Why do Floyd Fans compare Hatton to Gatti ?

[DIOS DOMINICANO]

Karmazin could beat Oscar as well as Forrest possibly.

And yes Oscar is washed up. The guy lost 3 of his last 5 fights going into the Floyd fight. He beat Mayorga who is nothing more than a punching bag.

A prime Oscar would have destroyed Mayweather. The bottom line is Oscar wanted to win the fight but didnt want it bad enough. He faded down the stretch and went away from the jab.

karmazin who got beat by Spinks??


If Oscar is washed up, why did NOBODY notice this during sparing, training, 24/7 or during the fight? In fact, the universal assessment was that Oscar looked very good.

QUESTION: If Oscar was fighting Hatton on december 8th, what would the odds be?

[Mozza]

Baldomir earned everything he got in the ring. He beat Judah and demolished Gatti.

mayweather did what mayweather does. Alot of guys have been shut down by Floyd, so there's no shame in that. And baldomir went on to further establish his bona fides by fighting Vernon Forrest tough at 154.

That would be the equivalent on Castillo coming back to take on a tough WW. What's the likelihood of that happening?

Baldomir demolished Gatti my arse. Baldomir struggled past a badly faded fighter in a mildly entertaining fight.

Actually, Baldomir stepping up to fight Forrest is nothing like Castillo returning to fight at welterweight. Castillo has fought at featherweight, super-featherweight, lightweight and light-welterweight. As far as I know Baldomir has only ever fought at welterweight so what Baldomir done is something Castillo has done several times. And for the record, Baldomir was outclassed once again when he fought Forrest though it was marginally more competitive than the snooze-fest with Money Mayweather.

[DIOS DOMINICANO]

Baldomir demolished Gatti my arse. Baldomir struggled past a badly faded fighter in a mildly entertaining fight.

Actually, Baldomir stepping up to fight Forrest is nothing like Castillo returning to fight at welterweight. Castillo has fought at featherweight, super-featherweight, lightweight and light-welterweight. As far as I know Baldomir has only ever fought at welterweight so what Baldomir done is something Castillo has done several times. And for the record, Baldomir was outclassed once again when he fought Forrest though it was marginally more competitive than the snooze-fest with Money Mayweather.

two years ago, Castillo failed to make weight and was 149 on fight day. PBF has NEVER been 149 on fight day. And Foyd fought at WW/JMW.

Four years ago, castillo was a WW before he stripped down.

Five years ago, PBF moved up and fought Castillo - who was then a very big LW.

so, um, yeah. That comparison is fine.

[Mozza]

two years ago, Castillo failed to make weight and was 149 on fight day. PBF has NEVER been 149 on fight day. And Foyd fought at WW/JMW.

Four years ago, castillo was a WW before he stripped down.

Five years ago, PBF moved up and fought Castillo - who was then a very big LW.

so, um, yeah. That comparison is fine.

Baldomir is naturally bigger than Castillo and someone who has moved through four weight divisions is clearly different to someone who is moving up for the first time.

[Easy-E]

Baldomir demolished Gatti my arse. Baldomir struggled past a badly faded fighter in a mildly entertaining fight.

Actually, Baldomir stepping up to fight Forrest is nothing like Castillo returning to fight at welterweight. Castillo has fought at featherweight, super-featherweight, lightweight and light-welterweight. As far as I know Baldomir has only ever fought at welterweight so what Baldomir done is something Castillo has done several times. And for the record, Baldomir was outclassed once again when he fought Forrest though it was marginally more competitive than the snooze-fest with Money Mayweather.

Baldomir was clearly winning and dropped Gatti twice en route to a 9th round stoppage...
How is that not demolishing?

[Easy-E]

Karmazin could beat Oscar as well as Forrest possibly.

And yes Oscar is washed up. The guy lost 3 of his last 5 fights going into the Floyd fight. He beat Mayorga who is nothing more than a punching bag.

A prime Oscar would have destroyed Mayweather. The bottom line is Oscar wanted to win the fight but didnt want it bad enough. He faded down the stretch and went away from the jab.

Youve got to be kidding me.
What a terrible, terrible post.

[tredh]

how does someone with terrible defences win 43 fights and not lose one?

By doing what he has to do to win. Sometimes and against certain fighters strong offense is your best defense.
Most important of all is just because Hatton hasn't lost doesn't mean his defense isn't terrible.

[Mozza]

Baldomir was clearly winning and dropped Gatti twice en route to a 9th round stoppage...
How is that not demolishing?

Baldomir was clearly winning nothing.

[DIOS DOMINICANO]

Baldomir was clearly winning nothing.

ATLANTIC CITY (AP) — Carlos Baldomir beat Arturo Gatti at his own game, and may have ended the popular fighter's career.
Criticized for not having the punching power to handle Gatti's street-brawling style, Baldomir tattooed him with a steady stream of punches that culminated in a ninth-round knockout Saturday night in Baldomir's first defense of his WBC welterweight title.

The Argentine journeyman silenced a sellout crowd that had come to see Gatti, one of Atlantic City's most popular fighters, but the Jersey City resident was outclassed from the start.

Afterward, Gatti (40-8) didn't take questions from reporters but said, "I don't know if I'm ever going to fight again. I had a good time doing it."

Gatti had said in January that he would have retired if he had lost to unbeaten Dane Thomas Damgaard. But his performance in beating Damgaard and his desire to win a belt in a third weight class — he won the IBF junior lightweight title in 1995 and the WBC junior welterweight belt two years ago — changed his mind.

It wasn't enough against Baldomir (43-9-6), who was fighting for the first time since stunning Zab Judah on Jan. 7 to win the WBC belt. He pummeled Gatti through the first five rounds and sent him to the canvas twice in the final round after hemming him in on the ropes and savaging him with a flurry of punches.

By midway through the fight, Gotti had cuts on his lip and under his right eye, and by the middle of the fifth round, appeared dazed.

"I did say that I was a stronger puncher than Gatti before the fight and I could tell in the first two or three rounds that I was," Baldomir said. "The punches Gatti was throwing didn't hurt me at all. When he put his left hand down, I just knew I could hit him with the right."

Gatti rallied in the middle rounds and appeared to have gotten a foothold in the fight until the ninth round, although he was trailing on all three judges' cards through eight rounds.


"I tried to box him," Gatti said. "He's just very strong, and he was getting stronger as the fight went on. He had my style down. He's a strong guy. I guess I just tried too hard to knock him out early."

Baldomir held an edge in punches landed with 267 of 562 (48 percent) compared to 36% (161-of-445) for Gatti.

[DIOS DOMINICANO]

Baldomir was clearly winning nothing.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Carlos Baldomir, unheralded no more, came into hostile territory and slew hometown hero Arturo Gatti.



Mel Evans /AP Photo

Carlos Baldomir, not known for his power, celebrates vanquishing Arturo Gatti for his 13th knockout.

Baldomir, an unknown when he upset Zab Judah to win the welterweight championship in January, didn't sneak up on anyone this time.

Gatti showed him the utmost respect during the buildup to the fight, and then he was humbled by him during the fight.

Baldomir went right at Gatti from the opening bell, eventually blasting him out with an impressive display of power punching to retain the title with a ninth-round TKO Saturday night.

"I did say I was stronger than Gatti before the fight and I could tell in the first two or three rounds that I was," Baldomir said. "The punches Gatti was throwing didn't hurt me at all. When he put his left hand down, I just knew I could hit him with the right."

Baldomir, of Argentina, hit Gatti with both hands all night. It was a shock to nearly all of the 12,763 fans who packed the sold-out Boardwalk Hall when he flattened Gatti with about 25 seconds left in the ninth.

Baldomir, 35, had been hammering Gatti along the ropes when he landed a flush left hook. Gatti was up at the count of four, but Baldomir attacked again.

This time, Baldomir landed a brutal six-punch combination that dropped Gatti again in the corner, and referee Wayne Hedgepeth -- whom the Baldomir camp protested when he was assigned to the match -- called it off without a count at 2:50.


Baldomir (43-9-6, 13 KOs), certainly not known for his power, landed 40 of 80 power punches in the ninth round, according to CompuBox statistics.

Overall, he landed 267 of 562 blows (48 percent), while Gatti was limited to landing just 161 of 445 punches (36 percent).

Gatti (40-8) had little answer for Baldomir's offense, and he trailed on all three scorecards at the time of the knockout.


Gatti


"I tried to box him," Gatti said. "He's just very strong and he was getting stronger as the fight went along. He had my style down. He's a strong guy. I tried too hard to knock him out early."

Gatti, 34, was aiming to win his third world title after previously winning belts at junior lightweight and junior welterweight. That he even got the opportunity was improbable.

After Floyd Mayweather crushed Gatti last summer to take his 140-pound belt, Gatti moved up to welterweight and looked refreshed in January when he easily dismantled contender Thomas Damgaard.

That win, combined with Baldomir's shocker over Judah a few weeks earlier, led to a most unexpected title shot for Gatti.

Three rounds into the fight, it looked like he would have been better off without it. When Gatti smashed Baldomir with a solid right hand, he didn't move. Instead, Baldomir smiled at Gatti and threw his own shots back.

They spent the final few moments of the round trading to the delight of the fans, but Baldomir got in the best shot, rocking Gatti with a left hook and opening a small cut under his right eye just before the round ended.

Baldomir had a huge fifth round. He hurt Gatti and landed almost at will, and it appeared like he might get a stoppage. Gatti, however, fought valiantly off the ropes while Baldomir continued to rain shots on him. In all, Baldomir landed 51 of 79 power shots in the round.

Gatti's punches just didn't seem to have much steam on them.

Baldomir, making a strong case for fighter of the year, now wants to face pound-for-pound king Mayweather, who is searching for a Nov. 4 opponent.

"Now it is up to the public to see that I am a real champion," said Baldomir, who is trained by 84-year-old Amilcar Brusa, who once guided the career of Argentine legend Carlos Monzon, the Hall of Famer and former middleweight champ. "As of now, I say to Mayweather, 'I am the true champion.'"

Baldomir earned $1.4 million, a huge increase over the previous career-high $100,000 he earned against Judah. While Baldomir is in line for another major payday, Gatti, who earned at least $2 million, might just be finished after a decade of ups and downs and thrills and spills.

Boxing's ultimate blood and guts warrior, who was making a remarkable 20th appearance on HBO, now seems willing to concede that he may have come to the end of the road.

"I don't know what I am going to do yet, but after this performance I will definitely think about [retirement]," Gatti said.

Dan Rafael is the boxing writer for ESPN.com