Intimate Warfare by Dennis Taylor

Author:Dennis Taylor
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: undefined
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Published: 2012-07-29T16:00:00+00:00

During the six months that followed his brutal knockout loss to Oscar De La Hoya, Arturo Gatti licked his wounds and contemplated his future. His confidence was wavering. He wasn’t even sure he wanted to fight again.

When the itch to train returned, he relocated to Vero Beach, Florida. Gatti liked it there—liked the quiet, relaxed atmosphere and the sunshine, each a significant contrast to the New Jersey lifestyle to which he’d grown accustomed. The change suited him.

The other change occurred the day he spotted two-division world-champion-turned-trainer Buddy McGirt at the gym. They clicked immediately and decided to work together. The marriage was perfect. McGirt, a boxer-puncher in his heyday, had captured the junior welterweight crown in 1998, and was building a formidable reputation as a trainer by the time he connected with the warrior known as “Thunder.”

Gatti dismissed Hector Roca, the trainer who had guided him to a world championship, two days after his first day in the gym with McGirt. It wasn’t personal. It rarely was with Gatti. Aside from understanding Gatti’s style and skills, McGirt intuitively knew what was going on in the fighter’s head and immediately went to work on the fragile psychology that comes with being a boxer scabbing up from a tough loss. He told Gatti that he could be a champion again and laid out a plan to make it happen.

His newest client could move and had a pretty good jab, McGirt observed. The trainer’s goal was to reconvert Gatti into a boxer who wasn’t necessarily destined to be in a life-or-death struggle in every fight. The transformation wasn’t as difficult as it sounds. Unlike most confirmed brawlers, Gatti could box. He knew how to use the ring. His jab was effective, when he used it. The 29-year-old Gatti liked what McGirt was telling him and focused on conditioning and spent fewer nights in the clubs.

In January 2002, the Gatti–McGirt collaboration was unveiled against former IBF junior welterweight belt-holder Terron Millett, a respected opponent who had lost his crown 19 months earlier to undefeated Zab Judah. The other loss on Millett’s 26–2–1 record had come in 1995, against Sharmba Mitchell, a future world champ.

In the opening stanza, Gatti bounced on his toes and snapped off jabs. He dug a left hook to the body. Seconds later, a lead right hand—one of Muhammad Ali’s favorite punches—found the chin of Millett. When Gatti bobbed and weaved, Millett looked at him like he was crazy—this wasn’t the Gatti he had expected—but all he hit was air with most of his punches. Gatti moved side to side in round 2. After Millett clocked him with an uppercut, Gatti went back to shooting his jab, then stepped inside and unloaded. Seconds later, he moved away. Millett stalked, but his movements had slowed. Gatti pounded the body and head. Millett backed up and wobbled. A big left hook in round 3 floored Millett. The game fighter survived the round, but it was obvious that his resistance was weakening. The following

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