BraggingRightsCorner.com - "The Dust Has Settled: Mayweather is the Best in the World" ... by Kenny Perrault

The dust from Saturday night's match up between Arturo Gatti and Floyd Mayweather, Jr. has settled. Going into the fight, HBO, the promoters, and the fighters did a great job of selling the bout, making you believe it was going to be a match up with non-stop action. However, in all reality, who believed the hype? Did we all suddenly forget the brutal beating Gatti suffered at the hands of Oscar de la Hoya? Or his two losses to Ivan Robinson? If Arturo Gatti could not get past De la Hoya or Ivan Robinson, how was he ever supposed to deal with the speed and defensive skills of Floyd Mayweather Jr?

You can make an argument that Arturo Gatti has changed since those fights and I will tend to agree, but one can only change so much. Gatti looked good in his wins over Leonard Dorin and Jesse James Leija, but Dorin and Leija are nowhere near the same league as Floyd Mayweather Jr. When the fight was over last night, were you really surprised that Gatti was handled the way he was? You can't teach speed and you can't teach the skills that Mayweather has; in my eyes Gatti never stood a chance.

As for Floyd Mayweather, did anyone really expect a performance other than the one he put on? Of course he was going to look like the perfect fighter in the ring, he had the perfect opponent in front of him, and it doesn't hurt when you’re the best fighter in the world. What I cannot believe is that people doubted him in this bout. I read and heard plenty of people say he can’t handle Gatti's power or he won't be able to take a Gatti body shot, but what they failed to take into account is can Gatti even get close enough to Mayweather to land any of those shots? This is not the first time Mayweather has been doubted in a fight. I remember many in the boxing world saying the exact same things before he fought Corrales, and we all remember what happened in that fight. Mayweather did what he had to do last night and that is to remind people why he is the best at what he does.

In closing, I would like to add I have always been a big Arturo Gatti fan. He has done a lot for boxing in a time when it needed as much help as it could get. However, after the wars Gatti has been in, and the amount of punishment he has taken, it may be time to ride off into the sunset and enjoy what life has in store for him. Arturo ‘Thunder’ Gatti is going to be remembered as a true warrior in the ring. As for Floyd Mayweather, Jr., it is his time to shine, the spotlight is his to enjoy, and he more than deserves -as he has proven repeatedly- recognition for being the best in the world.

6-25-2005