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May 25, 2004
Gatti and Dorin Make It Official
Rumble On The Boardwalk Set For July 24th
by
Bill Emes
New York City - Jay-Z's posh nightspot 'The 40/40 Club' was the setting for today's press conference to make official the
Arturo Gatti Vs. Leonard Dorin bout scheduled to take place at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall on July 24th. Already dubbed "Gatti-Ward 4", everyone in attendance today agreed that this one has the potential to be explosive. Buddy McGirt quickly quieted that notion, implying that if you plan to see Arturo engaging in a slugfest, you might be seriously mistaken.
But as we have seen in the past, even the best-laid plans by McGirt aren't always carried out as planned by Gatti. "The Human Highlight Film" always comes to fight, and if Dorin wants a brawl, you have to believe that Gatti will oblige.
Dorin might want to think twice before getting in that type of war though. The Romanian born Dorin, who now calls Montreal home, is by far the smaller of the two men, and appears to be the more likely upcoming opponent for Manny Pacquiao, nevermind Gatti, who appears to be carrying about 160 pounds.
Gatti and Dorin were gracious enough to take some questions afterwards, and it didn't take long for this weekends "calling out" by Mayweather to come up. "I want Mayweather," said a very confident Gatti. He went on to say that he did not get a chance to see this weekends fight but had heard what Mayweather said. He added that he has never ducked him, and a fight between the two had never been discussed. "It's Dorin, then Spadafora, then Mayweather," he replied when asked to further elaborate on his upcoming fight plans.
Gatti also announced the return of his brother, former fighter Joe Gatti, to his corner after a falling out left the brothers on bad terms.
Also announced, but not present at today's press conference, was a 10-round bout on the undercard that will pit Francisco Bojado versus "Jesse" James Leija.
Tickets, for those interested, are priced at $350, $200, $150, $100, and $50, and will go on sale through Ticketmaster beginning Friday, May 28th.
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