Personally im a big fan of Gatti I loved his all or nothing slugfest style, but I want to know how good people think a Prime Gatti was and how they think he'd match up to some of the best out there today in the light and Jnr Welt divisions
Well there are 2 different Gatti's in my mind... The straight out blood and guts fighter and the boxer who can take punishment to get the job done...I think at the crossover of these 2 different parts of his career was his most dangerous...the mickey ward fights were unbelievable but when he chose to box at certain points he got dangerous and that's why he was not only one of the best in the division for over a decade but he will go down in history as a great boxer he is way more exciting and likable than someone like Maywether...
gatti was almost like a poor mans bobby chacon .. you rooted for him because he was exciting to watch you rooted for him because somebody was gonna bleed and more then likely be ko'd .. he was that guy at work who just came to work every day and went balls out for the company no matter how he felt ... arturo gatti was the every man .. which is why he packed arenas ..
He was a good fighter. Very good at 130/135 where his prime was. Had decent skills.The boxing clinic he put on with Leija was beautiful for example
Part of boxing is to entertain the fans in my opinin, and for that Gatti gets an A +. Based on his record and ring skills , I would give him a B +/ A - .
Gatti was decent and I'd give him a good chance of beating several top 140 pounders in todays divsion in his prime. I'd take him in his prime over Bradley
All he did was drink and hang out in strip clubs in the 90's too. The weight problems and cuts and the 3 consecutive losses had a reason.
He was terribly inconsistent. On the one hand you'll see him losing to Angel Manfredey and on another you'll see him blasting Leija. He was one of those guys that was good enough to compete with almost anyone just not the absolute elites.
If he wouldn't have been stopped on a cut who knows what would have happened in that fight. Could have gone either way.
You mean the 125 year old Lejia? Gatti was a product of HBO hype! No elite fighter loses to Angel Manfredy, and Ivan Robinson..... twice! He wouldnt be a top guy in any era.