By Frank Lotierzo
 
The fight was billed "Thunder and Lightning," depicting Arturo Gatti's power and Floyd Mayweather's speed. When the fight concluded, it was more the case of skill over will.  In his first fight in front of a National audience, Floyd Mayweather beat Arturo Gatti in a pure mismatch  to win the WBC light welterweight title tonight at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. Gatti, who it could be said was fighting in his backyard, having fought 19 times in Atlantic City before taking on Mayweather, couldn't come up with any answers to solve Mayweather's blistering attack of jabs, crosses and hooks.
 
Mayweather was landing punches at will for the entire 6 round contest. Floyd predicted that the fight would be easy and that prediction was an understatement. Gatti was dropped by Mayweather in the first round. The left eye of Gatti was swelling after the second round. After a few more rounds of brutal one sided action, both eyes of Gatti were swelling shut. After the end of the sixth round, Gatti's trainer Buddy McGirt had seen enough and stopped the fight. Floyd silenced the pro-Gatti crowd and most critics that predicted that Mayweather did not have the power to stop Arturo Gatti.

The bar in which Mayweather is measured has been high since he turned pro after winning a Bronze Medal at the 1996 Olympics. With his victory over Gatti, Mayweather has now won world titles in three different weight classes, (130, 135, 140) and it's likely we'll see him fight for the welterweight title in the not to distance future. What made this fight special for Mayweather was it was his first time being the lead attraction of a PPV boxing card. Something he has been clamoring for since he won his first world title in October of 1998.
 
It was paramount for Mayweather to shine in front of a National audience. In the past Mayweather appeared to struggle within himself to find the fighting style he felt best suited him. Early in his career he fought cautious and seldom took many chances, depending on his speed and instincts to neutralize his opponent. In his last two fights against De Marcus Corley and Henry Bruseles, Mayweather tried to be more of a crowd pleaser. Knowing that boxing fans want to see action-packed and exciting fights, the reason Arturo Gatti has such a massive fan base. Mayweather fought more reckless looking to score one punch knockouts in the hopes of winning over his own fan base. Tonight against Gatti he seemed to find the right balance in mixing precision boxing and measured aggression to overwhelm the never say die Gatti.  Now that Gatti is behind him, Mayweather will look to bigger challenges capitalizing on his new found notoriety.
 
Leading up to his bout with Gatti, Mayweather drew comparisons to Hall-of-Famer Sugar Ray Leonard for his speed, defense and deceptive power. Bob Arum, who promoted some of Leonard's bouts and signed Mayweather after the 1996 Olympics said "Floyd Mayweather in terms of talent is on the same level as Sugar Ray Leonard and is better than Roy Jones because he was more skillful, Jones survived on athletic ability, technically he was not correct." What both Arum and Mayweather would like is for him to be paid like Sugar Ray Leonard was. When judged on natural talent alone, the comparison to Leonard is not outrageous. What is outrageous is the huge discrepancy in the PPV sales generated by them in their first eight years as a pro.
 
What Mayweather needs is a few signature fights to add to his career body of work. One of Sugar Ray Leonard's signature fights was against knockout artist Thomas Hearns, who he stopped in the fourteenth round. For Mayweather, his Thomas Hearns could be Miguel Cotto. Cotto (24-0 20-kos) is the current WBO light welterweight champ and is a very tough boxer puncher. In his last fight he fought with his back to the ropes before stopping Mohamad Abdulaev's in the ninth round. Many boxing fans and insiders believe Mayweather and Cotto will meet in a super-fight rivaling Leonard-Hearns and De La Hoya-Trinidad.
 
As to what lies ahead for Gatti, it's his call. He is one of the few fighters who doesn't need a title belt around his waist to draw fans out while earning million dollar paychecks. Gatti will not be forever remembered for his huge heart fighting every fight with determination of a man willing to die. No doubt if he wanted to he could sellout Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic city in six months fighting the main event against a fighter whose name appears in some ABC organizations top-15.
 
Before the fight Mayweather hurled plenty of insults at Gatti, but he should thank Gatti for putting him on the map as a PPV fighter. Mayweather has said that he's on the same level as Sugar Ray Leonard in terms of talent, knows when it comes to star power and fan interest he's not in the same universe. In professional boxing, winning multiple titles look good and add to a fighters resume and boost his bragging rights, but Mayweather would give up a couple ABC titles for being boxing's pound-for-pound champ as a pay-per-view attraction.