This wasn’t a fight, it was a showcase. It was a masterclass. It was tough to watch for the many millions of Arturo Gatti fans. Floyd Mayweather, then dubbed “Pretty Boy,” later to become “Money” and, it cannot be denied, a far less exciting fighter, albeit a largely untouchable one, met Gatti at Boardwalk Hall, this Gatti’s “house.”
But instead of a great fight ensuing, it was Mayweather’s show all the way. The fight was dubbed “Thunder & Lightning,” and Mayweather had said beforehand that “thunder only makes noise, lightning does damage.”
And Floyd’s super-fast, deadly accurate hands sure did some damage on the enormously popular Gatti. Gatti, 39-6(30) had long since established himself as THE most consistently thrilling ring warrior on the planet; his epic, even superhuman efforts in somehow finding a way to win in fights/wars/all-out slugfests with the likes of Mickey Ward, Gabriel Ruelas, Ivan Robinson, and Wilson Rodriguez seeing to it that he held a special place in the hearts of all fans who had seen him fight.
But Mayweather, unbeaten at 33-0(22) and having ruled at super featherweight and lightweight, dished out such a hammering, such a beating, that even Gatti’s awe-inspiring ability at managing to salvage victory from what seemed like a lost cause couldn’t help him. Mayweather, who was barely touched during the six wholly one-sided rounds the fight lasted, hit Gatti with everything, from all angles, with Mayweather’s speed, accuracy and spite all flowing with apparent ease.
Gatti fought poorly, with him even making the rookie mistake of dropping his hands and looking at the referee when Mayweather had leaned on him. Mayweather unleashed a left hook and down went Gatti. The writing was on the wall. This was not going to be Gatti’s night.
The defending WBC super-lightweight champion took more hurt over the course of the following rounds. Mayweather landed a reported 168 punches during the six completed sessions, while Gatti landed a paltry 41 punches in comparison. Some fans felt Gatti failed to land that many. And then it was over, Buddy McGirt pulled Gatti out, allowing him to fight another day.
Mayweather was now not only the pound-for-pound best in the sport, he was an established pay-per-view star. In victory, Mayweather, who had called Gatti a “club fighter,” apologised for the slur. But in truth, as awful as it was to admit on the night, Gatti had been made to look like a club fighter, so otherworldly had “Pretty Boy” looked in comparison.
Indeed it was a heck of a tough night for Gatti’s legion of fans 25 years ago.
