With the recent news of the demise of Arturo Gatti, who at 37 was found dead with a head injury in his Brazilian hotel room, we are faced with the tragic loss of another star who gave us so many wars. The recent loss of Alexis Arguello hit many people hard, as well. Gatti and Diego Corrales were two other personable (albeit flawed) individuals who were personified heart, determination, and courage. These are often the men that leave us too soon.
This is an era of boxing that, thanks to many corrupt promoters, sanctioning bodies, and officials, is likely not going to be remembered for it's warriors. This can also be blamed on biased members of the sporting press, who would rather cover scandal than triumph in the sport of boxing. Yet, no matter any outside efforts to destroy it, boxing survived on ther hellsthese men gave us a constant reminder of why we watch. They certainly deserved more years, and a better end than they received. We are also, however, painfully reminded that the things we worry about as boxing fans, could ultimately be much worse. To further clarify what I am illustrating, ponder this question? Wouldn't you love to still have to worry about the health of Corrales and Gatti?
As it turns out, we never had to wonder if their speech would slur, or if their memories would eb impaired. They were not blessed with enough years to ever find this out. I'm not a spiritual man, but maybe the same element inside them that told them to fight with caution thrown to the wind, was ultimately the same voice that knew, deep down, that their years were limited.
