.
This is going to be a bitterly and fiercely fought contest. Arturo may or may not come out “boxing” but sooner or later his blood will begin to boil for the combat Baldomir is going to offer and in the end, if the judging is fair in Atlantic City on Saturday night, lightning will have struck twice for “Tata” and “Thunder” will have come up just short. Can Gatti lose in Jersey? Yup.
Carlos Baldomir by majority decision.
Roger Gordillo - After reviewing tape of some of Baldomir’s earlier victories it’s safe to say that he’s got one gear direction, and that’s going forward. In fights against journeymen predominately from South America, Baldomir was hit cleanly and even put on the defensive by such fighters. Supporters of the recognized Welterweight Champion will tell you that he hasn’t lost a fight in eight years, but will fail to mention his DQ win against Joshua Clottey where Clottey was enjoying a comfortable lead before losing his cool and being disqualified.
In addition to the Clottey fight, Baldomir has fought to two draws during this undefeated period of his career, one being a controversial draw against Jose Luis Cruz. With a record of 42-9-6, 12 KO’s, can Baldomir beat Arturo Gatti – sure. Gatti can hurt his hand and become unable to keep the unrelenting Baldomir off him. There’s always the possibly of a cut or swelling ending the bout early for the hometown fighter. Do I think it will happen or will Baldomir win, I’d have to say no. Arturo has been steadily improving since his loss to Micky Ward. While Baldomir has squeaked out wins against Judah and Miguel Angel Rodriguez in recent fights, Gatti Has beaten a higher quality of fighters in a much more decisive manner with exception of a loss to most pound for pound fighter Floyd Mayweather.
Gatti looks like more of a well-rounded fighter and I think his hand speed and ring generalship will lead him to a decision victory over his Argentine foe. Back in April I Interviewed Both Gatti and Baldomir at a press conference, afterwards wishing both fighters the best of luck and exchanging a pound and a hug it was clear that Baldomir was the shorter more compact fighter. Gatti looked to be in the best shape of his career big, solid and muscular with not an ounce of fat on him, as I discovered when I asked Arturo about his weight and he revealed a well-sculpted abdomen to me.
Gatti believes Baldomir is tailored made for him and looks forward to a possible pay-per-view match up against the highly touted Miguel Cotto. With the new adventure into fatherhood there’s no doubt that The Italian fighter is having big dreams and wishes of providing the very best for his new baby girl and this will undoubtedly be in the back of the fighter’s mind to push him in the fight.
Gatti by Unanimous decision
Richie Maldonado - I think Carlos Baldomir is tailor made for Arturo Gatti. Arturo is not going to run if his chin gets checked because he knows how to weather the storms and he can also dish it out in return. Carlos’ biggest win was against Zab Judah, who had a low offensive output after he got hit. Judah was too busy worrying more about his jaw than anything else. Arturo Gatti will not worry about his jaw when he gets hit because deep inside Gatti is a will to win like no other fighter in the sport.
Gatti will prevail by knockout.
Tom Donelson - Gatti will be fighting in his backyard against a good, but not a great fighter who turned in a great performance in his last fight. Gatti usually wins against good fighters, he just can't beat the really great fighters. Baldomir turned in a great and near perfect performance in his last fight against a distracted Judah. He pounded Judah and forced Judah to fight his fight. Gatti will attempt to box for a round or two but if Judah, who is a superior boxer, was not able to tame Baldomir, I don't see Gatti doing it either. However, Gatti loves to fight wars and he takes a punch better than Judah. Baldomir is not a heavy puncher. So this will turn into a pitch battle and for Gatti, this could be his last big chance for a title at 147. Lose here and he really will have no place to go in the 147 pound division since he has already lost to Mayweather and if he can't handle Baldomir, he won't be able to handle either Hatton or Margarito.
Gatti is fighting at home, he loves a brawl, he has nothing to lose, and unlike against Mayweather, he will be competitive against Baldomir. Baldomir has shown that he can go in the opponent’s backyard and win. The real question is, does Baldomir have another great fights in him?
Gatti will surprise by winning a decision.
Jim Cawkwell - I think that this is the final Gatti showpiece in which he can stand up and show the world his mixture of class and power. Baldomir has worked hard and deserved his victory against Zab Judah, but he is just a solid yet unspectacular fighter the like of which Gatti has faced and beaten before. I am leaning towards a unanimous decision for Gatti who will show that he can box when necessary, and that when it comes to unloading the big guns, he is there with the best of them. Baldomir won't be hard to find and has nothing in his artillery to force Gatti into rethinking an aggressive strategy.
Gatti by unanimous twelve round decision.
Alphonso Costello - Having resurrected his career more times than Madonna, Arturo Gatti is boxing's most exciting gladiator. Gatti holds a sizable speed advantage over Carlos Baldomir. His speed and nifty footwork should give Baldomir trouble in the early rounds. Gatti must use his speed and boxing skills properly to avoid Baldomir's slow, but rugged offensive onslaught. The key to a Gatti victory is stamina. Gatti must stay fresh in the latter stages of the fight to thwart Baldomir's strength advantage. If utilized properly, Baldomir could use his ruggedness to overpower a fading Gatti down the stretch. For that matter, Gatti must stay away from his crowd-pleasing brawling style and box circles around the Argentinean tough man. The edge goes to Baldomir, if Gatti decides to go toe-to-toe with the defending champion. However, Gatti has home filed advantage fighting at the Boardwalk in Atlantic City.
Baldomir narrowly defeats Gatti by split decision.
Dave Wilcox - This is an interesting scrap. Baldomir struck pay dirt against an unmotivated and chinny Zab Judah. Arturo Gatti is neither chinny nor unmotivated, so Balomir won't have that advantage. I have a feeling we will see the Boxing version of Gatti in this bout. I can't imagine Gatti coming in the fight blazing against Baldomir. We will see stretches of everyone's favorite brawler in this one, but it won't be his usual blood and guts slugfest. In the end I see Gatti winning by decision.
Brent Matteo Alderson - I always thought that Gatti was overrated, but since he hooked up with Buddy McGirt he's improved tremendously and even though it wasn't enough to beat Mayweather, it was enough to secure the Italian-Canadian some solid victories over Dorin and Leija.
Gatti is boxing better than ever plus he has the homefield advantage in Atlantic City so a victory is a real possibility, but I'm going with Baldomir.
The guy hasn't lost in 8 years and even though he doesn't have a big knock out punch, he's a strong guy and he's a lot bigger than Gatti. I think he's going to rough Gatti up and open up his scar tissue and score a late round stoppage and secure the November date with Mayweather.
In a way I'm kind of rooting for Gatti so Mayweather will be forced to fight someone more threatening.
Baldomir by 8th round TKO.
Larry Tornambe - Gatti has more skill and I think will be more rugged when the boxing turns into the quintessential Gatti war. Baldomir must be respected but I feel he'll come up short against Gatti. Arturo will show more skill, more power, more toughness and desire than Baldomir in another crowd pleaser.
Ron Gallegos - I've seen Arturo Gatti in his latest fights and he really seems to have buffed up and he's packing a lethal punch now. Carlos is a local San Diego fighter who basically fought the fight of his life in winning the last big one. I look for Arturo to still have enough left in the tank to take Carlos out around the 8th. Both fighters have the proverbial fighters' heart, but on the talent and experience side Arturo is way out front.
As with all of Gatti's fights, this one should be non-stop with the action. It's gnawing at me that somewhere in the back of my mind, there is the little voice that reminds me that once a fighter attains a particular level, he strives to maintain that level. He fights up to the competition. A taste of the glory is a hard thing to let go. Carlos will do everything he can to bring it, but I still feel Gatti has too much of everything to be stopped.
Gatti by TKO in the 8th.
Joe Harrison - Gatti's aggressive style should not cause any problems for Baldomir. He is a smart fighter, and I'd expect him to defeat Gatti just as easily as he defeated Zab Judah.
Baldomir by decision
Dan Creighton – Arturo Gatti should win by KO in the 6th round.
Eric Rineer - Truthfully, I'm ice cold lately on predictions. And this fight isn't exactly an easy one to predict. I love to watch Arturo Gatti fight and I think he's got it in him to pull off the big win. However, at some point, age is going to catch up with this future legendary fighter. I don't think that should be the case on Saturday night. Look for Arturo to unload a flurry of punches somewhere late in the contest to floor Carlos Baldomir. I think Carlos is too stationary and I was not overly impressed with his win over Zab Judah. To be honest, I thought Zab won that fight.
I'm picking the ever-entertaining "Thunder" Gatti by TKO in Round 9.
TK Stewart - Who could have predicted that Arturo Gatti would have a great chance to win the true welterweight championship of the world after his humiliating defeat to Floyd Mayweather, Jr. last year? Gatti continues to amaze me in the fact that he is still near the top of the game after all of these years and after all of the tremendous wars that he has engaged in.
This fight boils down to one thing for me: Can Gatti box for the entire twelve rounds and keep the barrel chested, Argentine off him? If Gatti's legs are in shape, I think he can give Baldomir a pretty good boxing lesson and win the decision. If not, and Baldomir is able to rough him up, then I don't think Gatti has the resiliency anymore to engage in sustained combat and Baldomir will win.
My hunch is that Gatti will look great early on and will win many of the early rounds. I think Baldomir will come on late and make it exciting and close at the end. I see the fight going to the cards and in New Jersey - and in Gatti's house at Boardwalk Hall - I see Arturo pulling out a close decision.
Rusty Rubin – I have never discounted Gatti in any of his fights other than Mayweather, but I lean towards the stronger and bigger Baldomir to win by a late stoppage. If Baldomir lets the fight go to the judges, I don’t think he will get the nod.
George Phillips – Arturo Gatti will prevail in this fight. He has the heart of a lion and a passion for the sport that will never be matched. Baldomir will put up a fight, but Gatti will win by way of a 12 round unanimous decision.
Mike Casey - They make them tough down in Argentina and Carlos Baldomir is obviously a capable and solid operator. He hit the jackpot with his win over Zab Judajh, but the question that lingered in most minds was how Zab ever managed to lose.
Argentinean fighters have a lot of fights on the way up, and while they are well protected (many close decisions are called draws), they are also sensibly and progressively matched. In his seventh pro fight, Baldomir got scuttled in two rounds by Paulo Sanchez, but there is nothing else alarming on Carlos' record to suggest that the Sanchez defeat was anything more than a learner getting caught out.
With nine reverses in his 57 fights, Carlos strikes me as one of those tough, skilful and persistent South Americans who takes his setback in his stride and just keeps plugging on. But I fear that he will run into the buffers against Arturo Gatti if Art is on his game. Gatti punches harder, is more versatile and we know that he can take a shot or ten.
I don't think Gatti can afford to disrespect Baldomir and Art might be best advised to employ his more thoughtful approach (which I know many of his fans don't care for). He will never find joy against Mayweather, but he can continue be a major player in the division
Gatti by unanimous decision or late TKO.
Mike Indri - All credit must go to Carlos Baldomir, as he has the WBC belt and actually should be considered the undisputed welterweight champion.
In beating Zab Judah, Baldomir proved so many experts wrong. Judah may be a better "fighter" than Gatti, but Baldomir will quickly realize after Saturday night's opening round bell that Arturo Gatti has more heart and fortitude than any opponent he has ever faced before.
Both of these highly respected fighters, while enduring much different type careers, have many similar qualities: each has a ton of heart, neither has any quit in them and they both have good, solid chins. The main difference is that Gatti has a much more powerful punch...and that will make the difference in this fight; which will be much closer and more exciting that many people think.
Arturo Gatti defeats Carlos Baldomir via 12 round unanimous decision victory.
JE Grant - Gatti is always prepared and he will not overlook Baldomir, despite the fact that many of his followers think it will be easy pickings. Gatti’s boxing ability against the plodding Baldomir will play a greater role in his game plan than punching power, which he has never proven at 147 pounds. Baldomir, though not especially fast or hard-hitting is a solid body-puncher and will press from the opening bell. He will be hit early and often but he will continue to apply pressure throughout.
The scar tissue over Gatti’s eyes may prove vulnerable to Baldomir’s constant attack and there will be no let up if cuts develop. Expect a fast start by Gatti and a fade starting in the middle rounds as the naturally bigger and stronger Baldomir begins to land the harder, and more plentiful shots down the stretch. After this fight, American fight fans will know Baldomir, who like Gatti is a well-traveled blue-collar veteran, who has finally come into his own at the end of a once-obscure career.
Baldomir by decision.
John Hively - This is a difficult fight to predict if only because Baldomir is a relative unknown with a less than glossy record. On the other hand, Gatti is hardly an all-time great. This could, and probably should, be a close fight.
Gatti should win, but my gut feeling says Baldomir will pull it out.
Bradley Yeh - haven’t followed Gatti’s career as much as I'd have liked since his exciting Micky Ward fights. Sure Mayweather blew him out in 6 rounds in 2005, but a loss for Gatti in that fight was expected considering all the involved factors. The way Carlos won his title against Zab Judah serves to makes it harder to know exactly what level Baldomir is capable of making Gatti fight at. If they're both in the trenches for the most part then that will probably work to eventually favour the power and style of Gatti. That’s if Gatti’s still a 12 round fighter.
Both guys are in their mid 30’s now, and both guys favor coming forward. The similarities don’t stop there either, as Both Gatti and Baldomir also have a tendency to disregard defense, which means there will be action. Another good common point about this fight is that both Baldomir and Gatti appear to firmly believe they can win this. Gatti probably thinks Baldomir got lucky and is therefore a temporary resident that must now pay rent to his power and experience. Whilst it appears that Baldomir feels Gatti has his best days behind him.
Each viewpoint has some sound reasoning behind it, which I am sure is no doubt supported by each of Gatti and Baldomir’s excellent trainers.
Gatti has the better top-line experience to draw from, but just how much that experience may now contribute to Gatti’s detriment at this stage of his career, within another grueling fight, is an X factor. Have the wars taken their toll on Gatti – there certainly has been a few of them? Will it show when faced with an opponent with similar spirit and determination, as we hope we can expect from Baldomir? Looking at Baldomir’s record, he has not fought the same class of opponents that Gatti has, but then Zab Judah in his own kitchen is no pushover either. Baldomir is certainly not deterred easily and he won't be looking to surrender his title after the long hard road he has traveled to get it.
Both men are fighters that are easy to like as well, as there's not such an unbalanced approach with self-promotion and achievements, which is sadly becoming commonplace these days. Baldomir took an enormous amount of ridiculing from Judah before the Judah fight, and he still stayed focused and won. That’s real character! And Gatti, well you don’t even need to quote that his actions speak louder than words, he is an all round good guy that walks the walk and for the most part doesn’t even bother with the (trash) talk.
Predicting a winner; this is not a pair of opponents that I really have enough current knowledge of their recent performance(s), to feel comfortable with. I think Baldomir will probably need to outwork Gatti on the cards to win, as it’s probably unlikely that Baldomir will stop Gatti, particularly if Gatti’s in great shape. I do believe Gatti can stop Baldomir though, not just because Gatti loves to punch, but also because Baldomir is available. Baldomir’s key to the fight probably rests with stamina and movement and ensuring he’s not in the way of too many of Gattis power shots. Baldomir’s style will present Gatti with opportunities though (as will Gatti for Baldomir), and if Carlos hasn’t earned Gatti’s respect by the middle rounds, the bout could easily come down to an equation of power over resistance. At some stage these guys will want to trade and see who dances best when their feet are flat and the music isn’t playing. Looking at their records, I can't see how that will favor Baldomir. The Judah fight did not provide us with an opportunity to seriously gauge how well Baldomir operates in a power exchange where he is seriously confronted with an immovable force that has world-class experience, as Judah controlled the fist part of the fight and then ran for the rest.
Carlos is the unknown quantity in this fight and that can be dangerous and advantageous, as Judah discovered. Theoretically thinking though, Gatti appears to have a better set of options for this show. Gatti has more (proven) power, more experience and he has (at least) equal skills to Carlos. The only doubt with Gatti, is whether Gatti’s still capable of fighting 3 minutes of each of the 12 rounds, which is what I believe Baldomir must consider in order to win. A fight like this, with the combination of styles and attitudes that Gatti and Baldomir both bring, can really breakout into an electrifying battle.
I'm going to lean towards Gatti on this one.
Sammy Rozenberg – I don’t think Gatti will be able to get away from Baldomir for twelve rounds. At some point Baldomir will catch him, hurt him and stop him to retain his title.
“JC” Jerry Casarez - There’s no question as to why Arturo Gatti is one of the most exciting fighters of the last 20 years. He has a crowd-pleasing style that fans from all walks can appreciate. Even when he’s said that he was going to box instead of slugging in the past, you could almost be certain that should his opponent was to press him we could all be in for fireworks.
Carlos “Tata” Baldomir. Baldomir who is coming of a shocking upset over Zab Judah is no stranger to going into other fighters’ backyards to pull out the victory. I’ve heard plenty from fans saying that Gatti will overpower Baldomir and that he will have no problem in defeating the Champion from Santa Fe, Argentina. My take is nothing could be further from the truth. Tata is a natural welterweight who may not be known for his big punch but who is certainly stronger than Thunder at this weight.
Arturo started his career as a 130-pound jr. lightweight and is coming off a win over the previously undefeated Thomas Dammgard. But even in victory, Gatti showed his vulnerabilities with a hand injury that has nagged the 2nd half of his career and what was thought to be a safe comeback from a loss to Floyd Mayweather it ended up being a war with both men landing at will. I expect Gatti to box early and use his legs. He may win the first 3 rounds should he stick to this game plan. The question is can he keep this up for 12 rounds without getting into a slugfest? My answer is no. Tata will throw 100 punches a round and will force Gatti to engage into a slugfest. Carlos has been successful because even when he faces bigger punchers than him he is able to dictate the distance he punches from so that he can land his own punches without having to succumb to his opponent’s arsenal.
I expect Baldomir to grind Gatti down over 12 rounds and get the split decision over a game but undersized Gatti. While nobody would question the heart of Gatti, many experts and fans may have to stop questioning Baldomir’s own will to win which has lead him to the Welterweight Championship of the World.
Rick Reeno – After sizing both guys up, Baldomir is noticeably larger. Zab Judah never took Baldomir serious and underestimated his chin. Judah is good puncher, and was never able to put Baldomir in trouble, but we all knew before the fight that Baldomir possessed a solid chin.
I could see Gatti boxing his way to win the first couple of rounds, but what happens after Baldomir keeps coming forward and throwing punches is the one factor in the fight that has me guessing. Overall, Gatti is the better fighter, but Baldomir has the edge in strength, size and chin.
I give Gatti a slight edge to squeak out a decision, but this is one of those fights where I would not be surprised if the other guy won.
