Boxing is full of ironies. Take Arturo Gatti, for example. The all-action slugger who made a name for himself as a courageous, come-from-behind brawler with a huge heart will forever be remembered for his classic trilogy with Mickey Ward. Now, with a cleaner lifestyle, a new trainer and a new focus, Gatti is forced to abandon the brawler style which made him a hit with mainstream fans in favour of boxing if he wants to win a world title.

Sure, he won the IBF junior lightweight strap back in 1995, but a world title has always eluded Gatti, and it seems to be something the rejuvenated fighter desperately wants. Now at 140, the 32-year-old wants a title shot against junior welterweight king Kostya Tszyu, but the injury prone Tszyu must first fight a postponed rematch with Sharmba Mitchell. And pound-for-pounder Floyd Mayweather Jr. has reapeatedly called out Gatti in an attempt to score a big money pay-per-view headline, but one would think Gatti, 32, has a better chance against the 35-year-old Tszyu than the undefeated "Pretty Boy".

So this Saturday night in Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall, Arturo "Thunder" Gatti will take on another undefeated fighter in Leonard Dorin. Dorin, 34, a Canadian citizen born in Romania, is best remembered for his controversial draw against Paul Spadafora in Pittsburgh, which many observers thought Dorin won. Dorin, 22-0-1 (8), is a tiny little bull who keeps a tight guard and keeps coming at you, throwing punches in bunches. The matchup looks like an all-action can't miss on paper, except that Gatti, 37-6 (28), insists that he will be boxing and not brawling. Gatti said the same thing before his first post-Mickey Ward fight against Gianluca Branco, and was true to his word, in what was a watchable but not classic encounter.

Given Dorin's seek-and-destroy style, he will try, like Ward, to lure Gatti into a phonebooth. Crowd-pleasing? Of course. But which Arturo Gatti will show up on Saturday night? A boxer-puncher Gatti is not as exciting as the brawling version of Arturo, but either one could open up cuts on Dorin, who, like the Gatti of old, has a tendency to bleed.

Many believe that the New Jersey-based Gatti will not be able to resist the adulation of the fans in Atlantic City, and that the intense atmosphere will lure him into a crowd-pleasing slugfest.

Let's hope so.

Prediction: Gatti TKO 10.