Sports Articles: Boxing Legends Part 2 - Arturo Gatti page 5
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Life took another downward turn for Gatti after the Ward trilogy after he split up with his fiancee and was unable to fight for a while due to his broken hand. It was January 2004 before his next fight, when he faced Italy's Gianluca Branco with the vacant WBC light welterweight title on the line. A pre-fight press conferences was worrying as Gatti began to thank Vivian Penha, his ex-fiancee, for saving his life in some ways, for lifting him out of his most self-destructive stretches. Gatti was choked up with tears and could not get the words out, eventually he gave up trying to finish thanking her and sat down in floods of tears. It took some time before he could compose himself enough to say, "my heart's too big. That's my downfall in life."
Despite it all, Gatti did the business in the ring, knocking Branco down in the 10th on his way to a unanimous decision over 12 rounds. In July he took on yet another former world champion, in the shape of unbeaten Leonard Dorin Doftei, who he despatched with a 2nd round KO. His second defence was also against a former champion, Jesse James Leija, who was previously WBC superfeatherweight champion. There was no handpicking 'easy' opponents to defend against, but Gatti won with a 5th round KO.
In June 2005 he got another shot at the big time when he faced the unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr. in defence of his title. Mayweather was extremely derogatory, even dismissive of Gatti in the build up to the fight, calling him a club fighter. In the event Mayweather's arrogance proved to be well founded and he handed Gatti the worst beating of his career, thoroughly battering him until his corner threw in the towel in the 6th round. Afterwards Gatti was a mess, Mario Costa, who had known Gatti since he was 17, remembers Gatti turning up at his bar one day to ask to borrow his gun so that he could shoot himself.
"He lived in go-go bars," said Costa. "His life had no structure whatsoever. He would get up, he would say his breakfast was three Percocets and then he would go to these bars." Pat Lynch denied Gatti had serious troubles but child support papers filed by his ex-wife and mother of his daughter, Erika Rivera, in court, stated that he made a suicide attempt by overdosing on cocaine, alcohol and prescription drugs. Hospital records show that he had arrived at an emergency department in an 'unresponsive' state testing positive for cocaine and alcohol. The medical records also show that the doctor suggested Gatti have psychiatric consultation.
Despite the lifestyle, Gatti pulled it all together enough to get back in the ring, stepping back up to welterweight to face Thomas Damgaard in January 2006 for the vacant IBA welterweight title. In the 11th round he secured a TKO victory to become a 3 weight world champion, but it was not to last long and he lost the belt in his first defence. Carlos Baldomir winning by TKO in the 9th round with the WBC and The Ring welterweight championships also on the line.
Another change of trainer, this time to old adversary Mickey Ward, brought no change in fortune in the ring and he lost one more time, to Alfonso Gomez by TKO in the 7th round. After the fight, Gatti announced his retirement saying: "I'll be back - as a spectator." His record was 49 fights, 40 wins and 9 losses. He had held world titles at three different weights, super featherweight, light welterweight and welterweight but he was never a truly great fighter, as evidenced by his heavy defeats to the two great fighters he did face in his career. Gatti was a very good boxer, but he just wanted to brawl. Which was why the crowds loved him so.
Boxing Legends Part 2 - Arturo Gatti page 6
Written by Tris Burke - June 25 2018 19:55:06
