Gatti

[Jamie harris]

Was Arturo gatti one of boxing greatest warriors or technically a flawed, pub drunk fighter? Was Mickey ward ever the cream of the crop and proper champion? My thoughts are gatti wasn't the best by a mile but had balls, ward I think personally was ****!

[billeau2]

Was Arturo gatti one of boxing greatest warriors or technically a flawed, pub drunk fighter? Was Mickey ward ever the cream of the crop and proper champion? My thoughts are gatti wasn't the best by a mile but had balls, ward I think personally was ****!

If we deconstruct boxing eventually we get the act of punching a man in the face. When we start to add social context to that, we get an art, a way to demonstrate perfection, bravery, technical ability, and to achieve victory in the eyes of others.

Is there room in boxing for more than the guy who can punch you in the face the best? We certainly know Sugar Ray Robinson was an archetype for what a great fighter should be...but what about a guy who somehow rises to the top? wind accolades, even though he is not such a natural...a guy who the common man can relate to? Full of piss and vinegar, with courage to spare, and with the spirit to press on, even in the face of danger and adversity.

We always had fighters like Toney Galenta, Gene Fullmore, and the mythical Rocky Balboa (who is in the HOF by the way lol), more recently guys like Bobby Chaz... guys who got by more on spirit than ability.

Gatti and Ward represent that spirit. They are special because they represent a connection to the common man. in this respect both guys are indeed deserving of accolodes in the boxing community. Heres the thing: Galenta, Fullmore, Chaz, Gatti, Ward, ALL had exceptional skills as well. They just were not the top level when it came to ATG in boxing. So all these guys were decent fighters, some excellent fighters, including Gatti. Every fighter is flawed... la motta, to many a crude brawler ( a misconception) managed to beat Robinson... as far as technical ability, even fighters that look like crude fighters do not excel at the top level. You just have to watch carefully to catch some of the technical details supposed" "crude fighters" use effectively. No club fighter could make a name for himself at the top like Gatti did.

[Jamie harris]

I think gatti had very little skill thb! His foot work was bad and his hands always so low (not as low as froch). He was a favourite at the boardwalk Atlanta I think more of publicity than ability.

[Elroy The Great]

he had a very good chin and better than average recoop power. thing is, he failed when he stepped up in class. a few more manfredys and his career would have been shot.

[DeLorean]

Arturo Gatti vs Ruslan Provodnikov would've been a bloodbath

[Elroy The Great]

Arturo Gatti vs Ruslan Provodnikov would've been a bloodbath

ruslan would have broken gatti down.
gatti vs rios...more of a fair fight.

imho

[Real King Kong]

Was Arturo gatti one of boxing greatest warriors or technically a flawed, pub drunk fighter? Was Mickey ward ever the cream of the crop and proper champion? My thoughts are gatti wasn't the best by a mile but had balls, ward I think personally was ****!

Ward was actually more of a boxer in the amateurs i read somewhere. He just wasn't as good as the very best in the world...no reason to call him ****. He found other ways to win and had a chin and heart that were on par with anyone in the history of the sport. Great left hook to the body too.