ATLANTIC CITY – A crowd of 10,700 came to Boardwalk Hall last night hoping against hope Arturo Gatti had something left to show them, six months after he took a savage beating in this same ring from Floyd Mayweather.
HBO’s and Main Events’ mainstay did not disappoint, pounding his way to a big point margin before staggering the previously undefeated Thomas Damgaard of Denmark with one of his vintage, thunderous rights. With Damgaard wobbled, but still instinctively trying to move forward as he had all night, referee Lindsay Page stopped the fight at 2:54 of the 11th round.
“I told myself if I didn’t win tonight I would hang up the gloves no matter how much it hurt,” revealed Gatti, who, fighting at 147 pounds after years at 140, won something called the IBA welterweight championship – but more important his self respect back and the right to continue as a headliner.
After the fight, Gatti announced his plan is to fight WBC welterweight champion Carlo Baldomir, probably in July.
Damgaard tried to be the aggressor all night and landed more punches, according to CompuBox. But every time the Dane scored, Gatti immediately came back with more, piling up points and ultimately wearing Damgaard down.
State boxing commissioner Larry Hazzard had been so concerned about what he saw from Gatti in the Mayweather fight, that he had ordered neurological tests. They told him it was safe to enter the ring, didn’t tell him how he could still perform, a question obviously answered with what appeared to be a vintage performance.
The Post, like most ringside observers, gave Damgaard one round, the fourth, as Gatti, who ran his record 40-7 with 31 knockouts, landed 275 power punches to 196 to the ever-reddening Dane. Nevertheless, this was no set-up opponent to keep Gatti’s name in lights, more like one brought in to prove the Thunder was still there.
“I could have taken an easier fight after a loss [to Mayweather],” said Gatti. “He hadn’t fought in the U.S. before, but he proved he was a world-class fighter and was stronger than I thought.
“Buddy [trainer McGirt] told me not to get into a brawl with him. I got into exchanges and he was getting the better of them, so I went back to boxing. I went to southpaw because southpaw was working better.”
Gatti didn’t stay with it long.
“I could see he was having trouble with his hand, but he was very tough,” said Damgaard.
Said Gatti: “I’d like to thank the fans for believing in me coming off a loss.
“He hurt me to the body a couple times and I had to get my wind back. I’ll be better the next fight. My legs felt alright, but my upper body was tired.”
Damgaard, warned twice for holding Gatti in the back of the head, finally was penalized a point about a minute before the knockout. After Damgaard’s corner succeeded in closing a cut to the forehead, he was bleeding from the nose in the final round, yet still kept coming forward against a Gatti who showed he had lost little quickness and no appeal at all as a headliner.
“After Mayweather I thought he was shot,” said Damgaard
“But I was wrong.”