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01/31/2005 Archived Entry: "Gatti Dominates Leija"
Gatti Dominates Leija in Five
By Barry Deskins
Arturo Gatti, the ultimate blood-and-guts warrior and one of the most exciting fighters in boxing history, stepped into the ring at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, to defend his WBC super-lightweight world title against another exciting do-or-die battler, Jesse James Leija. Saturday night, Gatti defended his title by putting on an almost technically flawless exhibition of boxing, which resulted in a knockout at 1:48 of the fifth round.
Fighting before his fifth consecutive sellout at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, Gatti jabbed and double-jabbed the physically smaller Leija at will, and in doing so, he kept his man at a distance, which made itvery difficult for Leija to land anything meaningful. Although Leija did land a few straightrights, none of them seemed to affect Gatti in the least. For the last several years, the expertsand fans have said the writing is on the wall for Gatti, but thanks to the teachings of BuddyMcGirt, Gatti looks as though he might be around for several more years now that he is boxinginstead of brawling.
During the first and second rounds, Gatti was content with throwing a rapid jab, occasionallyletting go with a straight right or a left hook. Leija managed to land a decent right hand in thesecond round.
Gatti began to open up his arsenal a bit more in the third and fourth rounds. Arturo wascountering well, which, along with the jab, kept Leija on the outside and in a defensive modethroughout the fight. It was arguably the most disciplined fighting that Gatti had ever fought, ashe never once throughout the first four rounds tried to end matters with one shot.
Going into the fifth round, the bout was beginning to turn into a one-sided washout. Gatti wasdominating with the jab and Leija had nothing to answer back with. As is custom with Gatti,although usually he is hurt and in bad shape, out of nowhere a hard right hand landed on the sweetspot and Leija dropped flat on the canvas. Fortunate to regain his feet at nine, Leija was visiblyhurt and in a bad way. Gatti went in for the kill but was a little overanxious and wild for closeto a minute, but there was still plenty of time left. Gatti slowed his attack and soon had Leijaagainst the ropes, where he connected with a left hook to the top of the head. Again Leija wentdown, but this time he failed to beat the count.
With the loss, Leija, who made $600,000 Saturday night, sees his record dip to 47-7-2 (18), and at38 years old, it would seem that retirement would now be Leija's best move. Gatti, on the otherhand, is like a new fighter who can really box. The win raised his ledger to 39-6 (30) and a superpay-per-view showdown with Floyd Mayweather looks to be the next obstacle for Arturo toface.
Stats:
For the WBC Jr. Welterweight Title
Scheduled Distance: 12 Rounds
(Champion) Arturo Gatti 38-6-0 (29 KO), Jersey City, New Jersey
Seconds: Trainer: Buddy McGirt
Cutman: Danny Milano
(Challenger) Jesse James Leija 47-6-2 (19 KO), San Antonio, Texas
Seconds: Trainer: Ronnie Shields, Cutman: Joe Souza
Weights: Gatti, 140; Leija, 140
Promoter: Main Events
Purses: Gatti, $2,000,000; Leija, $600,000
Odds: 5-to-1 in favor of Gatti
Attendance: 12,599
Ring Announcer: Michael Buffer
Television: HBO (Live)
Referee: Earl Brown
Judges: Guido Cavalleri, Julie Lederman, John Stewart
Compubox Final Punchstat Report:
Arturo Gatti:
Total punches: 128/322 (39.8%); jabs: 82/229 (35.8%); power punches: 46/93 (49.5%)
James Leija:
Total punches: 56/215 (26.1%); jabs: 24/122 (19.7%); power punches: 32/93 (34.4%)
Replies: 1 Comment made on this article
does anyone know where you can find pictures of Jab Judah??
Posted by boxer77 @ 02/02/2005 06:58 PM EST
