Arturo "Thunder" Gatti proved too much for James Leija as he took some of his best punches but knocked the Texan down twice, the second time for good, in the 5th round.

Leija was stopped in front of Gatti's hometown crowd in New Jersey at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall. On the undercard, rising junior middleweight star Kassim Ouma continued to impress with a decision victory over Kofi Jantuah.

There has been talk of a possible superbout between Floyd Mayweather and Gatti, but whether it actually happens is another story. First, while Gatti, to his credit, is more than willing to take on "Pretty Boy" Floyd, his handlers are reluctant and would prefer to keep Gatti away from any fighter who might make him look bad. Then there's the issue of Mayweather's legal troubles. Both fighters have won their "preliminary" bouts. What happens next remains to be seen.

Ironically, most of the talk surrounding Gatti-Mayweather seems to be about Gatti getting his big break. This may be true as far as getting closer to a title fight with Tszyu is concerned, but it is acually Mayweather who stands to benefit more from a superbout with the Montreal native. Gatti, one of the most exciting fighters in boxing, cemented his status as a blood-and-guts warrior in his trilogy with Mickey Ward. HBO loves him, the fans love him, and everyone knows what to expect when Arturo Gatti enters the ring.

Mayweather, on the other hand, has yet to reach his full potential. Blessed with blinding handspeed, awesome defensive skills, better-than-average power and good looks, "Pretty Boy" Floyd has all the ingredients to be an HBO pay-per-view money-making machine. But he's not. For some reason, fame has eluded him.

Mayweather has yet to headline a major HBO pay-per-view, but that day may be sooner than we think. Mayweather seems to realize the importance of having good relations with HBO, promoter Bob Arum and the general public. His last three fights have all been crowd-pleasers, all ending with stoppages. If the number two pound-for-pound fighter could learn to "act" more marketable, like, say Oscar De La Hoya, he might be able to reap the benefits.

A fight with Arturo Gatti would be huge for Mayweather, especially considering he would almost surely be favoured to win. And if he could do it by knockout, putting on display his pinpoint accurate combination punching, the boxing world might have no choice but to recognize Floyd Mayweather not as a coming attraction, but as a star who's arrived.