Arturo Gatti

Arturo Gatti
Gatti in 2002
Born	(1972-04-15)April 15, 1972 Cassino, Italy
Died	July 11, 2009(2009-07-11) (aged 37) Ipojuca, Pernambuco, Brazil
Nationality	Italian Canadian
Other names	Thunder Blood and Guts Warrior The Human Highlight Reel
Statistics
Weight(s)	Super featherweight Light welterweight Welterweight
Height	5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Reach	70 in (178 cm)
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	49
Wins	40
Wins by KO	31
Losses	9

Arturo Gatti (April 15, 1972 – July 11, 2009) was an Italian Canadian professional boxer who competed from 1991 to 2007. Nicknamed "Thunder," Gatti was known for his heart and bravery in the ring, and also carried exceptional punching power.

A two-weight world champion, Gatti held the IBF junior lightweight title from 1995 to 1998, and the WBC super lightweight title from 2004 to 2005. 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. On December 10, 2012, Gatti was posthumously inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, in his first year of eligibility, and becoming the tenth Canadian boxer to be inducted.

Gatti was born in Cassino, Italy, to Italian parents, and raised in Latium, a region of central western Italy, before moving to Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Gatti eventually relocated to Jersey City, New Jersey as a teenager. He returned to Montreal after retiring from boxing to work in real estate.

His death in 2009 was mired in controversy, with his wife first being arrested for homicide and then released after an autopsy ruled his death was suicide.

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. 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. 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. 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 in the fourth, and he dropped his arm. In the sixth, Gatti dominated the round, but got caught with an overhand 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 number 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, the Canadian and North American Boxing Organization champion. On December 10, 2012 Arturo Gatti was voted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

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. 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. 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, stated Gatti and Rodrigues were having problems and were about to separate. 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. 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. 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. Almost a year later, in March 2010, the circumstances concerning Gatti's death remained unclear.

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. A shortage of staff at the coroner's office was blamed for contributing to the delay of the investigation. Regarding a new toxicology report being prepared, Brochu quipped that it "may take a century to get the results."

The Quebec coroner's report was released in November 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.

Professional boxing record

49 fights	40 wins	9 losses
By knockout	31	5
By decision	9	4

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
49	Loss	40–9	Alfonso Gómez	TKO	7 (10), 2:12	Jul 14, 2007	Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
48	Loss	40–8	Carlos Baldomir	TKO	9 (12), 2:50	Jul 22, 2006	Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.	Lost IBA welterweight title; For WBC, The Ring, and lineal welterweight titles
47	Win	40–7	Thomas Damgaard	TKO	11 (12), 2:54	Jan 28, 2006	Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.	Won vacant IBA welterweight title
46	Loss	39–7	Floyd Mayweather Jr.	RTD	6 (12), 3:00	Jun 25, 2005	Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.	Lost WBC super lightweight title
45	Win	39–6	Jesse James Leija	KO	5 (12), 1:48	Jan 29, 2005	Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.	Retained WBC super lightweight title
44	Win	38–6	Leonard Doroftei	KO	2 (12), 2:55	Jul 24, 2004	Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.	Retained WBC super lightweight title
43	Win	37–6	Gianluca Branco	UD	12	Jan 24, 2004	Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.	Won vacant WBC super lightweight title
42	Win	36–6	Micky Ward	UD	10	Jun 7, 2003	Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
41	Win	35–6	Micky Ward	UD	10	Nov 23, 2002	Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
40	Loss	34–6	Micky Ward	MD	10	May 18, 2002	Mohegan Sun Arena, Montville, Connecticut, U.S.
39	Win	34–5	Terron Millett	TKO	4 (10), 2:23	Jan 26, 2002	The Theater at Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
38	Loss	33–5	Oscar De La Hoya	TKO	5 (10), 1:16	Mar 24, 2001	MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
37	Win	33–4	Joe Hutchinson	UD	10	Sep 8, 2000	Molson Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
36	Win	32–4	Eric Jakubowski	TKO	2 (10), 0:40	Apr 29, 2000	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
35	Win	31–4	Joey Gamache	KO	2 (10), 0:41	Feb 26, 2000	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
34	Win	30–4	Reyes Munoz	TKO	1 (10), 3:09	Aug 14, 1999	Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, Connecticut, U.S.
33	Loss	29–4	Ivan Robinson	UD	10	Dec 12, 1998	Etess Arena, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
32	Loss	29–3	Ivan Robinson	SD	10	Aug 22, 1998	Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
31	Loss	29–2	Angel Manfredy	TKO	8 (10), 2:57	Jan 17, 1998	Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
30	Win	29–1	Gabriel Ruelas	TKO	5 (12), 2:22	Oct 4, 1997	Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.	Retained IBF junior lightweight title
29	Win	28–1	Calvin Grove	RTD	7 (10), 3:00	May 4, 1997	Circus Maximus Showroom, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
28	Win	27–1	Tracy Harris Patterson	UD	12	Feb 22, 1997	Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.	Retained IBF junior lightweight title
27	Win	26–1	Feliciano Correa	KO	3 (10), 2:05	Jul 11, 1996	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
26	Win	25–1	Wilson Rodriguez	KO	6 (12), 2:16	Mar 23, 1996	The Theater at Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.	Retained IBF junior lightweight title
25	Win	24–1	Tracy Harris Patterson	UD	12	Dec 15, 1995	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.	Won IBF junior lightweight title
24	Win	23–1	Carlos Vergara	TKO	1 (10), 0:57	Oct 7, 1995	Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
23	Win	22–1	Barrington Francis	TKO	6 (10)	Jul 13, 1995	Circus Maximus Showroom, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
22	Win	21–1	Tialano Tovar	KO	1 (10), 1:41	Apr 22, 1995	Bally's Park Place, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
21	Win	20–1	Roman Smolenkov	KO	1	Mar 9, 1995	Martinihal, Groningen, Netherlands
20	Win	19–1	Jose Sanabria	UD	12	Nov 22, 1994	Meadowlands Exposition Center, Secaucus, New Jersey, U.S.	Retained USBA junior lightweight title
19	Win	18–1	Richard Salazar	TKO	10 (12), 2:29	Aug 16, 1994	The Blue Horizon, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.	Retained USBA junior lightweight title
18	Win	17–1	Pete Taliaferro	TKO	1 (12), 3:00	Jun 28, 1994	Meadowlands Exposition Center, Secaucus, New Jersey, U.S.	Won USBA junior lightweight title
17	Win	16–1	Darrell Singleton	TKO	1 (8), 0:41	May 6, 1994	Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
16	Win	15–1	Leon Bostic	MD	8	Jan 8, 1994	Friar Tuck Inn, Catskill, New York, U.S.
15	Win	14–1	Glenn Irizarry	TKO	1	Nov 11, 1993	Melville Hilton Hotel, Huntington, New York, U.S.
14	Win	13–1	Derek Francis	KO	1	Oct 23, 1993	Sands, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
13	Win	12–1	Luis Guzman	KO	1	Aug 24, 1993	Steel Pier, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
12	Win	11–1	Robert Scott	KO	1	Jul 30, 1993	Ramada Hotel, New York City, New York, U.S.
11	Win	10–1	Christino Suero	KO	3 (8), 1:55	Jun 20, 1993	Broadway by the Bay Theater, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
10	Win	9–1	Clifford Hicks	KO	3	May 15, 1993	Memorial High School, Brick Township, New Jersey, U.S.
9	Win	8–1	Curtis Mathis	TKO	3	Apr 7, 1993	Robert Treat Hotel, Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
8	Win	7–1	Plamen Gechev	TKO	1	Mar 23, 1993	Sportpaleis van Ahoy, Rotterdam, Netherlands
7	Loss	6–1	King Solomon	SD	6	Nov 17, 1992	The Blue Horizon, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
6	Win	6–0	Joe Lafontant	UD	6	May 15, 1992	Etess Arena, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
5	Win	5–0	Antonio Gonzalez	TKO	1 (4), 1:35	Apr 22, 1992	Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey, U.S.
4	Win	4–0	Francisco Aguiano	TKO	1	Oct 22, 1991	The Blue Horizon, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
3	Win	3–0	Richard De Jesus	TKO	1 (4), 0:28	Aug 2, 1991	Quality Inn Hotel, Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
2	Win	2–0	Luis Melendez	KO	1 (4), 0:19	Jul 9, 1991	The Blue Horizon, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
1	Win	1–0	Jose Gonzales	TKO	3 (4), 1:27	Jun 10, 1991	Meadowlands Exposition Center, Secaucus, New Jersey, U.S.	Professional debut

In popular culture

• Australian hardcore band Toe to Toe named their 2010 album Arturo Gatti.
• Gatti's death in Brazil, on the day of his sister's wedding in Miami, was the subject of the Murder in Paradise episode "Brazilian Knockout," on the Investigation Discovery channel.

Further reading

• Cooley, Will. "'Vanilla Thrillas': Modern Boxing and White-Ethnic Masculinity," Journal of Sport and Social Issues 34:4 (November, 2010), 418-437.
• Raspanti, John J. and Taylor, Dennis. "Intimate Warfare: The True Story of the Arturo Gatti vs. Micky Ward Boxing Trilogy" [Rowman and Littlefield], (2016.) ISBN 978-1442273054

External links

• Official website (archived)
• Boxing record for Arturo Gatti from BoxRec (registration required)
• Arturo Gatti Q&A at BoxingInsider
• Arturo Gatti at Find a Grave
• Arturo Gatti profile at About.com