By Johnny Ortiz
 
The Super Lightweight title bout between Arturo “Thunder” Gatti and “The San Antonio Kid,” Jesse James Leija, this Saturday night on HBO is such an intriguing fight that even the legendary heroes and foes of Greek Mythology, Achilles and Homer, who confronted one another in the first Super Fight, would have enjoyed and appreciated this exciting confrontation.  Like the ancient warriors of old, Arturo and Jesse are ready to lay it all on the line, giving everything they have until the very end.   

They are both consummate professionals, this fight should have been made years ago, but then…better late than never.  Arturo and Jesse are very good friends and have an abundance of respect for one another.  Arturo has opened as a 2-1 favorite, given their boxing background, and barring the fight is stopped due to cuts, I think it could turn out to be a closer fight than most people anticipate.   

The one factor that might play into the fight in Arturo’s favor is the fact that he is six years younger than Jesse.  “The San Antonio Kid” will be forty on July 8, 2005.  There was a time that it was unheard of for most lower class fighters to be still fighting at that age.  Jesse James is the exception to the rule; he stays in shape all year around.  As age favors Gatti, his history of hurting his hands could play into Lieja’s favor.  Damaged hands are the price a lot of heavy-handed punchers pay.  Only time will tell if the surgery Arturo had done on the right hand he injured in the fifth round of his fight with Branco will have any significance on the fight.  Also worth noting is the fact that Arturo has engaged in more brutal wars than has Jesse.  You would think the three vicious fights with Mickey Ward would have taken some sort of toll on Arturo, but off of his last two fights, Thunder does not seem to be none the worse for wear. 

Another interesting side note is the fact that once upon a time, a Gatti or a Lieja fight wouldn’t be a fight without them engaging in a bloodbath, the bad thing was that it was usually their blood that was shed.  Things have changed somewhat for the better since they both had surgical procedures.  In his last fight on July 24, 2004, Jesse fought ten hard rounds against young, up and coming, hard-punching Francisco “Panchito” Bojado.  Surviving a second round knockdown, Jesse rallied to pull out a close, split decision.  He came out of the fight without his customary bad, bleeding cuts.  The win earned Jesse the fight with Arturo Gatti.  

Since trainer Buddy McGirt took over training Arturo, he has him going back to the days when he excelled in using his boxing ability, Arturo went 12 rounds with Gianluca Branco in winning his title, he then went two rounds with Leonard Dorin in Atlantic City, blowing out Dorin with a tremendous body shot.  After the fight, Arturo was heard saying that he couldn’t believe he didn’t have to go to the hospital to get stitched up or have his hands x-rayed, as was the custom after nearly every fight.  I can recall the times Arturo had to rely on his booming left hook to win a fight he was losing due to the flowing blood as a result of cuts.  These fights when he had to come from behind to win, earned him the nickname, “Mr. Excitement.” 

The problem I have always had in boxing is that sometimes I become too attached to a particular fighter.  Over the years, I have had both Arturo and Jesse on my radio show many, many times.  I can say unequivocally that both of them are two of the finest young men I have ever dealt with in all of my years in boxing.  I broke bread with Jesse, his beautiful wife and my producer and right hand man, Danny Lujan, following the last time Jesse co-hosted my show at the ESPN Zone in Downtown Disney.  Jesse has such a delightful demeanor and is so very articulate for a fighter; I suggested that when his fighting days are over, he should seriously think of running for some kind of office in his hometown of San Antonio.

The last time I had Arturo on the show, I gave him my customary introduction, I do this before bringing on my live guests.  The very next day, Arturo’s PR man called Danny Lujan and told him that Arturo had relayed to him that the kind words I had said about him were the nicest things anyone had ever said about him.  I was very flattered, but truth be known…“Arturo, the truth is never a compliment, you are everything I said you were, and more.”

So you see, I will be sitting this one out.  Seeing my two good friends fight one another is something I really do not cherish watching.  Of course, I will watch it; a great boxing match such as this is something I cannot turn away from.  I will pray and ask that you, who are reading this, to join me in saying a prayer that they both emerge from their confrontation without any serious injuries.

It will not be the first time I sat a fight out; by sitting a fight out, I mean I do not root for a particular fighter.  I have done so in the past with fights that included:  Danny Lopez vs. Bobby Chacon, Mando Ramos vs. Raul Rojas, Ray Mancini vs. Bobby Chacon, Roberto Duran vs. Pipino Cuevas, and most recently, Oscar De La Hoya vs. Fernando Vargas.  I’m not saying I didn’t know who would win; I just did not voice it publicly.

This is a championship bout that fight fans will enjoy, two great, legendary champions meeting for the first time.  For Jesse to win, he has to use his head by trying to outthink Arturo, while staying on the move and using his vast experience by tying up Arturo whenever he gets close enough to unload his heavy bombs.  Jesse is a smart, excellent boxer with some fair power in his punches.  He has to try to outbox Arturo by sticking and moving, and by beating Arturo to the punch.

Arturo on the other side of the coin, must also use the wonderful boxing ability he has resurrected, he must try to press Jesse into making mistakes whereupon he can unload his big left hook or his right hand.  It may not be as easy as it sounds, Thunder must also try to outthink his crafty adversary.  Look for Arturo to try landing his body shots, the kind that KO’d Dorin.  Anyway you look at it, this fight has all the makings of a “Fight of the Year” candidate. 

I’m not going to go into stats, records or quotes; this fight does not need any of that.  Those things will go out the window when they meet in the center of the ring on Saturday night.  This fight does not need any hype; it is what is known in fight terms as “a natural.”   

Keep in mind that these two brave little warriors could have fought in any era.  They could have been right there with Henry Armstrong, Tony Canzoneri, Barney Ross and Beau Jack just to name a few of the great old-timers.  One thing is for sure, Arturo Gatti’s style of seek and destroy would have been right up their alley. 

I would like to take this time to thank HBO for telecasting this great fight in Atlantic City without charging for it.  I’m sure there isn’t a real fight fan that I know that wouldn’t have paid to see this fight.  The winner could conceivably be matched in the near future with Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a big, money fight.

In closing, I implore all fight fans not to miss this wonderful matchup. 

Arturo Gatti, everyone’s favorite, exciting fighter, and Jesse James Lieja, also known as “The Professor,” are two great champions who have thrilled us all for a very long, long time.  They are both rounding the bend and heading for home, from start to finish; I look for these two classic warriors to put on a classic fight. 

It will be a long time before we see the likes of Arturo “Thunder” Gatti and “The San Antonio Kid,” Jesse James Lieja.  May the best man win…and may the loser be consoled.

Speaking of Floyd Mayweather Jr., I have to now change my earlier assessment of the talented, Super Lightweight.  In the past, I really wasn’t that high on him, it’s not that I didn’t think he was an extremely gifted fighter, I just didn’t like his style of fighting, and I wasn’t very big on his trash-talking and the trouble that seemed to constantly follow him around. 

My being someone who is extremely family orientated, it bothered me when he bought his father a car, then took it back, or the time he kicked him out of his home.  That said…Floyd made a real believer of me last Saturday night when he methodically took apart Henry Bruseles in Miami, stopping him in the eighth round.  After the fight, I read and heard that Bruseles was being referred to as an inferior fighter.  I beg to differ, on the contrary, Henry is a very good fighter, the reason I changed my mind about “Pretty Boy” is how easily he beat a good fighter.  It wasn’t that Bruseles was inferior; it was simply a case of Floyd being that good. 

In my estimation, Floyd is now a complete fighter, sure, I still think that Jose Luis Castillo beat him in their first confrontation, but this is now.  The Floyd Mayweather Jr. I saw Saturday night is turning into a sensational fighting machine.  He is going to be very hard to beat at the Super Lightweight limit.   

Instead of running throughout a fight, he now moves around, giving him more angles and looks.  He studies his opponent’s style until he sees and capitalizes on the weaknesses in his armor; it is then he moves in with extremely fast hands, throwing combinations from both sides of the plate.  Like Muhammad Ali before him, Floyd is not a big puncher, but he is capable of throwing and landing so many punches ala Ali, that even the toughest of the toughest will eventually fold as did Henry Bruseles.

To say I was impressed is an understatement.  Floyd Mayweather Jr., being so young, has a bright future in boxing.  I will admit when I am wrong, it’s just that I had never seen him put it all together the way he did on Saturday night.   

If Pretty Boy keeps out of trouble, the sky’s the limit for the young kid who most definitely belongs among the top three best pound for pound fighters.

UNTIL THE NEXT ROUND…PEACE AND GOD BLESS!