EASY NIGHT FOR GATTI
WINS BY KO 2

Round by Round Commentary - by Anne Vitello

ROUND 1
From the opening moments Gatti's reach advantage is apparent. With lots of lateral dancing, he establishes the jab. Dorin sometimes answers, but his main strategy at the outset is to gather himself and walk in behind a punch or 2, whenever he can catch up with Arturo. Gatti is evasive; Lance Armstrong is not the only one pedaling these days. Whenever Arturo is within reach, Dorin flurries. Both men are fit and busy. Gatti outpoints the smaller fighter.

ROUND 2
More of the same. Though the Gatti jab is extended repeatedly, it is more a set-up than a weapon of force. Dorin works with a very flat-footed, throwback style. Willing to absorb some leather in order to connect, he makes contact with bodyshots. More than once Dorin's left hook snaps exactly on the target: both upstairs & down. Hm. Is there a question about Arturo's right hand? In a close exchange, he may have incurred an injury already. Dorin presses the action, and it looks like Gatti might revert to brawling. WHOA. And a body shot from Gatti FLOORS the game Dorin. It's over! A broken rib? Wow, what a punch. It's a left hook, apparently directly on the liver, punctuating a three-punch combo to the head. Arturo Gatti gets an easy paycheck --for the first time, ever?

POST-FIGHT COMMENTS:
A flawless demonstration of a rare boxing event: the body shot KO. Of course Roy Jones' disposing of Virgil Hill via this method comes instantly to mind. At ringside, Roy affirms Jim Lampley's supposition that the body shot KO is without exception a pleasant surprise to he who executes it (and presumably a surprise of the exact opposite nature for the recipient).

The newly technical-minded Arturo Gatti discussed his training for Dorin; it had not gone unnoticed that the Romanian kept his guard consistently high: "We've been working on it. He has a good guard, he keeps his hands up a lot and his body was wide open."

As to the business of his upcoming matches, and the question of when he will be facing the elite fighters of the division, Gatti replied with a sensible combination of sportsmanship and common sense: "I never say no and I want an increase in my paycheck too." He was spirited and typically classy in calling out Floyd Mayweather after Larry Merchant suggested the match.

Also a mature, straightforward personality, Leonard Dorin paid earnest respect to Gatti, while maintaining a detached dignity in assessing the bout. "Wow, [that] was a good punch. And the first punch in my life that put me down." When asked if he believed that Gatti would have maintained a technical as opposed to slugging fight style, Dorin hypothetically predicted, "No more than round five." Well, the theory of how far Gatti can be pushed will have to be tested in his next fight. For tonight, he will have the liberty of deciding where he would like to go after the fight, since the usual destination of the nearest hospital will not be necessary.