Arturo Gatti vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr., billed as Thunder & Lightning, was a professional boxing match contested on June 25, 2005, for the WBC super lightweight championship.
Background The Gatti–Mayweather bout had been in the making for over a year. After a tough trilogy with Mickey Ward, Gatti earned a shot at the vacant WBC super lightweight (AKA light welterweight) championship, winning the title on January 21, 2004, with a unanimous decision victory over Gianluca Branco. Four months later, Mayweather would vacate his WBC and The Ring lightweight title and move up to the light welterweight division. Initially, Mayweather was set to face the undefeated former IBF lightweight champion Paul Spadafora to determine who would be the mandatory challenger to Gatti's title, but the fight was nixed due to Spadafora's legal troubles.Mayweather's Opponent Is Rejected, N.Y. Times article, 2004-02-25, Retrieved on 2014-03-19 Instead, Mayweather was matched up against former WBO light welterweight champion DeMarcus Corley in a WBC "eliminator" bout on May 22, 2004. In his light welterweight debut, Mayweather had Corley down on the canvas no less than seven times (though only two were declared official knockdowns) and cruised to an easy, lopsided unanimous decision that made him the number one contender to Gatti's title.Mayweather pounds Corley in win, USA Today article, 2004-05-22, Retrieved on 2014-03-19 After a successful defense against Leonard Dorin, Gatti announced his intentions to face Mayweather.After Showing Polish, Gatti Has Eyes on Mayweather, N.Y. Times article, 2004-07-26, Retrieved on 2014-03-19 However, several disagreements hindered the negotiations and the two sides would not reach an agreement until March 2005 for a June 25 fight in New Jersey.Gatti, Mayweather fight back on for June 25, USA Today article, 2005-03-10, Retrieved on 2014-03-19 Prior to the fight, Mayweather repeatedly bashed Gatti in the press, calling him, among other things, a "C-plus fighter", "club fighter" and a "bum." For the most part, Gatti refused to appear at press conferences with Mayweather, saying "I just don't want to be bothered by his mouth." Mayweather, however, crashed a Gatti press conference, referring to him as a "paper champion" and lampooning his struggle to make weight by loading food on a plate.Mayweather-Gatti: Bad blood boiling, Chicago Tribune article, 2005-06-24, Retrieved on 2014-03-19
The fight In his Pay Per View debut, Mayweather dominated Gatti through six rounds. Late in the first round as Gatti bent forwards, Mayweather leaned on him and the referee instructed, "Stop punching." Mayweather continued to punch and Gatti looked to the referee to complain. With Gatti's attention turned towards the referee, Mayweather landed a left hook that sent Gatti into the ropes and on his knee. Despite the violation of his instruction, the referee counted the knockdown.Fight Review: Mayweather's key bouts Things would only go downhill for Gatti as Mayweather continued to overwhelm the champion with his quickness and hand speed, landing combinations at will. After losing all six rounds on the scorecards and having landed only 41 total punches to Mayweather's 168, Gatti's trainer and cornerman Buddy McGirt stopped the fight following the sixth round, giving Mayweather an automatic technical knockout victory.Gatti Is No Match for Mayweather, N.Y. Times article, 2005-06-26, Retrieved on 2014-03-19
Aftermath In the post-fight interview, Mayweather praised Gatti, claiming that his pre-fight comments "were just to sell tickets".
Undercard Confirmed bouts: Weight Class Weight vs. Method Round NotesSuper Lightweight140 lbs.Floyd Mayweather Jr. def.Arturo Gatti (c)RTD6/12Super Lightweight140 lbs.Carlos Maussa def.Vivian Harris (c)KO7/12Minimumweight105 lbs.Iván Calderón (c)def.Gerardo VerdeUD12/12Heavyweight200+ lbs.Calvin Brockdef.Kenny CravenTKO4/10Super Welterweight154 lbs.Joel Juliodef.Arthur MedinaTKO1/10Super Welterweight154 lbs.Giovanni Lorenzodef.Ronald WeaverUD8/8Welterweight147 lbs.Julio César Chávez Jr.def.Rubén GalvánTKO4/8Super Lightweight140 lbs.Wes Fergusondef.John TempleUD4/4Welterweight147 lbs.Henry Crawforddef.Fernando JimenezTKO1/4
Broadcasting Country Broadcaster Main Event Viewers Choice Sport 1 HBO
References