Oscar DelaHoya's return to the ring after eight months of inactivity couldn't have been more successful. Matched with the perfect opponent, human catching mitt Arturo Gatti, the defrocked pound-for-pound titlist was able to unload his entire arsenal during four-and-a-half brutally one-sided rounds. Although he could have won the fight with his jab alone, DelaHoya relished the ample opportunities to stand and trade. Along the way, he showed a couple of new tricks while demonstrating a thorough mastery of the skills that once took him to the top. Simply put, this was the biggest ever showcase of DelaHoya's talent... even if it wasn't the most competitive fight.

For all the talk about Gatti's unfitness as an opponent, perhaps the question of size has been the biggest misconception. Gatti looked firm and fit at 147, despite the fact that his one-punch power hasn't followed him up from 130. But none of the chatter about his infamous tender skin proved to be false. While Gatti's eyes did not inflate into disgusting bubbles, they did puff up rather quickly. Early in the opening round Gatti looked to be forcing up his eyebrows to widen his obstructed eyes. And, of course, there was blood. A heavy DelaHoya jab late in the same round opened up a deep gash on Arturo's right cheek. While the cut didn't risk a stoppage, blood did flow from it for the duration of the bout, and hampered his sight when DelaHoya's bloody gloves repeatedly slammed into his eyes.

But despite the inevitable cut, Gatti was actually putting on a decent opening round for about 90 seconds. He landed the first punch of the night (ironically, a jab) and even showed some of the head movement that was a prominent part of his repertoire so many years ago. An initially cautious DelaHoya seemed shocked when a few jabs and right hands sailed over a ducking Gatti. But within a minute, Oscar adjusted. As Gatti went to duck, he ran into a vicious DelaHoya left hook/uppercut and sank into the ropes on his way to the canvas. Gatti initially curled on up on the canvas, face down with his hands holding his aching head. But he rose by mid-count and, while a bit wobbly, made it out of the round. Bloodied and beaten so early, Gatti surrendered a round he could have won... and the momentum of the bout. From here on out, it was all Oscar DelaHoya.

Each of the next three rounds could have been scored 10-8, so one sided was the beating. Gatti quickly abandoned any pretense of boxing in the second, dispensed with the bobbing and weaving, and tried to land his golden left hook. Of course, Gatti's dipping was probably also halted by DelaHoya's vicious body attack. Not since his drubbing of Hector Camacho has DelaHoya chosen to bury his fists into an opponent's midsection so often, and by comparison this was a much more devastating display. DelaHoya scored early in the first and second by popping Gatti flat in the stomach with the jab. Each time he did, Gatti stopped in his tracks to catch his breath. But when DelaHoya flurried with shots to each side, the sound was sickening.

DelaHoya was working on Gatti as though he had EVERLAST tattooed on his chest. After crunching Gatti to the sides, DelaHoya always ended with shots upstairs. Gatti was an open target. Time and again DelaHoya swiveled Gatti's head this way and that. Gatti was wobbled early in the second, again at the bell, at the end of the third, and probably once or twice more before he was finished off in the fifth.

After praising new trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr. for most of the last week, DelaHoya was eager to show off a little of what the new boss had taught him. Most notable was Oscar doing an imitation of Floyd Jr. as early as round two. Tucking his chin behind his shoulder, while keeping his left arm low in the Kronk style, DelaHoya looked a little ridiculous trying Mayweather's unique defense. Sure, Oscar used the technique to properly roll with some of Gatti's right hands... but he also got nailed with a few that he could have otherwise avoided, including one in the final round that opened a nick over DelaHoya's left eye. We can't remember DelaHoya ever bleeding from a cut in the ring before... and it would be wise for him to get rid of this gimmick before going up against Shane Mosley's power right hand.

But it wasn't all smoke and mirrors with DelaHoya... he threw his right hand with surprising sharpness. While he had improved the punch after his tenure with Emanuel Steward, and even used the punch to great effect in his loss to Trinidad, DelaHoya has never thrown his right with such authority. In this bout, at least, he was able to finally turn over his knuckles... a nice contrast to his usual pushing-right that was used merely to set up his hook. Against Gatti, DelaHoya not only used his quick right to set up blistering combos, but hurt Gatti with the punch on more than one occasion. It's a weapon he'll need to further perfect if he hopes to again compete with Mosley.

For his part, Gatti never stopped trying. In the third, as Oscar paused his attack to take a momentary breather, Gatti loaded up and cracked with his own left hook. He nailed DelaHoya right on the face, even bloodied his nose. DelaHoya was completely unfazed. Again in the fourth, Gatti landed another of his best shots. This time, his hook drew blood from DelaHoya's mouth, but again the former champ looked unconcerned. In fact, the only punch Gatti landed that really had an effect was a gangly overhand right in that same round. The punch momentarily caught DelaHoya's attention, reminding him to return to the one-sided beating.

By the fifth, Gatti was going for the old hero routine. His bravery under fire had won him the crowd, but with DelaHoya landing nearly everything he threw, Gatti's only hopes were for a miracle punch. Again and again he loaded up, but he either couldn't find DelaHoya or couldn't hurt him. Midway through the fifth round, DelaHoya just began unloading everything, hooks, rights, uppercuts... they all landed. Spurred on by a cheering crowd, DelaHoya refused to end his combinations. Gatti wilted back into the ropes, bounced off into a clinch, and was pulled off by referee Jay Nady when Gatti's corner threw in the towel. Of course, Gatti protested that he was fine... but it was a wise call. He deserves to enjoy his record high purse of $1.5 million, not die for it.

And so DelaHoya (33-2/27) announced his return to the boxing scene. When asked about rematches, he's simultaneously eager to fight them, yet reluctant to commit. Trinidad is locked into the middleweight tournament, which will eat up his 2001 schedule. Mosley could probably be available, but DelaHoya doesn't seem as interested in making the bout. And he should be wary. As good as he looked tonight, he would still have his hands full with Mosley.

Next up for Oscar is another fight designed to boost his image without substantial risk. DelaHoya currently has a June 9, 2001 date lined up against WBC 154 lb. champion Javier Castillejo. It's a perfect fight for the image-conscious DelaHoya: you get a belt, you get to show off, and it'll be easy. But it doesn't mean anything. Until Oscar get in with Mosley, or Tito, or Vargas, or someone who can fight back... there will continue to be questions about his standing. Let's hope that he makes some of these fights happen.

Across the pond, Wladimir Klitschko needed only five minutes to knock out heavyweight slugger Derrick Jefferson. Jefferson tried to make a fight of it, winging his wide and wild punches at the giant, but he usually missed. Most of these attempts ended in ugly clinches, during which Klitschko used his free arm to repeatedly nail Jefferson with a short left hook. Credit DJ with one good solid blow, a big right hand early in the opening round that landed flush on Klitschko's jaw... but had no effect.

There wasn't much action in this round, although after one clinch was broken, Jefferson emerged with a nasty swelling over his left eye. It was unclear if the men clashed heads, or if Klitschko's fist caused the damage. But the eye clearly bothered Jefferson, who was holding his chin up to improve the line of vision from his good eye.

Jefferson really didn't show many skills in the bout, rushing in with either sloppy punches... or none at all. Near the end of the first, he walked right into the same short left hook Klitschko had been throwing in the clinches. The punch buckled his legs and sent him down in a heap. He arose wobbly and took another big right hand before he was saved by the bell. But the end was near.

Jefferson came out quickly in the second, hoping to show that he was alright. But almost immediately, Klitschko threw a double jab that rocked Jefferson back into the ropes. When Klitschko thrusts out his jab, it's like a power punch from a smaller fighter. Unfortunately, Klitschko was overly cautious with his punches, and didn't throw the jab again until right before he won the fight a minute later. Out of nowhere, after a painful stretch devoid of any action, Jefferson loaded up with a wide right hand. Klitschko easily beat him to the punch with a textbook straight right. Wladimir threw the punch with a devastating compactness, shifting his full weight into the blow. The punch crushed Jefferson's face, and his legs went so numb that he did the splits like James Brown in his prime... only Jefferson didn't bounce right back up.

Again showing his tremendous will power, Jefferson rose to his feet. His eyes were glassy and his legs were not fully under him when the fight continued. Klitschko approached Jefferson slowly, hit him with another jab, and then wound up in yet another clinch. But this time, the short left hook thrown in the tangle leveled Jefferson for the third time. Folding to the canvas, Jefferson was done. To his credit, he pushed himself up to his feet by 6, but was completely out of it. Referee Gino Rodriguez wisely waved the fight off. Klitschko KO2.

This was a good solid win for Klitschko (now 36-1/33), the kind of fight that he needed to win quickly and convincingly to build his reputation. But it wasn't the most impressive of outings. Klitschko could have used his jab more, or at all. He only landed 13 punches on this short night, although each and every one was devastating. As it is now, he would be a wide open target for Lennox Lewis. In fact, Lewis looks downright aggressive compared to Klitschko. But you can never count a big man out, and Klitschko has the power. Let's hope that his level of competition continues to improve with each outing.

And so, two of the gutsiest brawlers in the game were outclassed by stronger and more skilled opponents. For Klitschko, it was another step towards legitimacy in the eyes of American fans. For DelaHoya, it was yet another bout which his fans will point to as a sign of his prowess and his critics will point to as a sign of his matchmaking skills. For both men, bigger tests lurk in the near future. We'll see if they have the goods to pass.

.....Chris Bushnell