By Mike Indri
Retired Boxers Foundation
"Flamboyant" Floyd Mayweather, 33-0 with 22 knockouts, is the most gifted and talented boxer of this generation.
Arturo "Thunder" Gatti (39-6, 30 KO’s), is pound-for-pound boxing’s most exciting fighter and has much more boxing ability than he is given credit for.
Gatti has not faced anyone close to the level of Mayweather (lone exception: Arturo’s TKO loss to Oscar De La Hoya in 2001; at 147 pounds), while the flamboyant one has been in with - and soundly defeated - great champions: Genaro Hernandez, Jesus Chavez, Diego Corrales, Jose Luis Castillo (twice) and DeMarcus Corley.
Forget that.
Also forget all the "good guy vs. bad guy" stuff, forget the fighter’s guarantees: "I’m gonna punish Gatti" and "I’m going to knock Floyd the f#*k out", forget Buddy McGirt’s talk about Floyd’s medulla oblongata, forget Mayweather’s posse, forget that Gatti is a 4-1 or 5-1 betting underdog, and also try to forget that "Gatti’s house", the sold-out Atlantic City Boardwalk Convention Hall will be jammed pack with 15,000+ ravenous fans in support of their hero; "Mr. Blood & Guts, Mr. Honor & Respect" Arturo Gatti.
None of that will matter come Saturday night when the fight’s opening bell rings.
It’s Floyd Mayweather - alone, vs. Arturo Gatti, alone.
No backup, no crew, no posse, no entourage, no help.
HBO pay-per-view (a first for both fighters), Michael Buffer, and one of the most highly anticipated dream fights of the year. The bigness of the event surely won’t bother either fighter.
This is Gatti’s nineteenth Atlantic City appearance, his sixth consecutive sold-out fight at the Boardwalk Hall; which has affectionately been dubbed as "Gatti’s house".
Mayweather was born and bred to be a fighter. Taught to lace up a pair of boxing gloves before learning to tie his shoes, the Mayweather pedigree left no other career option. Sternly taught by his father Floyd Sr. and finely tuned by uncle Roger, Floyd Jr., the child prodigy, has been cultivated into the purest art form of the sweet science.
They say speed kills, which makes Mayweather the deadliest technician in the ring today.
Up until now the "Mayweather express" has had a smooth, championship-filled ride; with only a couple minor bumps along the way: a closer than expected struggle against Jose Luis Castillo in their first bout and getting tagged by DeMarcus "Chop-Chop" Corley in their 2004 fight.
Mayweather won both fights by unanimous decision.
The Gatti roadmap to success has not been the cruise control route taken by Mayweather.
Born in Canada, brought up in a loving, working class family with a hardcore boxing fan father, Arturo’s uprooting to the states, along with older brother Joe, to hone their skills and box professionally seemed only natural.
Earning a loyal fan base with his "fight of the year" bouts, old school throwback style and returning to the top after being written off, Gatti has worked hard and earned all he has gotten from boxing.
Bonding with same-type story trainer Buddy McGirt, only solidified "Team Gatti", which always consisted of manager Pat Lynch, cutman Joe Souza, and close friend/chief second Mike Skowronski.
The stage is now set, the bad feelings are mutual, and the story will be told Saturday night. All the talk, and re-talk, about styles, plans, strategies comes down to the art of pugilism in it’s simplest form:
Can Arturo Gatti, the talented boxer: not the slugger, not the brawler, withstand Mayweather’s potent offensive attack and use his skills to not let Floyd get too flamboyant, not let him fight too easy, and make him EARN and WORK for everything he gets?
Can Arturo Gatti make his most talented opponent see what it is like when the rabbit gets the gun?
It’s almost easy, and fun, when you are beating up on someone and looking awesome in the process…Floyd Mayweather has never been in a difficult situation, he’s never truly been hurt, and he’s never had to dig down deep - to see if he has what it takes.
Arturo Gatti’s destiny and legacy is in his own hands; and I’m sure he likes it that way!