Arturo Gatti

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Arturo Gatti
File:Arturo Gatti 24 November 2002.jpg
Gatti in 2002
Statistics
Nickname(s) Thunder
Blood and Guts Warrior
The Human Highlight Reel
Rated at Super featherweight
Lightweight
Light welterweight
Welterweight
Height Lua error in Module:Convert at line 452: attempt to index field 'titles' (a nil value).
Reach 70 in (178 cm)
Nationality Italian
Canadian
Born (1972-04-15)April 15, 1972
Cassino, Italy
Died Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist.
Ipojuca, State of Pernambuco, Brazil
Stance Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights 49
Wins 40
Wins by KO 31
Losses 9

Arturo "Thunder" Gatti (April 15, 1972 – July 11, 2009) was an Italian Canadian professional boxer.[1][2][3] Nicknamed "Thunder", Gatti was known for his heart and bravery in the ring, and also carried exceptional punching power.

Gatti won world championships designated by two different boxing sanctioning bodies in two different weight classes. He also participated in The Ring magazine's "Fight of the Year" a total of four times (1997, 1998, 2002, and 2003). He announced his retirement on July 14, 2007.[4][5] On December 10, 2012, Gatti was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, in his first year of eligibility. He became the 10th Canadian boxer to be inducted into the IBHOF.[6]

Born in Cassino, Italy and raised in Montreal, Quebec, Canada,[7] Gatti relocated to Jersey City, New Jersey as a teenager. He returned to Montreal after retiring from boxing to work in real estate.[8][9]

Professional career

Arturo Gatti was a member of the Canadian National team, and was training to represent Canada at the 1992 Summer Games, but at age 19 (in 1991), he decided to turn pro instead.[2][10] He began boxing professionally on the night of November 17, 1992.

His next fight, on March 24, 1993, was his first fight abroad, where he visited Amsterdam, Netherlands and knocked out Plawen Goutchev in round one.

In 1994, he beat Leon Bostic, and followed through with a Round 1 knockout over Pete Taliaferro to win the USBA Super Featherweight title. He retained the title against Richard Salazar and former world champion Jose Sanabria.

Signing with HBO

On December 15, 1995, Gatti challenged the IBF Super Featherweight Champion Tracy Harris Patterson, Floyd Patterson's adoptive son. Gatti became world champion when he narrowly outpointed Patterson (scoring: 116–111, 115–112, 114–113) and signed a multi-fight deal with HBO to fight on HBO Boxing.

He only had two fights in 1996, once defending his world title. His title defense, at Madison Square Garden against Dominican Wilson Rodriguez was the first of three Gatti fights in a row to be named a candidate for "Fight of the Year" by Ring Magazine. Dropped in round two and with his right eye closing fast, Gatti knocked Rodriguez down in round six with a left hook to the body, before finishing him off in round six to retain the title.

In 1997, he again won a points victory over Patterson, but this time by a larger margin (118–108, 117–109, 116–110). He then scored a technical knockout over former world champion Calvin Grove in the seventh round of a non-title affair. Then came his defense against former world champion Gabriel Ruelas, which was also named "Fight of the Year" by Ring Magazine. Rocked by a left uppercut in the fourth, Gatti absorbed more than 15 consecutive punches before being saved by the bell. In the fifth, he connected on a left hook to knock Ruelas out.

To the lightweight division

After that fight, Gatti relinquished the world title, going up in weight to the lightweight division. However, 1998 was a bad year for Gatti, as he lost all three of his fights that year. He lost by a technical knockout in round eight to Angel Manfredy, and then lost a pair of close 10 round decisions to Ivan Robinson, the first by split decision, the second by unanimous. In Gatti-Robinson II, Gatti had a point deducted in the eighth round for low blows. Had the point not been deducted, the fight would have been a draw, as Robinson was only ahead by one point on two scorecards.[11] Gatti-Robinson I was chosen "Fight of the Year" by Ring Magazine, thus marking the second year in a row that a Gatti fight was given that award and the third year in a row a Gatti fight was nominated.

He only had one fight in 1999, knocking out Reyes Munoz in round one.

Controversial fight against Gamache

Gatti's first fight of 2000 proved to be controversial. Faced with former world champion Joey Gamache, Gatti won by a knockout in round two. A subsequent lawsuit by Gamache's handlers claimed Gatti had gained 19 pounds since the weigh-in the day before and thus had a large advantage over Gamache.[12] In the wake of the fight, boxing regulators pushed for a new law limiting the amount of weight a competitor can gain between the weigh-in and time of the fight. Gatti was also accused by Gamache's handlers of not having actually made the contracted weight of 141 pounds. After Gatti-Gamache, some boxing commissions started weighing boxers a second time.

Gatti also won his two other fights that year, against Eric Jukabuwski and Joe Hutchinson.

Trilogy against Micky Ward

Gatti at the post-fight press conference on June 7, 2003

In 2001, Gatti only had one fight, going up in weight to meet welterweight Oscar De La Hoya, who beat him by a technical knockout in five rounds. In 2002, Gatti returned to the light welterweight division and defeated former world champion Terronn Millett by a knockout in round four.

He then split two ten round decisions with "Irish" Micky Ward, losing their first bout, but winning their second. Gatti-Ward I also earned "Fight of the Year" honors by Ring Magazine and the 9th round was called the Round of the Century by Emanuel Steward.

On June 7, 2003, he and Ward had a rubber match. Gatti broke his twice-repaired right hand on an uppercut to the hip in the fourth, and he dropped his arm. In the sixth, Gatti dominated the round but got caught with an overhand right to the top of the head a second before the bell rang and went down. The final scorecards read, 96–93, 96–93 and 97–92, in favor of Gatti. The third fight between the two was again named "Fight of the Year" by Ring Magazine.

Gatti vs Ward I & III are also part of HBO's 10 best fights of the decade.

Career after Micky Ward

On January 24, 2004, Gatti, having recovered from a broken hand, scored a tenth round knock-down and defeated Gianluca Branco of Italy by a 12 round unanimous decision to win the vacant WBC Light Welterweight title.

On July 24, 2004, he knocked out the previously unbeaten former world champion Leonard Dorin Doroftei in two rounds at Atlantic City, to retain his title.

Gatti's second defense of his WBC title came against former WBC Super Featherweight Champion Jesse James Leija on January 29, 2005. Gatti beat Leija by a fifth round knockout. That same night, Arturo's protégé, Danny "Little Mac" McDermott, won his pro debut.

In his next fight, Gatti fought former Super Featherweight and Lightweight World Champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. on June 25, 2005. He took a horrific beating and Gatti's corner man threw in the towel after he was beaten around the ring, thus ending his title reign via sixth-round technical knockout.

After the loss to Mayweather, Gatti moved up to the welterweight division. He beat Thomas Damgaard on January 28, 2006, by an eleventh round technical knockout to win the vacant IBA Welterweight title and become a champion in 3 different weight divisions.

On July 22, 2006, Gatti lost by a TKO to Carlos Baldomir, vying for the WBC & The Ring Welterweight Championship. He then broke off his relationship with Buddy McGirt and had a new trainer in Micky Ward.

Gatti attempted a comeback on July 14, 2007, against Alfonso Gomez, only to get TKO'd by Gomez. After the fight, Gatti announced his retirement in the dressing room, reportedly quipping: "I'll be back — as a spectator."

Fighting style

Arturo was an aggressive, all-action fighter, often remembered as a Slugger. Early on in his career, Gatti showed his tremendous punching power as he amassed a large amount of first-round knockouts. Although he had the ability to box many opponents (as shown in the second Micky Ward fight) Gatti would often get into brawls when his opponents were able to take the power and fight back. This is why many of his bouts against good opposition were slug-fests.

Gatti had incredible heart, and an iron chin, shown in the majority of his major fights. He was able to absorb incredible amounts of punishments by fighters such as Wilson Rodriguez, Gabriel Ruelas, Angel Manfredy, Ivan Robinson, Oscar De La Hoya, Micky Ward, Floyd Mayweather and Carlos Baldomir, none of whom could knock him out cold. In the Rodriguez fight he showed off his recuperative abilities as he was close to being stopped under a barrage of shots and in the next round he stopped his opponent.

Oscar De La Hoya, who faced many big punchers from 130 pounds to 160 pounds, says Gatti hit him the hardest out of any fighter.

Post-career

Gatti retired with a record of 40 wins and 9 losses, with 31 wins by knockout. On September 24, 2008, reports had surfaced that Gatti was considering a comeback against Montreal welterweight Antonin Décarie (now 25–1), the Canadian and North American Boxing Organization Champion. On December 10, 2012 Arturo Gatti was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.[13]

Death

On July 11, 2009, Gatti was found dead in a hotel in Ipojuca, Pernambuco, Brazil, where he was on vacation with his Brazilian wife, Amanda Rodrigues, and their 10-month-old son.[9][4][14] He was 37 years old. Gatti was to attend his sister's wedding the same day. Gatti's widow was charged with first degree murder after the strap of her purse was found stained with blood.[15] Rodrigues could not explain how she spent more than 10 hours in the hotel room without realizing Gatti was dead. Former boxing champion Acelino Freitas, who was a close friend of Gatti, claimed Gatti and Rodrigues were having problems and were about to separate.[16] The Brazilian authorities initially ruled Gatti's death a homicide, but after the coroner's autopsy report was released, they declared it was a suicide, and his widow was set free.[17] On July 31, 2009, it was announced that the Canadian government would be seeking more information from the Brazilian authorities on Gatti's death. Gatti's family confirmed that there would be a second autopsy done in Quebec.[18][19][20] On August 1, a pathologist hired by the ex-boxing champ's family said Brazilian authorities overlooked bruises on Gatti's body in the initial autopsy. "There were definite injuries that had not been seen by Brazilian authorities," Baden said.[21] Almost a year later, in March 2010, the circumstances concerning Gatti's death remained unclear.[22]

At the family's request, a Quebec coroner agreed to exhume the body so that two pathologists could conduct a second autopsy. Coroner Jean Brochu said, "We've been waiting for this for a long time," and "it's going to take a while" before conclusions can be made, and released to the public.[22] A shortage of staff at the coroner's office was blamed for contributing to the delay of the investigation.[22] Regarding a new toxicology report being prepared, Brochu quipped that it "may take a century to get the results."[22]

The Quebec coroner's report was released in November of 2011. Brochu agreed with prior conclusions that Gatti died a violent death from asphyxia by neck constriction. He also noted that Gatti had carisoprodol, a muscle relaxant, in his system, along with alcohol. An expert toxicologist from Quebec retained by the coroner said the drug can produce withdrawal symptoms, such as anxiety, confusion and psychosis. The coroner also stated that "obvious presence of post-mortem lividity" indicated that the body had been suspended for some time before ending up on the floor.[23]

Professional boxing record

40 Wins (31 knockouts, 9 decisions), 9 Losses (5 knockouts, 4 decisions), 0 Draws[24]
Res. Record Opponent Type Rd., Time Date Location Notes
Loss 40–9 Mexico Alfonso Gomez TKO 7 (10), 2:12 2007-07-14 United States Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Loss 40–8 Argentina Carlos Baldomir TKO 9 (12), 2:50 2006-07-22 United States Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey Lost IBA Welterweight title.
For WBC & The Ring Welterweight titles.
Win 40–7 Denmark Thomas Damgaard TKO 11 (12), 2:54 2006-01-28 United States Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey Won vacant IBA Welterweight title.
Loss 39–7 United States Floyd Mayweather, Jr. RTD 6 (12), 3:00 2005-06-25 United States Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey Lost WBC Light Welterweight title.
Win 39–6 United States Jesse James Leija KO 5 (12), 1:48 2005-01-29 United States Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey Retained WBC Light Welterweight title.
Win 38–6 Romania Leonard Doroftei KO 2 (12), 2:55 2004-07-24 United States Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey Retained WBC Light Welterweight title.
Win 37–6 Italy Gianluca Branco UD 12 2004-01-24 United States Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey Won vacant WBC Light Welterweight title.
Win 36–6 United States Micky Ward UD 10 2003-06-07 United States Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey 2003 Fight of the Year by The Ring Magazine.
Win 35–6 United States Micky Ward UD 10 2002-11-23 United States Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Loss 34–6 United States Micky Ward MD 10 2002-05-18 United States Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, Connecticut 2002 Fight of the Year by The Ring Magazine.
Win 34–5 United States Terron Millett TKO 4 (10), 2:23 2002-01-26 United States MSG Theater, New York, New York
Loss 33–5 United States Oscar De La Hoya TKO 5 (10), 1:16 2001-03-24 United States MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada
Win 33–4 United States Joe Hutchinson UD 10 2000-09-08 Canada Molson Centre, Montreal, Quebec
Win 32–4 United States Eric Jakubowski TKO 2 (10), 0:40 2000-04-29 United States Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Win 31–4 United States Joey Gamache KO 2 (10), 0:41 2000-02-26 United States Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Win 30–4 Puerto Rico Reyes Munoz TKO 1 (10), 3:09 1999-08-14 United States Foxwoods Resort, Mashantucket, Connecticut
Loss 29–4 United States Ivan Robinson UD 10 1998-12-12 United States Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Loss 29–3 United States Ivan Robinson SD 10 1998-08-22 United States Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey 1998 Fight of the Year by The Ring Magazine.
Loss 29–2 United States Angel Manfredy TKO 8 (10), 2:57 1998-01-17 United States Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Win 29–1 Mexico Gabriel Ruelas TKO 5 (12), 2:22 1997-10-04 United States Caesar's Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey Retained IBF Super Featherweight title.
1997 Fight of the Year by The Ring Magazine.
Win 28–1 United States Calvin Grove RTD 7 (10), 3:00 1997-05-04 United States Caesar's Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Win 27–1 United States Tracy Harris Patterson UD 12 1997-02-22 United States Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey Retained IBF Super Featherweight title.
Win 26–1 United States Feliciano Correa KO 3 (10), 2:05 1996-07-11 United States Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Win 25–1 Dominican Republic Wilson Rodriguez KO 6 (12), 2:16 1996-03-23 United States MSG Theater, New York, New York Retained IBF Super Featherweight title.
Win 24–1 United States Tracy Harris Patterson UD 12 1995-12-15 United States Madison Square Garden, New York, New York Won IBF Super Featherweight title.
Win 23–1 United States Carlos Vergara TKO 1 (10), 0:57 1995-10-07 United States Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Win 22–1 Canada Barrington Francis TKO 6 (10), 1:23 1995-07-13 United States Caesar's Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Win 21–1 United States Tialano Tovar KO 1 (10), 1:41 1995-04-22 United States Ballys Park Place Hotel Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Win 20–1 Russia Roman Smolenkov KO 1 (10) 1995-03-09 Netherlands Martinihal, Groningen, Netherlands
Win 19–1 Venezuela Jose Sanabria UD 12 1994-11-22 United StatesMeadowlands Convention Center, Secaucus, New Jersey Retained USBA Super Featherweight title.
Win 18–1 United States Richard Salazar TKO 10 (12) 1994-08-16 United States Madison Square Garden, New York, New York Retained USBA Super Featherweight Title.
Win 17–1 United States Pete Taliaferro TKO 1 (12) 1994-06-28 United States Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey Won USBA Super Featherweight title.
Win 16–1 United States Darrell Singleton TKO 1 (8) 1994-05-06 United States Boardwalk Convention Center, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Win 15–1 United States Leon Bostic PTS 8 1994-01-08 United States Friar Tuck Inn, Catskill, New York
Win 14–1 United States Glenn Irizarry TKO 1 (?) 1993-11-11 United States Huntington Hilton Hotel, Melville, New York
Win 13–1 United States Derek Francis KO 1 (?) 1993-10-23 United States Sands Casino Hotel, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Win 12–1 United States Luis Guzman KO 1 (?) 1993-08-24 United States Merv Griffin's Resorts, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Win 11–1 United States Robert Scott KO 1 (?) 1993-07-30 United States Ramada Hotel, New York, New York
Win 10–1 Dominican Republic Christino Suero KO 3 (8) 1993-06-20 United States Harrah's Marina Hotel Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Win 9–1 United States Clifford Hicks KO 3 (?) 1993-05-15 United States Memorial Highshool Gym, Brick Town, New Jersey
Win 8–1 United States Curtis Mathis TKO 3 (?) 1993-04-07 United States Newark, New Jersey
Win 7–1 Bulgaria Plamen Gechev TKO 1 (?) 1993-03-23 United States Merv Griffin's Resorts, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Loss 6–1 United States King Solomon SD 6 1992-11-17 United States Blue Horizon, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Win 6–0 United States Joe Lafontant UD 6 1992-05-15 United States Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Win 5–0 United States Antonio Gonzalez TKO 1 (4) 1992-04-22 United States Meadowlands Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Win 4–0 United States Francisco Aguiano TKO 1 (?) 1991-10-22 United States Blue Horizon, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Win 3–0 Puerto Rico Richard De Jesus TKO 1 (4) 1991-08-02 United States Quality Inn Hotel, Newark, New Jersey
Win 2–0 United States Luis Melendez KO 1 (4) 1991-07-09 United States Blue Horizon, Philadelphia, PennsylvaniA
Win 1–0 United States Jose Gonzales TKO 3 (4) 1991-06-10 United States Meadowlands Convention Center, Secaucus, New Jersey Gatti's professional debut.

Titles in boxing

Major World Titles:

Minor World Titles:

Regional/International Titles:

In popular culture

References

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External links

Achievements
Preceded by IBF Super Featherweight Champion
December 15, 1995 – October 4, 1997
Vacated		 Succeeded by
Roberto Garcia
Preceded by
Kostya Tszyu
Stripped
 WBC Light Welterweight Champion
January 24, 2004 – June 25, 2005		 Succeeded by
Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Titles in pretence
Vacant
Title last held by
Shane Mosley		 World Welterweight Champion
IBA recognition
July 22, 2006–November 4, 2006		 Succeeded by
Carlos Baldomir
Awards
Previous:
Wilfredo Vázquez KO 11 Eloy Rojas		 The Ring Knockout of the Year
KO5 Gabriel Ruelas
1997		 Next:
Roy Jones, Jr. KO 4 Virgil Hill

Further reading

Cooley, Will. "'Vanilla Thrillas': Modern Boxing and White-Ethnic Masculinity," Journal of Sport and Social Issues 34:4 (November, 2010), 418-437.

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  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ The Other Fighter: Remembering Arturo "Thunder" Gatti
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ http://boxrec.com/media/index.php/Arturo_Gatti_vs._Ivan_Robinson_(2nd_meeting)
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Baden: Brazil's investigation incomplete. ESPN via The Associated Press. August 1, 2009
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 Boxing Champ Gatti's Death Remains a Mystery. NY Daily News. March 2010.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Arturo Gatti's Professional Boxing Record – BoxRec.com
  25. ↑ Arturo Gatti - Toe To Toe JB Hi-fi. Retrieved May 30, 2010.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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