Arturo Gatti

Arturo Gatti

1972­–2009

“Arturo Gatti may not have been the most skilled or the most stylish of boxers,” said the Canadian Press, “but he was never boring in the ring.” Over a 16-year career, Gatti compiled a 40–9 record, winning the International Boxing Federation super-featherweight championship and the World Boxing Council light welterweight belt. He thrilled audiences with both his astounding resilience and his “all-out attacking style that led to bloody brawls.” Gatti was found dead last week in a hotel room in Brazil, apparently strangled by a purse strap. His wife, Amanda Rodrigues, has been charged in the murder.

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“Born in Italy, Gatti fought as an amateur in Canada after settling in Montreal, and turned pro in 1991,” said The New York Times. He won the IBF super-featherweight crown with a 1995 decision over Tracy Patterson, “the adopted son of the former heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson, then defended the crown three times before moving up to a higher weight class.” In 2004, he captured the vacant WBC light welterweight title. However, his most famous bouts—“three brutal fights” with Mickey Ward in 2002 and 2003—didn’t involve a championship. Gatti won two of the three but ended up in a hospital bed next to Ward, where he remarked, “We’ve got to start getting paid more for this.”

Gatti was a favorite with the crowds, who dubbed him “Thunder,” said the Toronto Globe and Mail. “He happily took two punches to land one, was inspired at the sight of his own blood, and was forever fighting back from the brink of defeat, his eyes swollen to dark slits.” Gatti reveled in his tough reputation; once, when asked how he managed to rebound from so many beatings, he replied with a grin, “I’m an animal.” Indeed, “he was certainly no choirboy; away from the ring he had issues with alcohol and allegedly with drugs.” Most recently, Gatti was “in trouble with the law following an accusation of domestic assault involving his wife.”