Can "Thunder" Strike Down "Jesse" James Tomorrow on HBO?
by
Phillip Diaz
1/28 - Tomorrow night live on HBO at 9:45 PM/ET, Arturo “Thunder” Gatti puts his WBC Jr. welterweight title on the line when he faces the divisions’ gatekeeper Jesse James Leija. For Gatti, 38-6 with 29 KO's, the WBC title isn’t the only thing on the line versus Leija, as a victory all but guarantees a show down later this year on HBO PPV against undefeated and pound for pound extraordinaire “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather.
“If I don’t win this fight there isn’t going to be a Mayweather fight”, Gatti said at a recent press conference.
Gatti who previously spared with Leija, 47-6-2 with 19 KO's, upon turning pro back 1991 knows all to well what Leija brings to the table.
“James is crafty fighter, very experienced; he takes one round at a time. He is very cautious and I will try and take him off his game plan," said Gatti. "I am the younger guy, the stronger guy. I’m not going to worry, I am in great shape."
For Leija this will probably be his last shot at a world title and although he was victorious in his last bout, an HBO televised decision win in July against Francisco “Panchito” Bojado, many including Gatti feel that there were extenuating circumstances that were at least partially responsible for Leija’s victory.
“I’ll be honest with you, there are a lot of reasons why Bojado looked like he did and that’s why Leija beat him," said Gatti.
Playing the role of underdog is nothing new to Leija, who takes it all in stride. Leija is focused and determined to knock out a planned PPV showdown between Gatti and Mayweather before the first bell rings.
“I’m in Houston and I’ve been training for 7 weeks. I can’t control anything except what is in front of me and that is me fighting Gatti and that’s that," said Leija. "Hopefully I will just put a damper on all their plans."
Over the last 20 years, Leija has been in with many of boxing's best. Azumah Nelson, Oscar De la hoya, Shane Mosley and Kosta Tzsyu just to name a few and although Leija has come up short and even been stopped on more than a few occasions, his confidence hasn’t diminished.
“The fights I lost were to Hall of Famer guys that were just great fighters I’ve never lost to an average fighter. I’ve never lost a non-world title fight. I didn’t lose the fight I just lost the decision”, Leija said referring to his controversial split-decision to Juan Lazcano back in August of 2000. And yes James does have a legit gripe with the scoring in that bout.
Many see Gatti as just that and average fighter, a fan favorite who is exciting and tough but also limited. Gatti begs to differ saying, “of course I am talented. I know what I have when I step into the ring. I fought with a broken hand. I don’t know what people are watching if they don’t know I am talented."
So the questions for fight fans and the media are, will Gatti be able to quite his critics for the time being and prove to me more than just an average fighter? Will 'Jesse' James Leija be quick enough on the draw to out gun Gatti?
Well from this writer's perspective, if you look at Leija’s career he seems to have problems with big punchers and Gatti is every bit a big puncher. My prediction is that some one will bleed, yes believe it, and Gatti will be victorious via 8th round TKO, with Leija being up on the cards at the time of stoppage.
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