San Francisco, CA– Although emotion is in the air seeing his funeral was yesterday, there has been a lot of talk about Arturo Gatti’s place in history. In other words, are Gatti’s accomplishments worthy of the hall of fame? Without any doubt! Although he held two alphabetical titles, 
Gatti’s career was a stellar one.
GATTI ACCOMPLISHED MORE THAN TITLES
In addition to being in four Ring magazine fights of the year, 1997, 1998, 2002, and 2003, Arturo had many bright ring moments since he turned professional in 1991. Beating Pete Taliaferro (25-2) in 1994 brought Gatti much notice. The 12 round win over then IBF 130 lb. champ Tracy Harris Patterson (54-3-1) in 1995 wasn’t scintillating, but it gave Gatti a belt late promoter Dan Duva could move around the boxing chessboard.
WILSON RODRIGUEZ WAS BEATING GATTI UNTIL…
In his initial defense, Gatti scored a come from behind one-punch KO of Wilson Rodriguez (44-7) in round six. After getting dropped and sporting a closing right optic, this was the first time boxing fans in masse witnessed a bloodied Gatti roar back in a manner that would become commonplace more often than not. The Gabriel Ruelas (44-3) fight in 1997 was an epic (fight of year) event, and even in losing to Angel Manfredy (22-2) and twice to Ivan Robinson (26-2, #2 fight of the year), Gatti was still one of the most popular fighters in the world.
GATTI-GAMACHE CASE IN COURT NOW
The controversy surrounding the weighing of Gatti for the Joey Gamache (55-3) fight in 2000, of which litigation is still ongoing, resulted in a KO 2 for Arturo. Gatti made big money losing (TKO 5) with Oscar De La Hoya (32-2) in 2001 before Arturo and Mickey Ward (37-11) engaged in three of the most exciting fights in history. Since the last Ward fight in 2003, Gatti went 4-3 before retiring at 40-9-1 (31 KOs) in 2007 after losing to Alfonso Gomez (16-3-2).
DORIN BODY SHOT WAS LAST GATTI VICTORY PARTY
FOR ME He lost to Floyd Mayweather (36-0) along the way, but he stopped (KO 2) Leonard Dorin (22-0-1) with a single body shot in 2004 before giving up the WBC 140 lb. trinket to Mayweather in 2005. It was at this point and time it appeared that Gatti, who had resurrected his career after losing three in a row (Manfredy & Robinson twice) was shopworn. A victory over Tomas Dammagard (37-0) a TKO 11 in 2006 was the last time Gatti had his hand raised professionally. Subsequent stoppage losses to Carlos Baldomir (42-9) and Alfonso Gomez (16-3) convinced Gatti to retire for good in late 2007.
WENT BACK TO MONTREAL AFTER BOXING
After living in Jersey City, New Jersey for most of his pro career, Gatti moved back to Montreal, the city where he was buried yesterday after being found dead in a Brazilian hotel room 11 days ago. The role of a professional boxer is to make money and excite those viewing live or on television. Arturo Gatti made millions and sold out the Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall many times.
FIRST BALLOT HONORS ARE FITTING
If you put it all together, Arturo Gatti should not only be on the 2009 International Boxing Hall of Fame list of potential inductees, the IBHOF should insure that Gatti makes it on the first ballot. People will remember Arturo Gatti until the end of time for his bravado and skill. Hey Canastota, Ed Brophy, are you listening?