Quote Originally Posted by hattonthehammer View Post
Quote Originally Posted by OumaFan View Post
Quote Originally Posted by RozzySean View Post

Gatti was a two weight division major belt champion. At 130, he was top tier fighter. For a variety of reason, including his lifestyle, he couldn't make that weight for that long. He has a rough patch in the middle of his career, and he fought longer than he should have. If you only remember the Gatti who fought Oscar, Floyd, Baldy, and Gomez, than you would probably under rate him.

Gatti was much faster than Angulo and had better boxing skills when he chose to use them. He got outclassed against much a much better bigger Oscar and Floyd Mayweather. His last few fights he was shot.
You beat me to it, Gatti can be a bit underrated, he was far more naturally talented than Angulo, Angulo should consider himself extremely lucky if he has a Gatti-esque career.
Arturo was a deserved champ but even the staunchest of gatti fan has to admit that the last 2-3 years of his career he got those big fights not through merit but in that he was exciting to watch all the time and his wide open defence provided a very solid chin.

Ricardo Mayorga has pretty much made a living of not being a succesful fighter but being a very exciting come forward, solid fighter which is what i fear may end up happening now to angulo
Absolutely, he got those last big money paydays based on his drawing power and to some degree circumstance. He was probably the biggest non-ODLH gate during that stretch, and he probably wouldn't have gotten the Oscar fight if it wasn't for his drawing power. He owned the Atlantic City, even before the Ward fights, and he was probably the East Coasts most consistent draw.

He had a legit claim to fight for the WBC strap. He won and defended twice before the Mayweather fight. It was the biggest reward for the least risk for Mayweather. I don't think Mayweather makes that fight if Gatti didn't have the strap. Gatti really should have retired after that fight, but they kept throwing money at him.

Angulo may end up being a more likable Mayorga, but I see him more as a smaller Librado Andrade. He's tough as nails. He fights relaxed, consistent and he won't give in. Like Andrade, he's on the slow side and he doesn't have great one punch power. His pressure breaks fighters down over time. There would be nothing wrong with him having an Andrade-esque career.