A Boxer's Story: Seven Rounds Till Retirement

Saturday night July fourteenth, a day to go down in boxing history. Arturo Thunder Gatti announces his retirement after the seventh round knockout from Alfonso Gomez. At thirty five years old and a hundred and forty seven pounds Gatti calls it quits. Gatti brought charisma and excitement back to boxing for the last fifteen years. Win or lose Gatti had a fan base that remained loyal throughout his career.

Arturo Gatti has been known for his endurance and resilience under pressure. Saturday nights fight was not the case as Alfonso Gomez landed that seemed to wear the warrior down. After a barrage of punches Gatti went down in two minutes and twelve seconds in the seventh round in front of a sold out hometown crowd. Arturo Thunder Gatti entertained us with memorable victories over the years. One of the best fight trilogy's in boxing history was the Gatti vs Ward matches. The fights with Mickey Ward were worth every cent of the ticket price as the two boxers slugged their way through the three fights. Micky Ward and Arturo Gatti became close as Ward became part of the training team for this fight.

Gatti's team hand picked Alfonso Gomez for the fight hoping for Gatti to sharpen his skills before his next fight. To everyones surprise it was no sparring match as Alfonso Gomez came to fight. Gomez gained notoriety as the winner in the first season of the reality series The Contender. Alfonso Gomez came into the fight with a record of 17-3-2 with seven knockouts. Gomez enters the fight as an underdog by everyone in the boxing world. Gomez was hoping that a win over Gatti will put him in line for a title shot, a dream of his since childhood. This historical fight was the demise for Gatti and a rise in stature for Gomez.
In post fight comments with HBO, Gatti says, " Hasta la Vista baby" " I cant be taking this abuse anymore." In a locker room interview with Main Events President Kathryn Duava Gatti stated," I'm coming back as a spectator" I'm retired."