While Arturo Gatti is still known as the “blood and guts” champion, that description seems to no longer be accurate or to suit his style of fighting. Today in Atlantic City, New Jersey Gatti put on an impressive exhibition of his boxing skills as he out-boxed and outgunned the crafty veteran James Leija.

The fight began with Gatti trying to establish his jab which he did very successfully early on in the first round. While Leija tried to jab with Gatti it was obvious that the shorter Leija lacked the range to do so effectively or at least enough to make Gatti’s jab less of a factor. In a tactical first round Gatti threw jab after jab keeping Leija on the outside where the smaller fighter was out of his punching range and unable to land anything meaningful as he tried to land his signature overhand rights.

In round 2 Gatti continued to dominate by simply relying on his beautiful jab which was enough to keep Leija off balance and unable to get inside where he can land his punches. Although James Leija did land a few overhand rights they were too few and too far in between to change the momentum of the fight in any way. In round 3 and 4 Gatti sensing that Leija lacked the punching power to hurt him began to let his hands go more and more while still cautiously fighting behind the jab and not getting careless. James Leija  unable to get around Gatti’s jab remained largely on the defensive, unwilling or most likely unable to put together anything resembling an effective combination.

In round 5 a perfectly placed Gatti right hand thrown behind a jab dropped Leija to the canvas. Unable to see the punch coming because of Gatti’s jabs, Leija went down hard and was visibly hurt. Somehow he got off the canvas barely beating the count and continued to fight. Gatti seeing the opportunity to end the fight turned into his former brawler self as he opened up on Leija with every punch in his impressive arsenal. A furious exchange followed with Gatti doing most of the damage and finally landing a left hook on the top of Leija’s head which sent him tumbling to the canvas for the second time in the round. This time, however, Leija was unable to beat the ten count, forcing the referee to call an end to the fight. The official time of the knockout was 1minute and 48 seconds of round number 5.

Whether Arturo Gatti decides to brawl or to box, one thing is for sure and that is his fans will continue to love him no matter what. After seeing today the way Gatti used his boxing skills to win the fight it is hard to believe that he was ever a brawler. While his fights no longer have that “Rocky movie” appeal, he still remains one of the most exciting fighters around. If the Mayweather fight ever materializes we might get to see the best of Arturo Gatti who never disappoints his fans, win or lose.