Baldomir - Gatti: Good Guys Set to Battle
Baldomir - Gatti: Good Guys Set to Battle
Photos and Story by David Greene
http://www.boxingbuzz.com/peter-klit...i_baldomir.htm
One could call this match up “The Battle of the Good Guys,” as Arturo “Thunder” Gatti and Carlos Baldomir are both throwback fighters, talented warriors with good chins, respect for each other and both handle themselves like true gentlemen in and out of the ring.
At Wednesday's press conference at the Argentine Pavilion on Manhattan's West 46 Street, both men had undergone a change in their lives. Gatti of Jersey City, NJ., (40-7, 31 KO's) is getting a crack at his fourth title and just celebrated the birth of his baby daughter, and Baldomir, of Santa Fe, Argentina, (42-9-6, 12 KO's) was a 16-1 underdog when he upset Zab Judah and captured the WBC Welterweight crown.
“It's a pleasure being here, I love my sport and I just love this game,” Gatti told the packed room. Turning to Baldomir he continued, “It's an honor fighting you; I know you’re a warrior.”
Gatti says that although Baldomir is a tough warrior, he has all the information he needs, “He
might be slightly bigger than me, but I was asking Pat, ‘Has he ever been knocked out?’ And he says, 'yeah, in his third pro fight,' and I said that's all I needed to hear, because he's going to be fighting the hardest puncher he's ever fought.”
Gatti says he wants to be remembered as an “elite champion,” and not the “blood and guts” champion, and vowed that after their July 22 showdown, “I will be recognized as the welterweight champion of the world.”
After posing for photos, Baldomir said through an interpreter, “After getting the welterweight title in this city, I'm really glad to be back...and it's a pleasure to fight Arturo Gatti. I took the fight as soon as they gave me the papers.”
“It's going to be a great fight,” Baldomir continued, “I have a lot of respect for Arturo Gatti. To me, he was the best fighter pound-for-pound in '97, '98, and '99. Unfortunately, I'm the champion now; I have to win.”
Ken Condon, President of Bally's Casino, the event's co-host at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, warned fans, “The Gatti phenomenon continues, there are less than 3000 seats available,” adding that most of the premium seats are already gone.
Speaking of what a Gatti fight does for Atlantic City, New Jersey's boxing commissioner Larry Hazard explained, “It turns all of the eyes of the boxing world towards New Jersey, where we try to regulate the sport as best as we can.”
Kerry Davis of HBO, who will televise the match, pointed out that with Gatti's match against Baldomir, his 20th on the network, he will surpass Pernell “Sweet Pea” Whitaker for most appearances on the network behind Roy Jones, Oscar De La Hoya and Lennox Lewis.
Davis said of Gatti, “He has done nothing but give us exciting, dramatic, compelling fights.” On Baldomir, Davis would say, “This guy comes forward and comes with an exciting style himself. He has a will and a passion.”
Davis concluded, “I can't tell you what the outcome is going to be, I can't tell you whether there is going to be a dramatic knockout or comeback or the passion you saw in the Mickey Ward fights, but I do know one thing, it will be great television.”
Michael Marley, the former sports writer, now a promoter and a publicist for Sycuan Ringside Promotions, beamed, “This is the first time we have a fighter fighting the main event on Home Box Office,” and joked that manager Javier Zapata has already taught Carlos Baldomir how to say in English “It's not television, it's HBO.”
After the press conference, proud mom Erika Rivera, Gatti's fiancé told FightNews the baby, Sofia Bella Gatti, was born on March 31 in Hoboken, NJ. Rivera recalled, “Arturo was actually fixing the bathrooms; it was a crazy day.”
The proud couple don't see fighting in Sofia's future but look to the ballet. FightNews asked the rookie father if living in a home of ladies was going to soften him, Gatti then said of his future bride, “No, not at all, she's tougher than I am.”
Tickets for the July 22 Carlos Baldomir-Arturo Gatti bout at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City can be obtained by calling TicketMaster at 1 (800) 736-1420 and will be televised live over HBO's World Championship Boxing.
Never beg a 40 dollar hooker...specially after she's just turned down your mom's credit card!!
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