Witter vs Gatti is next... Predictions?

lirva33 · Post by **lirva33** » 21 Feb 2005, 11:04

Witter has clearly hit the big time with his excellent performance against Ndou. With Oscar behind him, surely Gatti will be made next. (Mayweather will go to jail). Hopefully Witter's hand will heal up and he'll be ready for Gatti in May/June. beating ndou like that with a broken hand is VERY impressive.

I see Witter stopping Gatti in the 4th round after giving Gatti a good hiding. Gatti always falls short at top level and heart will not be enough against Witter IMO.

Zhuge · Post by **Zhuge** » 21 Feb 2005, 11:10

I thought Witter had to face Branco first?

jamesmcdonnell · Post by **jamesmcdonnell** » 21 Feb 2005, 11:12

He does.

lirva33 · Post by **lirva33** » 21 Feb 2005, 11:16

Oscar De La Hoya has praised Junior Witter, comparing the Bradford fighter to former stablemate Naseem Hamed.

Witter could face a shot at WBC champion Arturo Gatti after beating South African Lovemore N'Dou on points in Los Angeles.

After watching Witter knock N'Dou down twice on the way to a successful defence of his Commonwealth light-welterweight title, De La Hoya said: "Now I can see why nobody wants to fight Junior Witter because not only does he have a punch but he fights until the end.

"He is now a mandatory contender for the Gatti belts and that is the next move. Junior presents an interesting fight.

"He reminded me of Naseem Hamed and we all know that Naseem Hamed is a superstar in America.

"Now you bring Junior Witter against Arturo Gatti at 140lbs and you will have a mega-fight, and that is what we are looking for now. Junior Witter is ready to fight anybody."

De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions have snapped up Witter on a three-fight co-promoting deal but any big world title shot will be delayed whilst the Yorkshireman recovers from a fractured left hand suffered during the fight.

Phenomenal-Nutrition · Post by **Phenomenal-Nutrition** » 21 Feb 2005, 11:21

I don't think Mayweathers going to prison. But supposing he does I think Witter has the style to beat Gatti but Gatti may also tag Witter and seriously test his chin. If Witter can't finnish it early he needs to improve his pacing/stamina or Gatti will take the late rounds and possibly stop him late.

I don't think the WBC would force the issue if a Zoo fight is on the table though because of the sanctioning fees. Witter I presume would have to wait for some time.

jamesmcdonnell · Post by **jamesmcdonnell** » 21 Feb 2005, 11:23

Imagine it was Gatti in those middle rounds when Witter ran out of gas, reckon he'd have made it to the 9th, I don't.

However, I think Witter will be better paced next time out, and he will have had a longer training camp too.

hitterwitter · Post by **hitterwitter** » 21 Feb 2005, 11:29

Zhuge wrote:I thought Witter had to face Branco first?

He does, but listening to DLH and Witter they think Branco will duck him means junior moves above him, and that means Gatti vs Witter, because Mayweather will be in jail.

Foggy · Post by **Foggy** » 21 Feb 2005, 12:35

I could see this fight being a real war, not going the distance, this fight would surely result in one or the other being stopped.

nickd · Post by **nickd** » 21 Feb 2005, 12:57

I really think with 8 weeks preperation Witter will beat Gatti. Gatti is good but has been operating below the top level for a while. Ward is a tough SOB but the top guys beat him every time and Gatti was in life or death struggles with him. Witter will slice him up with those awkward hard shots.

MightyWarrior · Post by **MightyWarrior** » 21 Feb 2005, 13:04

Gatti probably walks through hell in the first four rounds, which he'll probably enjoy, then out games Witter down the stretch.

If he's cut, then it's game over, but if his face holds together he's got the sort of grim determination that'll leave Witter wondering what the hell he's got in front of him.

J · Post by J » 21 Feb 2005, 13:11

MightyWarrior wrote:Gatti probably walks through hell in the first four rounds, which he'll probably enjoy, then out games Witter down the stretch.

If he's cut, then it's game over, but if his face holds together he's got the sort of grim determination that'll leave Witter wondering what the hell he's got in front of him.

ill go wioth that but id like to see junior do well.

Im not 100% convinced by his performance against Ndou, he does seem a little upright and easy to tag. Somone with gattis power could be testing juniors chin ......

good luck to him though its nice to see him in the mix, good result at the weekend however it came, and an important one, nice one Junior

nickd · Post by **nickd** » 21 Feb 2005, 13:13

They've done a great job with Gatti over the last 3 or 4 years. He's clearly not one of the top guys at 140 and they have steered him away from the top men.

Since being pounded by DLH his competition has not been fantastic at all - not for a genuine belt holder anyway!

Millett
Ward x 3
Branco
Dorin
Leija

A 30 year old hard puncher in his prime like Witter is an altogether different proposition. I think Witter or Hatton would beat him at this point. As would Tszyu, Mayweather, Cotto, Harris....

Everyone is slating Witter for tiring at the weekend but remember he only had 2-3 weeks notice. And he still regrouped to win despite a broken hand.

Loynesy · Post by **Loynesy** » 21 Feb 2005, 13:13

Just because Oscar de la Hoya says Witter will fight Gatti next, doesn't mean he will (incidentally, am I the only one who can't imagine Brendan Ingle working with the Golden Boy: hardly have much in common do they?).

If Mayweather can't make the Gatti fight (and given that his various trials keep getting postponed, I'm sure he will), then there is no contractual need for Gatti to fight Witter - his is not the mandatory and lets remember that although we enjoyed the N'Dou fight here in the UK, it didn't make US TV so will have done little to raise his profile in the States.

Get him in with a couple of well known names in the States and on televised cards and he is ready (both from a fighting and commercial perspective) to fight for a major belt.

Incidenally, I still think Gatti beats Witter. Hurt hand or not, his movement and fitness levels in rouns 4-8 were slightly short of world class.

J · Post by J » 21 Feb 2005, 13:14

nobody has slated witter to my knowledge just made constructive comment mate....

nickd · Post by **nickd** » 21 Feb 2005, 13:15

Loynesy wrote:Just because Oscar de la Hoya says Witter will fight Gatti next, doesn't mean he will (incidentally, am I the only one who can't imagine Brendan Ingle working with the Golden Boy: hardly have much in common do they?).

If Mayweather can't make the Gatti fight (and given that his various trials keep getting postponed, I'm sure he will), then there is no contractual need for Gatti to fight Witter - his is not the mandatory and lets remember that although we enjoyed the N'Dou fight here in the UK, it didn't make US TV so will have done little to raise his profile in the States.

Get him in with a couple of well known names in the States and on televised cards and he is ready (both from a fighting and commercial perspective) to fight for a major belt.

Incidenally, I still think Gatti beats Witter. Hurt hand or not, his movement and fitness levels in rouns 4-8 were slightly short of world class.

I think he'll be a lot sharper with 8 weeks to prepare.

Old bones Ian · Post by **Old bones Ian** » 21 Feb 2005, 13:16

Witter has beaten a gatekeeper to the top ten, its good that he's gone the distance and got some rounds under his belt, I'd still pick Gatti to win against him at this point, but it wouldn't be an easy fight for him, and i can't see Gatti rushing to sign for this one

nickd · Post by **nickd** » 21 Feb 2005, 13:16

J wrote:nobody has slated witter to my knowledge just made constructive comment mate....

Fair enough. I think Witter is better than he looked though (which was pretty good all in all) and nobody has snapped N'dou's head back or dropped him like that - Cotto couldnt hurt him!

Old bones Ian · Post by **Old bones Ian** » 21 Feb 2005, 13:20

007 wrote:
J wrote:nobody has slated witter to my knowledge just made constructive comment mate....
Fair enough. I think Witter is better than he looked though (which was pretty good all in all) and nobody has snapped N'dou's head back or dropped him like that - Cotto couldnt hurt him!

Cotto may not have dropped N'dou, but he didn't lose to many rounds to him like Witter did.

I still think Witter put in a Very good display, and now deserves some good paydays, but i would not want to see him take on Cotto at the moment, the guy is the best in the division IMO, and that includes Tszyu

nickd · Post by **nickd** » 21 Feb 2005, 13:22

topper123 wrote:
007 wrote:
J wrote:nobody has slated witter to my knowledge just made constructive comment mate....
Fair enough. I think Witter is better than he looked though (which was pretty good all in all) and nobody has snapped N'dou's head back or dropped him like that - Cotto couldnt hurt him!
Cotto may not have dropped N'dou, but he didn't lose to many rounds to him like Witter did.

I still think Witter put in a Very good display, and now deserves some good paydays, but i would not want to see him take on Cotto at the moment, the guy is the best in the division IMO, and that includes Tszyu

Not suggesting they should put him in with Cotto, that would be suicidal just pointing out that Witter can crack with the best of them.

I think Cotto beats all at 140 including Tszyu.

MightyWarrior · Post by **MightyWarrior** » 21 Feb 2005, 13:26

Yes a fantastic win for Witter - all but erases the memory of the Zab fight as far as most are concerned. I'd pick him over most of the top ten 140 right now I think, outside of Floyd, Cotto and the thunder from down under.
Harris would be a great match to make IMO - he'd be in with a good chance of scoring a sensational win in that one.

Old bones Ian · Post by **Old bones Ian** » 21 Feb 2005, 13:26

007 wrote:
topper123 wrote:
007 wrote: Fair enough. I think Witter is better than he looked though (which was pretty good all in all) and nobody has snapped N'dou's head back or dropped him like that - Cotto couldnt hurt him!
Cotto may not have dropped N'dou, but he didn't lose to many rounds to him like Witter did.

I still think Witter put in a Very good display, and now deserves some good paydays, but i would not want to see him take on Cotto at the moment, the guy is the best in the division IMO, and that includes Tszyu
Not suggesting they should put him in with Cotto, that would be suicidal just pointing out that Witter can crack with the best of them.

I think Cotto beats all at 140 including Tszyu.

Yep he can definetly bang with the best of them, thats what would make a Gatti fight interesting, he can be hurt and stopped.
Gatti has changed his style a bit in the last couple of matches, trying to box more, but as soon as he's hurt , he'll revert back to the old style of brawling.

Old bones Ian · Post by **Old bones Ian** » 21 Feb 2005, 13:29

MightyWarrior wrote:Yes a fantastic win for Witter - all but erases the memory of the Zab fight as far as most are concerned. I'd pick him over most of the top ten 140 right now I think, outside of Floyd, Cotto and the thunder from down under.
Harris would be a great match to make IMO - he'd be in with a good chance of scoring a sensational win in that one.

I've never seen Harris box, he sounds a tough one from what i've read.
Has Harris been dropped before?

MightyWarrior · Post by **MightyWarrior** » 21 Feb 2005, 13:35

topper123 wrote:
MightyWarrior wrote:Yes a fantastic win for Witter - all but erases the memory of the Zab fight as far as most are concerned. I'd pick him over most of the top ten 140 right now I think, outside of Floyd, Cotto and the thunder from down under.
Harris would be a great match to make IMO - he'd be in with a good chance of scoring a sensational win in that one.
I've never seen Harris box, he sounds a tough one from what i've read.
Has Harris been dropped before?

He is a tough one no doubt - not sure he's been down, but I saw his legs go badly in an early fight - he was in with a real puncher though.

nickd · Post by **nickd** » 21 Feb 2005, 13:36

Harris has never been put down.

He was however outboxed by Oliveira, could have been a bad night at the office though. I think Witter would have a great chance against him, not sure how keen Harris' camp will be on that one. Harris seems like a difficult fella to deal with also.