ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Arturo Gatti is headed for a showdown with Floyd Mayweather.

The WBC's 140-pound champion did his part Saturday night to set the stage for the fight. Gatti (39-6) knocked out "Jesse" James Leija in the fifth round of a scheduled 12-round bout.

"I want to be the best pound-for-pound at 140," Gatti said after manhandling a game but overmatched Leija (47-7-2).

A pay-per-view fight pitting Gatti, a popular brawler, and the quick, crafty Mayweather has been tentatively set for June 11.

Gatti, who made $2 million for the second defense of his WBC title to Leija's $700,000, was unfazed when Mayweather (33-0) didn't show for a post-fight news conference announcing their fight. "He's not the one that's going to sell tickets anyway," Gatti said.

Indeed, it is Gatti -- box-office gold in Atlantic City in recent years -- who consistently puts bodies in the seats at Boardwalk Hall. His past five fights at Boardwalk Hall have all drawn 11,000 or more, including a sellout crowd of 12,599 Saturday night.

Keeping his distance in the early rounds, Gatti boxed defensively, wary of any surprises by the Leija, 38, who had said that he hoped to use Gatti's aggressiveness against him.

He knocked Leija down with a hard right to the head in the fifth. Dazed, Leija just barely got to his feet before referee Earl Brown could count him out. Gatti finished him with a left hand to the ear with 1:48 remaining in the same round.