For all you Gatti Fans

HBO has put a black hat on Floyd Mayweather for Saturday's bout with Arturo Gatti. If talent were the only measuring stick, Floyd Mayweather Jr. would be the biggest star in boxing. He was blessed with magnificent hand speed, cat-like quickness, superb reflexes and feet so nimble that he moves around the ring like Nureyev across a stage. Inside the ring, Mayweather is so gifted that he doesn't have a blemish on his record (33-0, 22 KOs), which gives him the distinction of being the only undefeated boxer under contract to HBO. Outside the ring, there are enough blights on Mayweather's personal record that he is being painted as "the bad guy" in his Pay-Per-View match against WBC 140-pound champ Arturo Gatti at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City on Saturday. It is part of the reason that he hasn't achieved the measure of stardom that he should have at this point in his career. In its preview show for the Pay-Per-View match, HBO decided to profile both Mayweather and Gatti. Gatti is portrayed as a blood and guts hero, while Mayweather is presented as a materialistic, misogynistic bully. "It was totally disrespectful," Mayweather said before climbing into the ring for a workout at Kingsway Gym in Chelsea yesterday. "They totally disrespected me, they disrespected my family, they disrespected my mother and they disrespected my kids. I make mistakes. I'm only human. I don't want nobody to judge me on what I do outside the ring." Mayweather asked why HBO didn't bring up Gatti's checkered past, which includes several DUI charges, threats against police officers in Miami in 1997, a Florida assault in which he hit a man over the head so hard that he tore loose the staples in the guy's hair implant surgery in 1998 and a cocaine and alcohol-fueled sexual assault against his girlfriend in 1998. That charge was later dropped when the woman recanted. "When they talk about all these alcohol-related incidents, they don't bring up any of those things," Mayweather said. Mayweather is right. There should have been full disclosure by HBO. And while Mayweather's incidents are fresher - he pled no contest to assault charges in March stemming from a bar fight in his hometown in Grand Rapids last December - both boxers should have been profiled with warts and all. No one is suggesting that a blind eye should be turned to any boxer's misdeeds outside the ring. But they should be kept in context and they should be balanced against the misdeeds - past and present - of his opponent. There aren't a lot of choirboys in boxing, which makes you wonder about HBO's decision to put a black hat on Mayweather, arguably the network's most gifted prizefighter. Boxing is always willing to forgive most sins outside the ring if a boxer produces thrills inside the ring. See Mike Tyson, who was convicted of rape; Diego Corrales, who punched his pregnant wife in the stomach and spent nearly two years in prison for it; and even Gatti, who sells out every time he sets foot into the ring at Boardwalk Hall. It seems Mayweather's biggest crime to date is that he hasn't had a defining fight - though he has beaten Genaro Hernandez, Angel Manfredy, Jose Luis Castillo (twice) and Corrales. But at 28 years old, his future is definitely in front of him. Operating in the 140-pound division, the hottest spot in boxing, Mayweather can look forward to future matches against IBF champ Ricky Hatton, WBO champ Miguel Cotto, former champ Kostya Tszyu, and WBA champ Vivian Harris. And here is the possibility of moving up to welterweight, where Shane Mosley and undisputed champ Zab Judah await. If Mayweather beats Gatti in the first pay-per-view event of either of their careers, then the sky is the limit. And if he puts together a string of impressive pay-per-view victories and becomes a cash cow for HBO, I wonder how they will portray him then. Hello, stranger WBA 140-pound champ Harris (25-1-1, 17 KOs) will meet Carlos Moussa (17-2, 15 KOs) on the undercard of Gatti-Mayweather. It will be the first time that Harris has fought someone other than Oktay Urkal in two years. Harris had to defend his title against Urkal twice last year. He was supposed to fight Hatton, but couldn't work out the financial arrangements. Instead, Hatton fought Tszyu two weeks ago. It's funny how everyone talks about Floyd's past, but neglect to mention Gatti's. So in essence, Gatti's no better than Floyd in that regard.