Sharkie’s Machine
By Frank Gonzalez Jr.
June 26th, 2005
“Mayweather Dominates Gatti”
Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Arturo Gatti
(34-0-0-23 KO’s) (39-7-0-30 KO’s)
It was hard watching Arturo Gatti lose his thunder
(and his WBC Title) to the mastery that is Floyd Mayweather Jr. I was
shocked at the short sightedness of Vivian Harris’ performance against
Carlos Maussa. June has been a big month for the Jr. Welter division. A
couple of weeks ago, Ricky Hatton dethroned the mighty Kostya Tszyu and
Miguel Cotto quietly but
efficiently defended his WBO Title for a third time just two weeks ago.
Floyd needs attention and is all about being flashy to get it. He was
carried into the ring on a palled chariot, wearing a fur laced hood and
a smug look on his face. It was reminiscent of “Prince” Naseem Hamed’s
infamous ring entrance prior to being outclassed by Marco Antonio
Barrera. Bad karma? Yeah, Floyd brought plenty.
Gatti stood in front of some fiery special effects accompanied by
thunderous sounds. The packed house exploded with cheers as the working
class hero made his way to the ring.
Arturo Gatti has improved his overall boxing skills under the tutelage
of McGirt; his mobility and ring generalship have evolved so much that
many experts now call him a boxer, instead of a brawler, which was what
made him famous.
Gatti was unable to implement any of his refinements Saturday night
because Floyd Mayweather Jr. dictated the tempo at all times. Floyd
completely dominated Gatti. He was too confident, too fast and too
accurate for Gatti, who took a beat down in front of his hometown fans
Saturday in Atlantic City NJ.
Boxing is the art of hitting without being hit and Floyd once again
proved that he is the master of that skill. Arturo couldn’t catch him
with much of anything and when Mayweather let loose the leather, all
Gatti could do was to instinctively cover up. Gatti was lost in the
woods fighting Mayweather. He didn’t know whether to box or brawl.
Whatever he tried, didn’t work.
There was not one competitive round in this fight that lasted all of six
rounds. Maybe if Gatti did what comes naturally, like brawling, he
might’ve had a chance to catch Floyd with something early on that
might’ve slowed him down enough to have a shot. Hindsight is always
20/20. But Gatti chose to box outside with Floyd—a big mistake. The
strain of Floyd’s perfect execution of accurate combination punches
derailed Gatti’s confidence and sapped him of his will. It was brutal to
watch. Gatti’s cut man Joe Souza had to be feeling nostalgic, with his
hands full, just like in the old days.
The referee, Earl Morton gave the impression that Mayweather was signing
his paycheck. He was quick to step between the fighters whenever Gatti
got close enough to Floyd to initiate any offense. He warned Gatti a few
times about nothing and often was in Gatti’s way.
Late in the first round, Mayweather was pushing Gatti’s head down and
punching it when the ref yelled out, “Stop punching!” At that command,
Gatti turned his attention to Morton for a second to complain about
Mayweather’s tactics, Floyd took advantage of Gatti ‘not protecting
himself at all times’ and whacked him with an uppercut that put Gatti
into the ropes and onto the canvas. Was it dirty? Yes. Was it illegal?
Yes. If the ref says stop punching and you keep punching, that’s a foul.
It was definitely unsportsman-like conduct and worthy of at least a
warning. I recall how easily Floyd heard Jim Lampley discussing the AFC
Championship Football game with Roy Jones Jr. last January during the
Henry Bruseles fight, where Floyd
shouted to Lampley, “Patriots” in typical Floyd showboat fashion while
out-boxing his unheralded opponent. There’s no way he didn’t hear
Morton instruct them to stop punching.
Morton counted to 5 by the time Gatti got up—pissed that Morton was
(sort of) responsible for that knockdown saying, “That was bullshit!”
The truth is Gatti should never have taken his eyes off of his opponent,
especially one like Mayweather, who has shown zero respect outside of
the ring leading up to the fight. Did Gatti expect him to be a good
sport in the ring? This
wasn’t Micky Ward, God bless him; it was Floyd Mayweather Jr., whose
arrogance is only exceeded by his lack of respect. From that moment on,
Arturo was rattled. He must have felt like he was fighting Floyd and the
ref.
It was a complete mismatch that favored Floyd on every level from the
end of the first round until the sixth, when after Gatti’s left eye was
swollen shut, his whole face beaten to a pulp and his prospects of
winning the fight too slim, his trainer, Buddy McGirt, mercifully threw
the towel in.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. is the new owner of the paper WBC title Gatti used
to own. Floyd got on his knees and cried in the center of the ring. One
of his seconds kept chanting, “God is great, God is great.” Floyd rose
and was suddenly gracious. He hugged Arturo Gatti and spoke respectfully
to him. During the post fight interview with HBO’s Larry Merchant, he
complimented Gatti for being, “a tough guy” and that he might win
another title yet.
This, after all the disrespectful talk leading up to the fight, saying
that Gatti was a paper champion, that his title was just a paper title
and that Gatti is just a C level fighter? When Merchant called him on
his prior remarks, Floyd said he only said those things to sell the
fight. Yeah, sure. Floyd is about as sincere as he is likable.
Being a great fighter requires great discipline, stamina, accuracy,
power, ring smarts and the proper state of mind. Being a nice guy, or
even an honorable sort, is not a requirement—but it does sell tickets.
In that regard, Gatti may have lost the fight but he is still a winner.
His fans
love him and won’t miss any of his future fights. When asked his
thoughts on the fight, Gatti said that Mayweather was a lot faster than
he expected and was very tough to hit. He then said he will fight one
more time at 140 then move up to 147. He said if that doesn’t work out,
it might be the end. Whatever he does, Arturo Gatti has been great for
the sport and deserves to
be in the Hall of Fame as a representative in the category of Heart,
Blood, Sweat & Tears.
Arturo Gatti won the hearts of fans by showing his big heart in
memorable brawls that brought much needed dignity to a sport that’s too
often on the ropes. Like a regular guy, he’s won some and lost some. No
matter what, he always gave his all and for that, Gatti has a huge,
loyal fan base. When he lost, he was well remembered. He is not as
talented as Mayweather but he has a noble quality that Mayweather sorely
lacks. Most fans love and respect Gatti, who besides his willingness to
fight under adverse conditions has always been a gentleman and a credit
to the sport.
Gatti represents all hard working people who experience the ups and
downs of reality and keep coming forward. Gatti is not a crème de la
crème fighter like Mayweather, who is boxing’s version of a thoroughbred
racehorse but Gatti is someone I can root for, win or lose.
Fighting Mayweather was really a win-win situation for Gatti because if
he won—he’d be a HUGE Hero. If he lost, he only lost to one of the most
talented fighters of our era. There’s no shame in that.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. possesses all the qualities that make a great boxer
in the ring. What he doesn’t possess, a likable personality—is in a way,
irrelevant. While I would never want to hang out with Floyd, there’s no
denying his amazing talent in the ring.
Floyd said he wants more Pay-Per-View fights. Unless he fights Ricky
Hatton next in England, I can’t see any justification for his next fight
being on PPV. I won’t even go to the Bar where I catch my PPV’s for the
price of a few beers to see it. Not because Floyd’s not a great talent,
but because I don’t like what he represents—pure arrogance. While Floyd
is a gifted pugilist, he’ll only be as big a draw as his opponents are
because of his ugly attitude. To his credit, he at least backs up all
his big talk with big performances.
* * *
Comments can be emailed to Sharkie
6-26-2005
