Arturo Gatti will never be mistaken for one of boxing's all time great technicians or defensive fighters; but, he will be remembered for a lot of other things. He will be remembered as an action star, a fighter with nearly too much heart for his own good. At times, Gatti seemed to be a fighter lost in the wrong era of boxing. He seemed better suited to have fought during the 1950s or 60s, when his fighting style was more commonly seen. He was truly old school, and I, along with many other boxing fans, will gravely miss him.

     I'm a bit torn on the issue, because even though I'm sad to see Arturo go, I'm very happy he's retiring. In fact, he probably should have retired after his loss to Carlos Baldomir. In that fight, like in his recent loss to Alfonso Gomez, Gatti just couldn't steer clear of punches. He couldn't even avoid shots from Baldomir, who most consider to be pretty slow. Not that Gatti was ever tremendous at avoiding punches, but you could see his reflexes were not there, and he was just taking unnecessary punishment. He came in tremendous shape for both fights, and his legs were with him, but his reflexes were just shot. He was getting hit in alarming percentages, and even when he tried his typical Gatti comebacks, the magic just wasn't there. It's time, it's time for the gunslinger to hang up his gloves. Though I'm sad he's gone, I'm happy he's retiring. The last thing that any of his fans would want to see is Arturo having trouble with his health or speech like so many boxers have had when their careers end.

     Many will now argue whether Gatti is worth of being a Hall of Famer. To be honest, I really don't care, he's a hall of famer in my book. He's a guy I truly enjoyed watching through his whole career. Boxing fans never missed a Gatti fight, as each was an event. In fact, outside of Oscar de la Hoya or Evander Holyfield, name another fighter from this era who drew a bigger audience. You can argue that he was only 40-9 and never beat a true big name fighter. But, let's not forget he was more than just a tough fighter. He won two separate world titles, the IBF super featherweight, (130 lbs.) and the WBC light welterweight, (140 lbs.). He defended these titles a combined times.

     Let's not forget that Gatti probably has more memorable fights under his belt than most of today's fighters have combined. He has a tremendous trilogy with Micky Ward, and other memorable fights with the likes of Tracy Harris Patterson, Gianluca Branco, Gabriel Ruelas and Wilson Rodriguez to name just a few. Even in defeat he was exciting, i.e.  his losses to Ward, Angel Manfredy, and Ivan Robinson. He was the ultimate brawler and one of the most popular and respected fighters of our era with two world titles to boot. So, yes, I do believe he belongs in the Hall.

     Gatti enjoyed a late resurgence in his career after suffering three consecutive losses. He got with Buddy McGirt and turned into more of a Boxer, but his fights still didn't lack excitement. He bounced back beating Terron Millett, and then had his wars with Ward. After that Gatti won his second world title with an exciting victory over Gianluca Branco. He defended it twice in very impressive fashion over former world champs Leonard Dorin, (a one-shot body shot KO), and Jesse James Leija. Then he got in a little over his head with Floyd Mayweather, Jr., and lost his belt. Even though he won what will be his final victory over Thomas Daamgard, he never seemed the same after the Mayweather loss. As always he was still in great shape, and his legs were there, but the reflexes were shot. During his final two losses against Baldomir and Gomez, it seemed as if the wars had finally taken their toll on "Thunder." In typical Gatti fashion he went down swinging, he tried for one last late surge when he was hurt, like we have seen him do in the past, but it just wasn't there. It took New Jersey's Athletic Commissioner Larry Hazzard to stop the fight against Gomez, and even with a torn lip and while being held up  by four guys Gatti  was still complaining that the fight was stopped. That's what made Arturo Gatti a special fighter.

     Sure, I would have liked to see Gatti go out with a win, but I'm happy he's going out in good health.  His legacy will speak for itself, and he will be missed. HBO's commentators actually summed up Gatti's final loss well. Max Kellerman said during the fight, "We are watching the destruction of an action hero." As he does so well, Larry Merchant also summed up the end of Gatti's career well when he said, "It appears Gatti's hourglass has finally worn out, but oh, what an hourglass it was." Gatti was a true blessing to the sport, and will be missed. No, he will never be mistaken as the greatest technical fighter. But, he will be remembered for his warrior mentality and for having the heart of a lion, and he will be missed.

     Arturo Gatti, you will be missed...

7-16-2007