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 While the Jamaican has eased into the season after an
injury-disrupted 2014, Gatlin has set the fastest times of the year
in both sprints and declared himself the "man to beat".
"Gatlin has been doing a lot of talking, saying a lot of things,"
Bolt told Reuters with a chuckle in an interview on Thursday ahead
of the adidas Grand Prix at Randall's Island.
"He's proved he's running fast times and he's ready. So it should be
exciting going into the world championship.
"I look forward to competing when people talk ... because if you
don't back it up you look really stupid."
Gatlin, who has served two doping bans, last month ran the fastest
100 meters of 2015 (9.74 seconds) in Doha and a season-leading 19.68
in the 200 in Eugene 15 days later.
Bolt, who retains the world record in both events (9.58 and 19.19),
is running only the 200 on Saturday as he continues to frustrate
track fans eager to see how he would measure up on the track against
Gatlin.
The Jamaican, looking slender in a black suit and dark blue shirt
outside a reception at Nasdaq headquarters, said his race selection
was nothing to do with fear of any other athlete.
"Afraid? When people say that, I laugh. I've been in the sport for
years and I've never dodged anybody. When it matters, I've always
showed up and shown that I'm the best," Bolt said.
"Fact is, I'm not in the best of shape and I'm not going to put
myself out there if I know I'm just coming back and I need time to
get back to where I need to be.
"When I get to Beijing I'll be ready to go and that's when the
showdown will be."
Bolt said the suspense of how the sprinters shaped up against one
another could help build interest in the world championships.
"People can look forward to the championship. What's going to
happen?" he said.
"Justin is running good, Tyson (Gay) is running good, Asafa (Powell)
is running good, Usain is running good.
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"So when we come to the championship, it's going to be like an
explosion."
Bolt is returning to race in New York for the first time since
setting his first jaw-dropping 100 meters world record at the meet
in 2008, presaging his spectacular sprint double at the Beijing
Olympics later that year.
"That night was exciting. It was a big showdown between me and Tyson
at the time," he recounted.
"There was a thunderstorm. There were stops and starts ... a false
start.
"Just a weird night overall. But in the end it worked out. It was
amazing.
"For me, that was when it really started. That's when I really blew
up. People really took note. Everybody around the world started to
watch. For me, it was a game changer."
Bolt said his return to New York seven years later as the
established king of sprinting provided a different script.
"I'm just trying to get to the world championships, defend my
titles, stay injury free and then go on to the Olympics and just
continue writing my name in stone of greatness," he said.
(Editing by Nick Mulvenney)
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