"WHAT WILL HAPPEN AFTER WARD-GATTI II?"  By Darren Yates from Down Under

 

As the rematch of the year approaches close, I have been wondering as a Kostya Tszyu fan whether the winner of this bout will get an opportunity to face the undisputed champion after Jesse James Leija. I may sound confident or maybe arrogant that Tszyu will defeat Leija, but that is another story and I'll address this closer towards their bout in January!

Both Micky Ward and Arturo Gatti have indicated they would like to fight Tszyu should they be successfull this coming weekend. In recent interviews both men have stated that they don't want to look past this fight and that is understandable. Logic would say the winner should face the undisputed champ and I feel the winner DESERVES to face Tszyu and even more importantly the fans deserve to see the winner face Tszyu!

There are a few hurdles to overcome before this can happen. Firstly there is the WBC who seems hell bent on making Tszyu fight the undeserving Gianluca Branco who is their No.1 contender. People have asked me what do I have against Branco. The answer is not much, he is undefeated with 29 victories and seems on paper to be credible. My problem is he hasn't really earnt this ranking, he seems to be getting some extra favours from the WBC. Branco could change my mind by defeating Ricky Hatton or even a Ben Tackie.

Secondly, there is HBO. I am sure that this weekend's bout will end in either a draw or a points win for Arturo Gatti. Why, because HBO will then be able to through more money at Gatti & Ward to have a rubber match. The only way Ward can win this time around is by KO, I'll be very surprised if he gets the decision this time around. I can't imagine HBO letting Gatti fight Tszyu on Showtime for the title if he is victorious this weekend. No, they will be selfish and self serving and offer big money for another rematch.

This by no means is a bad thing, 3 Gatti-Ward bouts has to beat 3 Holyfield-Ruiz bouts! Also if this happens, I will be happy for the fighters to be getting the money they deserve at last! I would be disappointed to see Branco or Mitchell get the next bout with Tszyu when the winner of this bout is the most deserving. I do beleive Mitchell kissed any chance goodbye with his unbelievable comments after his bout with Phillips.

As it stands here are the fighters in order that I feel deserve a shot at Tszyu after Leija:

1.) Micky Ward
2.) Arturo Gatti
3.) Vivian Harris
4.) Ricky Hatton
5.) Zab Judah

Obviously should Gatti win on the weekend (I think he will) he and Ward will trade places. Vivian Harris surpised a lot of people including myself considering I had never seen him fight before. Ricky Hatton has worked hard over the last year and deserves to fight Branco for the WBC No.1 slot and a shot at Tszyu; let's hope the WBC mandates this early next year! Finally Zab Judah, who looked impressive against the tough Omar Weiss. Should Zab overcome his legal issues with Main Events, we might see him up against Sharmba Mitchell. Apparantly Mitchell called Zab a "Gayboy" on TV, I can't comment I have only heard this second hand. If it happens, I'll pick Judah as he has way too much heart and punches harder. I wouldn't be surprised if Mitchell quit on his stool again when the going gets tough.