Arturo Gatti (39-7, 30 KO's) is looking to bring the "Thunder" in the Welterweight Division. Gatti is set to take on undefeated Thomas Damgaard (37-0, 27 KO's) in his second attempt at Welterweight on Jan. 28 2006. Gatti vs. Damgaard will make an exciting fight due to the fact that both fighters have high knockout ratios. These two gladiators have some pop in their punches so expect fireworks. Arturo is known as the human highlight reel, as Gatti being in the ring with another puncher with some pop means big punch drama.

Arturo Gatti

It has been said before that Arturo Gatti has never ducked a punch, and if you've seen some of his fights you'd agree. Arturo started to correct his defense and make it better, until he ran into Floyd Mayweather. In his fight with Floyd we saw Gatti get shut out and hit by basically every punch Mayweather threw. That is somewhat excusable though due to the fact that Floyd is probably the most talented fighter in boxing, and has lightening-fast hands with some sting in them. Gatti, even being out boxed, still wanted to keep going, the sign of a true warrior. The proposed fight with Damgaard has the makings to be another crowd-pleasing scrap that Arturo has become known for.

Thomas Damgaard is little known over here in the United States. All of his fights have been in Denmark. Thomas is stepping into Gatti's backyard and it will be his first fight out of his home country and onto the big stage. There are a lot of questions that come to mind with this being Damgaard's first fight in the states. Is he going to be able to handle the pressure of being on the big stage? Is he just a hometown type fighter? And who has he fought? I know he knocked out an old Greg Haugen, and beat up an old Phillip Holiday, but to Damgaard's credit both of those fights were early in his career. It is actually good experience for him to beat two former world champs earlier in his career. The majority of his fights have been with guys with tons of experience.

Thomas is naturally a bigger guy than Gatti. This could be trouble for Gatti having to fight a bigger foe. On the flipside to that coin, Damgaard better prepare himself for the unrelenting will of Arturo. Damgaard's alias is "Lionheart". Well, the Lionheart is about to meet the Iron heart of Arturo Gatti. Although Damgaard is bigger and has an undefeated record, Gatti has been in the ring with better opposition, and has also had a few "Fight of the Year" fights; he isn't the human highlight reel for nothing.

It seems most of the public think that Gatti is going to mow over Damgaard. I wouldn't be surprised if Arturo bit off more than he could chew, after his last fight it might be wise to take a less dangerous opponent. Who knows how this will actually play out; Damgaard could be tailor made for Gatti or Gatti could be a sitting duck waiting to get nabbed. If Gatti comes to box, I think he'll be too much for the Dane. Arturo's boxing skills are of quality when he uses them. When Gatti works off his jab his combos flow and he gets a steady rhythm working for him. In-and-out, side-to-side, using good ring generalship, Gatti can make it difficult for almost anyone he fights.

Damgaard is going to have to use his head as well as his fists in this fight. He will have to be smart and try not to get into many exchanges with Gatti. Gatti can be out boxed, and Damgaard is a technician. European fighters tend to lack a good solid left hook, but Damgaard is a southpaw he doesn't have to worry about it, and they also like to leave their chins out too. Damgaard is undefeated so he must be keeping his chin tucked. If the Dane can keep from getting hit square on the chin he has a good chance to make the fight hard for Gatti. I would say throw some hooks, but Gatti's power punch is a hook, and he gets around on them fast. It might not be a good idea to try and hook with Gatti; his hooks have one punch knockout power.

No one has laid any odds on the fight yet, but I think that they'll have this match pretty much even, maybe even having Gatti as the slight favorite. Taking the underdog in this fight would be a good bet either way. Either Damgaard is a softy out of his home country or a he's a badass. Or Gatti could have stepped up too much in weight or he is going to bring the "Thunder". I have no worries that this fight won't be exciting, I'm expecting to see bombs being throw and it being a wild shoot out.

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