by David P. Greisman (photo by Richie "Ringside" Maldonado)
Injured hands. Cheekbones and eyebrows swollen to the point of compromised vision. Throughout Arturo Gatti’s career, it seemed as if everything had been damaged except for his will.
It was Gatti’s will that guided him through remarkable fights of the year, miraculous comebacks and multiple resurrections that followed drubbings and disappointments. Yes, he had power and size and a loyal team that included a top-notch trainer, but most importantly, he had heart.
His heart was the one intangible that Gatti believed would lead him to topple Carlos Baldomir in Saturday’s welterweight title fight, to take the championship that the Argentine wrested from Zab Judah in January.
“Zab Judah is a much better fighter than I am, but he doesn’t have the heart that I have,” said Gatti at the final pre-fight press conference. “Baldomir won the title in New York, but he’s going to lose it in New Jersey.”
But if Gatti was counting on the intangible he owned, he also was discounting the one tangible he opposed: Baldomir himself.
Just like Judah learned in January, and similar to Ricky Hatton’s difficulties with Luis Collazo in May, a true welterweight – even one with a low knockout percentage – carries an advantage in size over a rising junior welterweight that often translates into an edge in power and the ability to take a punch.
In the past at lower weight classes, Gatti had often found himself either quicker or bigger and stronger than his opponents, allowing him to avoid damage or to otherwise take punches in order to punish with his own onslaught. Yes, he got hurt and staggered more than a few times, but he could almost always equalize, recover and overcome.
Against Baldomir, though, he was woefully undersized. Nothing so much as dented Baldomir’s armor, no matter how deep Gatti dug. Baldomir stuck around, landing often with his jabs, leads and well-timed counters. And by forcing Gatti to come forward, Baldomir had a target consistently in front of him.
Gatti was not boxing wisely like the game plan called for, but getting in exchanges instead of bouncing in and out, retaliating instead of retreating.
“Don’t get caught up in the crowd,” warned trainer Buddy McGirt after the third round, in which Gatti finished by standing toe-to-toe with Baldomir and, as a result, had to hold the top rope as he walked back to his corner.
“Come on, Champ, you’re getting caught up in the crowd, Baby. No good. You gotta box this guy, okay? Don’t stand inside.”
Despite McGirt’s advice, Gatti didn’t know any better. It was as if Gatti was reacting while Baldomir knew precisely what to do. If Baldomir was using intellect, Gatti was relying on instinct.
That instinct was the same it had always been, to dig deep into his heart and will and explode with powerful hooks. Against Baldomir, though, any power shots landed out of desperation merely bought a second’s respite before the champion was back, coming on relentlessly and going to the body.
Baldomir’s bodywork, when combined with Gatti’s repeated home run swings, drained Gatti of energy and made him more stationary when mobility equaled survival.
With Gatti in Baldomir’s range, the end was inevitable, although, true to form, Gatti went down fighting. Trapped against the ropes in the ninth round, Gatti fired away until a Baldomir left hook sent an exhausted Gatti forward onto his head. And while Gatti got back up, it was clear that it wouldn’t take much for Baldomir to put him down again.
Forty wins. Eight losses. A two-time titlist, once each at junior lightweight and junior welterweight. Those are the parts of Arturo Gatti’s career that are recorded with numbers. Even after the defeat to Baldomir, though, the one item that is the measure of Gatti as a man is the one element that cannot truly be measured: his heart.
The 10 Count
1. In a stunner that will impact future showdowns in the junior bantamweight division, Martin Castillo lost to Nobuo Nashiro when the fight was stopped on cuts. Nashiro, who was 7-0 entering the bout, had somehow attained status as Castillo’s mandatory. Similar to when unheralded junior welterweight Ricardo Torres challenged and floored Miguel Cotto before succumbing in a knockout loss, Nashiro turned proper criticism of his ranking and rendered it invalid.
2. Thanks to Castillo’s loss, Jorge Arce’s eventual rise to 115 pounds from flyweight will likely come with a different prospective opponent. My nominations for fan-friendly firefights: Alexander Munoz, Luis Alberto Perez or Dimitri Kirilov, along with flyweight Vic Darchinyan if he, too, joins the junior bantamweight ranks.
3. On the other end of the scales, Jameel McCline made 270 pounds look decent as he outpointed Terry Smith over 10 rounds. While Smith had yet to make an impact on the heavyweight division, he was the first true live body that McCline had faced in his last six fights. Aside from Rob Calloway, who was undersized but put up a spirited effort, McCline had used a series of journeymen and tomato cans to build up his confidence following a string of fights in which he lost three out of four, coming up short against Chris Byrd, Calvin Brock and Zuri Lawrence.
4. Boxers Behaving Badly, part one: After dropping his legal appeal, former 168- and 175-lb. titlist (and the guy who nearly put the World Boxing Council in dire financial straits) Graciano Rocchigiani will endure a six-month jail stint for a drunk driving conviction from May 2005, according to news reports.
5. Boxers Behaving Badly, part two: As of this past Tuesday, James Wayka was best known (if known at all) for his 2005 knockout loss to second-season Contender contestant Rudy Cisneros. A few days later, Wayka was the guy who had to be replaced for a fight with Dmitry Salita due to being incarcerated for not paying child support, according to the Associated Press. In Wayka’s spot was Shad Howard, who stepped off of a plane one hour before the fight was supposed to start, stepped into the ring and was knocked out by Salita in the fifth round.
6. The card on ESPN2’s Wednesday Night Fights started late because there was no licensed physician at ringside. Apparently Dean Lohuis, chief athletic inspector for the state of California, had forgotten to call for a doctor, according to play-by-play commentator Joe Tessitore. While one likely has nothing to do with the other, this is not a good sign for California after the state disbanded its athletic commission last month. The commission’s staff is still around and boxing events continue to be held there, but with the current level of oversight, any mistakes could affect those who govern boxing in the state. Then again, at least fights weren’t held without a doctor present.
7. A recent press release stated that former heavyweight titlist John Ruiz is upset because his former manager and trainer Norman Stone had not returned boxing memorabilia that Stone had put into storage for him. Oh, the irony: Ruiz is complaining about someone else’s holding.
8. Curtis Stevens had built up a reputation as a self-proclaimed chin-checker, a fighter whose power stopped nearly all of his opponents. Stevens should have built up his chin instead. On Thursday, journeyman Marcos Primera – who had lost his last five outings – surprised Stevens, coming back for the stoppage victory in the eighth round. Unfortunately, reports are that, just like when Stevens’ chin-checking cohort Jaidon Codrington was kayoed in November, a group of Stevens’ supporters reacted inappropriately, although security handled the situation quickly.
9. Allan Green, the man who knocked out the aforementioned Codrington last year, triumphed over former Contender contestant Anthony Bonsante with a TKO win on ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights. With his combination of confidence and power, Green is appealing enough that, while untested against legitimate opposition, he could soon cash in against Jeff Lacy or other major names between middleweight and super middleweight. Considering Green’s tremendous scare at the hands of former sparring partner Donnie McCrary in April, a bout with Lacy would be accompanied by the suspense of wondering if Green’s being stunned and floored by McCrary was an aberration or exposure of a weakness.
10. The Contender Update: More than a year after its first season wrapped up, Mark Burnett’s boxing reality show returned to the airwaves with a double dose of welterweight action. While much is the same – shameless product placements, sound effects amplifying the punches, edited boxing matches – there are also improvements, like not having challenges and keeping Sylvester Stallone off-screen. In addition, the switch to the ESPN family of networks has allowed the opportunity for repeat showings, something that could build the show’s fan base and increase the exposure for any potential breakout stars.
In the first hour, teams were picked, and the first match-up ended up as former lightweight fringe contender Michael Clark against junior middleweight Cornelius Bundrage, who was infamously knocked out by Sechew Powell last year. Thanks to a fifth-round knockdown of Clark, Bundrage took a majority decision and the first win of the season.
The second hour gave us aging journeyman Norberto Bravo and young buck Rudy Cisneros, a pairing that, at least by the look of the edited presentation, produced fireworks. When the scorecards were read, Bravo came out with a split decision victory, and the show’s producers likely rejoiced about a fan-friendly climax to their season premiere.
Going into next week, six members remain on the gold team: Steve Forbes, Walter Wright, Vinroy Barrett, Ebo Elder, Gary Balletto and Jeff Fraza. The blue team retained its original eight: Nick Acevedo, Freddy Curiel, Michael Stewart, Andre Eason, Norberto Bravo, Grady Brewer, Aaron Torres and Cornelius Bundrage.
