By Tim Smith

Carlos Baldomir versus Arturo Gatti wouldn’t appear to be a great match on paper, but neither did Gatti-Ward. And that turned out to be World War III each of the three times that they stepped into the ring.

Scott Woodward, vice president of Sycuan Promotions, Baldomir’s promoter, believes Baldomir will bring the fight to Gatti.

“I see this as Micky Ward-Arturo Gatti IV,’’ Woodward said. “Our guy is going to stay in the middle of the ring. Is he (Gatti) faster than he was 10 years ago? Is he faster than Zab Judah? Is he faster than Mickey Rodriguez?’’

All of those questions will be answered at some point during the 12-rounds of the match between Baldomir and Gatti on Saturday night at Boardwalk Hall. Or as they’re about the rename the place – The House that Gatti Built. This will be Gatti’s eighth straight match there. He is 6-1. His only loss was a lopsided butt-whipping from Floyd Mayweather, Jr. last June 25.

“He got over that (loss) the next day,’’ said Buddy McGirt, Gatti’s trainer. “Mentally, I don’t think it took him long to get over it. I just told him that he lost to the best guy in boxing. That was it.’’

Gatti came back with a victory over Thomas Damgaard, a Swede who entered the ring with a flimsy resume and a perfect record. Baldomir could be a little tougher than Damgaard, if for no other reason than the fact that his confidence has grown since he beat Zab Judah for the welterweight title on Jan. 7. And Baldomir did it in front of Judah’s hometown crowd at The Theater at Madison Square Garden.

One of the biggest hurdles that Baldomir will have to get over against Gatti is his admiration for Gatti and the fact that the pro-Gatti crowd will be against him.

“I’m a big Gatti fan, and I know the crowd will be behind him, but I will use that as my motivation,’’ Baldomir said. “I’m glad he gave me the opportunity. But I will have to hit him. My main motivation is to make a better life for my family.’’

Baldomir is not a big puncher as is evident from the fact that he only has 12 knockouts in 57 fights (42-9-6).

“I think our guy is the bigger and stronger guy,’’ Woodward said. “He doesn’t have a lot of power. All he does is keep walking you down and touching you. When the fans start to scream for the old Gatti to come out and brawl Gatti will revert to his old form.’’

McGirt said they expect Baldomir to try to draw Gatti into a brawl.

“That’s the only way that Baldomir has a chance of winning,’’ McGirt said. “It’s got to be a boxing match. A brawl falls right into Baldomir’s hands.’’

Baldomir constantly pressured the out-of-shape Judah before wearing him down. He nearly knocked out Judah in the seventh round.

“When Zab was able to put his combinations together he was able to freeze Baldomir,’’ McGirt said. “But when he didn’t Baldomir came back and he just wore him down in the later rounds. The best thing we can do is keep Baldomir from rolling.’’

If Baldomir can steamroll Gatti, it will be just as impressive as his victory over Judah. And it will cement his hold on the welterweight title and put him in play as a heavy hitter in the division.

Woodward said there is only one name on Baldomir’s hit list if he beats Gatti.

“We want Floyd Mayweather,’’ Woodward said. “That would be our goal to get Floyd for that Nov. 4 date on HBO. ‘’

If not then, Woodward said they would look at Shane Mosley and Antonio Margarito. If Gatti wins, Mayweather is off the table. No one wants to see that massacre again. There is a possibility of his fighting Mosley, but that would be like fighting Mayweather all over again. The big name that has been dropped is WBO junior welterweight champ Miguel Cotto.

Whoever comes out ahead, their immediate future will be very bright, and lucrative.

NOTES

Woodward said they conceded to all the judges in the match, but they aren’t going to give in on the referee, Wayne Hedgepeth.

“This is Carlos one opportunity in the sun and I don’t want anything to ruin it,’’ Woodward said. “I’m not questioning whether this guy is good or bad. But at the end of the day they can’t put a guy out there with limited experience. I’m looking at his record and he’s only worked one championship fight, an IBF title match involving Gatti in 2003. We’d just like a referee with a little more experience.’’

Woodward said he will try to meet quietly with Main Events, Gatti’s promoters, and Larry Hazzard, the New Jersey boxing commissioner, to get a compromise referee.