THUNDERSTRUCK GATTI DEFEATED

It was the storm on the coast. It raged all night long until the ninth round, like a hurricane, slipping up along ringside, swirling in the middle of the ring, up and down Arturo Gatti's body and face. Hurricane Baldomir. And there wasn't much Gatti could do as he found himself met with his mirror image, matched punch for punch throughout the fight, until the ninth round when Carlos Baldomir confirmed some of the gloomy forecasts. It was a devastating series of punches, trapping Gatti against the ropes, that ended it. Gatti, unable to work his way out and slowly fading after struggling for a foothold early in the fight, finally dropped to his knees only to rise and fall again, could not match his thunder for all of Baldomir's lightning.

Early into the fight Baldomir's right hand showed stlye and flair, landing multiple punches and dominating the outside. In his first defense of his WBC title, Baldomir showed not only his ability to go up against a true warrior, but also showed that he was more than a fluke.

"It's up to the public to see that I'm a true champion," Baldomir said. "He didn't hurt me."

By the third round it looked like Gatti had lost his momenteum, taking two solid blows from Baldomir near the end, leaving him staggering. The warrior in Gatti was still strong, though not enough to withstand the stronger, more dominating Argentine, who seems to box Gatti with ease, landing more consistent rights, followed by several showboating twirls of his right arm as if to say, "I'll show you some Thunder, Arturo."

And Baldomir did show him just that, maybe enough to steal Gatti's away for good, who did suggest that this may be it for the fighter, perhaps using this unique 20th fight for HBO as the podium for his final stand. Few fighters have had that distinction and it must be an honor to sell out Boardwalk Hall to a hometown crowd on the evening of your sundown.

In the end it was two warriors. Nothing less than that. You could see it in the faces in the crowd. Crestfallen. Shocked. Amazed. Awed. From the photographers looking away from their cameras as Gatti fell the first time to his knees, to the kid with his disposable camera, his face frozen in a slow motion replay, sceaming at his hero to get up. And get up Arturo Gatti could not:

"By the time I neutralized him," Gatti said, "It was too late. I did my best, I just fought a better guy. I tried to box him...He trained for me. He really boxed well tonight."

And so it goes with storms: They come and go, leaving their traces as they move along. Carlos Baldomir will definately have a few more to face, particularly if, as he said tonight, a potetnially future forecast is Mayweather.