Gatti vs. Dorin – Does Gatti Have Enough Left To Win?

19.07.04 – By Matthew Hurley: Saturday night “The Human Highlight Film”, Arturo Gatti, will take on Leonard Dorin in a twelve round light welterweight bout on HBO. With the dearth of televised boxing finally coming to an end this potential “fight of the year” matchup is a nice mid-summer present to boxing fans. There aren’t too many fighters who seem so perfectly matched in machismo to give hungry fight aficionados the thrills they need to re-energize their passion for their beloved sport of boxing. These two fit the bill.

Going into this fight I hesitantly picked Gatti to win in, yet again, dramatic fashion. But as the bout has drawn closer I’m hedging my bets. Dorin is a tough customer. He’s not a heavy hitter but he punches in bunches and Gatti is notorious for busting up. Gatti is the knockout puncher in this fight but Dorin has thick whiskers and Arturo’s fragile right hand might crack just punching at air. Yet, this is Arturo Gatti we’re talking about and unless he is fighting a world beater or someone bigger than him (see the De La Hoya fight) his courage and indomitable will to win {or is it survive?} always seems to carry him through.

But for how long?

Gatti isn’t the first fighter this has been asked about, but he has become the poster boy for this alarming query. At some point his mind and body have to nod in agreement and say enough is enough. It’s at that moment, whether in a prize fight or in the gym, when Gatti will simply fall apart. So engaging and so spirited is this little warrior that his ardent fans, this scribe included, hope it doesn’t come to that. He’s given so much to his profession and he has earned every nickle tossed his way. Perhaps he deserves a mega pay day against, say, Floyd Mayweather, but what would that prove? Mayweather would easily box circles around him.

The fact is, that despite the glory that was his trilogy against Micky Ward, those three brutal battles were really brilliant miniatures in terms of artistic talent. Arturo and Micky, two of the most dedicated and honest boxers ever to come down the pike, thrilled us with their hearts and their desire – not their skill. In the hazy glow of their heroics people seem to forget that it wasn’t two great fighters that made a marvelous trilogy but two good fighters, evenly matched, that produced fistic sparks. The only greatness in the ring was their will and fighting spirit, not their talent. A harsh assessment? Yes, but I’ll take a blue collar pug who fights his ass off for every pay check over some pampered prima donna any day. (insert your favorite whipping boy here.)

So who wins? Gatti or the underrated Dorin? It says here that Gatti has run out of miracle comebacks. It should be a barn burner for however long it lasts but look for Gatti to get busted up in this one and simply run out of gas. Let’s face it, how much can he possibly have left?

But if he wins, I’ll pump my fist in the air and smile in spite of my prediction.

Dorin TKO 9 Gatti