7/18/07 - article by Mike Indri
Gomez finishes Gatti.
Cintron crushes Mathysse in two round blowout!
By Mike Indri (THE WRITING POLICEMAN)
Retired Boxers Foundation
Article written 7-14-07
Photos: "Sugar" Ray Bailey
Atlantic City, NJ - To the dismay of the 9,437 faithful fans that once again transformed Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall into "Arturo Gatti's backyard", Alfonso Gomez, a supposed perfect opponent due to his lighter punching, pounded the New Jersey legend throughout the surprisingly one-sided bout, putting an end to the career of one of the most beloved and cherished fighters - of this, or any era.
For seven rounds Gomez, of the television reality series "Contender" fame, out-boxed and out-hit Gatti, landing too many clean power punches along the way before finally battering the blood and guts warrior into submission at the 2:12 mark of the fateful seventh round. A scorching round in which Gomez, according to Comp-U-Box, landed 40 of his 62 power shots.
While winning four of the first six rounds on two of the judges scorecards, and pitching a shutout on that of highly respected Steve Weisfeld's ledger, Gomez hurt Gatti early in round seven with bludgeoning bombs along with an effective body attack which instilled desperation into his damaged foe. Resorting to the type of homerun swings which pulled him from the depths of defeat in his career defining dramatic knockout triumphs against Wilson Rodriguez and Rafael Ruelas, Gatti valiantly unleashed his best effort, and paid dearly for his reckless abandon. A big right hand was the exclamation mark for which Gatti had no answer. Totally spent, annihilated, and with nothing left to give Gatti slumped down the ropes and onto the canvas. As a true champion, the lion hearted Jersey City native struggled, in vain, to get to his feet.
As sad and regrettable this scene was for the true boxing fan, the moment turned proud for the sport and business as Commissioner Larry Hazzard, Sr. jumped into the ring ensuring stoppage of the fight. While many ringside observers wondered aloud why referee Randy Neumann or Gatti's trainer Micky Ward were allowing this non-competitive punishment to continue, Hazzard's actions again proved why the state of New Jersey, through its State Athletic Control Board, runs the finest, most stringent and strictly regulated fight commission in the country. For this, Commissioner Larry Hazzard, Sr. should be commended.
Afterwards, a realistic Gatti, 40-9 (31 KO's), announced his retirement before leaving for the hospital to check on a nasty looking injury to the left side of his face (lip/cheekbone area). "I will be back to Boardwalk Hall," said a smiling Gatti, "but only as a spectator!"
To his credit, Alfonso Gomez was given an opportunity and he seized the moment. Figuring to be a tailor-made opponent, due to his coming straightforward approach and a lack of punching power, Gomez proved his detractors wrong. From the fight's opening bell to his fight-ending picture perfect right hand, Gomez, who improved to 17-4-2 (8 KO's), controlled the action, displayed an effective jab and wore his thirty five year old opponent down with a solid attack to the body and head.
Showing himself to be a class guy, Gomez referred to Gatti as one of his respected heroes growing up and that this was simply his time to shine - and shine he did.
The night's co-feature bout pitted IBF champion Kermit Cintron against Argentina's Walter Matthysse, for Cintron's welterweight title belt, in what promised to be a battle of heavy-handed sluggers. Cintron delivered, while Matthysse never had a chance. The Puerto Rican champion pounced on his highly regarded foe and hurt Matthysse late in round one with several big shots. A clean right hand sent the stunned fighter into the ropes and down to the canvas, with the bell only prolonging the inevitable. Another stinging Cintron right hand drove the still dazed Matthysse back to the deck, and much credit is to be given to the damaged fighter for even being able to arise. Unfortunately, for Matthysse, a vicious combination of a left hook-left uppercut-overhand right put the overwhelmed fighter to sleep at the 29-second mark of round two. Matthysse fell to 26-2 (25 KO's), while the impressively destructive Cintron improved to 28-1 (26 KO's) and totally vindicated himself from his mentally damaging KO loss at the hands of Antonio Margarito (TKO 5: 04/23/05) - who would lose his WBO 147 pound title to Paul Williams later in the evening on HBO's west coast telecast.
Maybe Cintron is now ready to prove that his mismatch loss was a fluke, while Margarito can fight for another world title in a rematch against the new and improved fighter, now trained by Emanuel Stewart and Joey Gamache?
On the Main Events "Welter Skelter" undercard:
Philadelphia's Kaseem Wilson opened the show with a four round unanimous decision win against Sergio Garcia, from Miami. Wilson improved to 8-0-1 (3 KO's), controlling the action, as well as having his weaker opponent's face bloodied, due to a cut right eye by fights end. Garcia fell to 6-4 (5 KO's).
Raul Martinez stayed perfect with his technical knockout win over Everasto Primero in a battle of Texan flyweights. Primero, 14-11-1 (7 KO's), was unable to continue after taking a brutal beating for five rounds against the San Antonio fighter, who made the El Paso native his thirteenth KO victim,
Primero is now 0-7-1 in his last eight fights and hopefully is considering another line of work.
Almost as awe inspiring of a finish as Cintron's impressive knockout was that of fellow Main Events promoted fighter Henry Crawford. It took the highly regarded welterweight prospect a mere 35 seconds to dispose of Fort Smith, Ark.
native Josh Hammock. Crawford improved to 16-0-1, made short work of his overmatched opponent by crushing a monstrous right hand to the temple of his eighth KO victim, who made no effort to even think about getting up before the count of ten.
Crawford, a native of Paterson, NJ and a former
three-time NJ Golden Gloves champion has steadfastly improved under the watchful eye of respected trainer Nettles Nasser and feels he is ready to take his career to the next level. "I'm in great shape and I'm ready for anyone," stated the likeable Crawford. "I wanted to prove a point tonight, and I did!"
Crawford, a supporter of the Retired Boxers Foundation, wears the RBF on his boxing trunks and his "statement performance" shows he is as impressive a fighter inside the ring, as he is a special person outside the squared circle.
Bronx middleweight Giovanni Lorenzo stayed perfect with his fourth round knockout win over Sherwin Davis (now 18-5, 12 KO's) from Indianapolis. Lorenzo dropped Davis four times, once in round two and twice in the third, before staying down for good at round four's 2:56 mark, of a scheduled ten round bout. The highly skilled Lorenzo improved to 25-0, with his seventeenth knockout win.
Jr. middleweight Pawel Wolak pleased his large contingent of avid supporters with his dominating second round technical knockout win Edgar Reyes. Reyes, who traveled up from Orlando, Florida for his beating, tried to make a fight of it, but the stronger and more aggressive Polish fighter quickly broke down his game opponent. The toe-to-toe action continued into round two as Wolak showed himself worthy of his "Raging Bull" moniker and clobbered Reyes (10-8, 3 KO's) who was forced to take a knee under Wolak's heavy barrage. Pouncing on his wounded prey Wolak continued his hurtful assault and forced referee Lindsey Paige to jump in and save Reyes from further punishment at 2:05 of round two. The popular and exciting Mt. Arlington resident remained unbeaten, improving to 16-0 (11 KO's).
A big night of boxing at the Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall brought to all by Main Events Promotions and HBO.
We saw the last of the legendary Arturo Gatti, a favorite son of New Jersey and a hero to all who love boxing, but we also saw many talented, young fighters who have dreams to someday get to the place where the revered "human highlight reel" has been for close to ten years.
The classy brawler, who was always as gracious in defeat as he was in victory, rose to cult-like rock star status with his 21 appearances on HBO and a fighting style, which virtually guaranteed sold out venues and a loyal fan base, second to none.
Arturo Gatti finishes his gloried fighting career with lots of money, great memories to be proud of, and maybe more important to him, the ultimate respect of knowing that everything he had to give in a fight was left inside the boxing ring, in Atlantic City, where he is loved by all.
Thanks Champ! For giving it all you had and fighting the only way you knew how - with your heart and your balls.
For comments Mike Indri can be reached at
RBFNJMIKE@aol.com
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