Arturo Gatti

Arturo Gatti
Arturo Gatti (2002)
Data
Birth Name	Arturo Gatti
Fight name	Thunder ("Donner")
Weight class	Super featherweight, light welterweight, welterweight
nationality	Canadian
birthday	April 15, 1972
place of birth	Cassino (Lazio)
Date of death	July 11, 2009
Place of death	Porto de Galinhas
style	Left delivery
size	1.71 m
Combat Statistics
Struggles	49
Victories	40
Knockout victories	31
Defeats	9

Arturo "Thunder" Gatti (born April 15, 1972 in Cassino (Latium) , Italy , † July 11, 2009 in Porto de Galinhas , Brazil ) was a Canadian professional boxer of Italian descent. He was IBF world champion in super featherweight and WBC world champion in light welterweight.

The Italo-Canadian started professional boxing in 1991. His style was considered particularly spectacular because he was characterized by an enormous fighting spirit, good punching power and above-average taker skills, which he also needed because he often neglected the defensive. Several times he succeeded despite the worst hit and on the verge of defeat to decide the fight in his favor, which finally earned him the nickname The real life Rocky . Its enormous popularity, which caused the halls to be sold out, was also undisputed. His fights have been televised by HBO since 1995 .

The Ring Magazine , the oldest and most important Boxzeitschrift the United States, chose four of his fights each for "Fight of the Year". His first fight against Micky Ward in 2002 is one of the most spectacular and toughest fights of the decade, according to boxing experts and trade magazines. The legendary ring announcer Michael Buffer , he was always announced in the ring with the title " The Ultimate Blood and Guts Warrior ".

In 2013 he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame .

Amateur career

His record as an amateur boxer is 86 wins and 14 losses. He won the Canadian Golden Gloves , the most prestigious amateur boxing tournament in the country , six times .

In March 1990 he lost in an international match against the American Tony Gonzales. In September 1990 he was used in a bantamweight match against Poland, where he defeated Robert Gortat 3-0, Adam Belka 3-0 and Wiktor Jagiełko 3-0. In October 1990 he represented Canada at the 6th Junior World Championship in Peru , where he started in the bantamweight division. There, however, he already lost his first fight against Gilberto Otero from Puerto Rico just after points (+22: 22).

Beginnings of the professional career

He won his first six fights in a row, five of them by knockout, including four in the first round. He set a new record in the famous Blue Horizon boxing hall in Philadelphia on July 9, 1991 with a knockout victory after only 19 seconds of the first round .

On November 17, 1992 he suffered a narrow loss of points over six rounds against King Solomon of Philadelphia. On March 23, 1993, he boxed the only time of his career outside of the United States; he defeated the Bulgarian Plamen Gechev in Rotterdam by tKo in round 1. By May 1994 he achieved nine more wins, eight of them by knockout.

US champions

On June 28, 1994 he won by tKo in the first round against Pete Taliaferro, the US championship in super featherweight. Taliaferro, who was also known as a tough puncher (25 wins, 18 knockdowns) lost the fight three seconds before the end of the opening round after the third knockdown due to the "three knockdown rule". Then Gatti defended the title on August 16, 1994 by tKo in round 10 against Richard Salazar, who then ended his boxing career. In his third title defense on November 22, 1994, he won unanimously on points against former IBF world champion José Sanabria .

IBF world champion

In preparation for the world championship, he put down the US title and then defeated four opponents by knockout before he boxed on December 15, 1995 in Madison Square Garden in New York City for the IBF world title in super featherweight. His opponent was former WBC and reigning IBF world champion Tracy Harris Patterson , adopted son of Olympic champion and boxing world champion Floyd Patterson . Until his title defense against Gatti, Tracy Patterson had only suffered three defeats in 58 professional fights. Gatti, who was listed as number 1 in the IBF list of challengers, was able to send Patterson down with a right uppercut in the 2nd round and ultimately won the fight with a clear, unanimous victory on points.

He defended his title for the first time on March 23, 1996 in New York against Wilson Rodríguez (44 wins, 7 losses, 3 draws) from the Dominican Republic. The spectacular duel is considered the first typical Gatti fight; Already in the first lap, Gatti's right eye swelled almost completely from heavy hits, in lap 2 he even had to go down after a left hook. In the following rounds, the two boxers alternately hit hard impact hits, with Rodríguez going down in round 5 after a body hit. In lap 6, Rodríguez, visibly tired from his numerous punch attacks, was knocked out by a left hook, Gatti celebrated his 21st knockout in the 24th professional victory.

After another knockout win against a built-up opponent, he defended his title on February 22, 1997 in Atlantic City in a rematch against Tracy Harris Patterson. Gatti was deducted one point in round 8 for repeated low blows, an alleged knockdown by Gatti in round 9, turned out to be a slip by Patterson. After the full 12 rounds, both opponents were badly marked in the face, but Gatti won again unanimously and clearly on points.

On May 4, 1997 Gatti won a non-title fight by technical knockout in the 7th round against former IBF world champion Calvin Grove . On April 10, 1997, he played a spectacular defense of his title against former WBC world champion Gabriel Ruelas (44 wins, 3 losses) from Mexico. Gatti was badly hit several times, suffered a clearly visible cut under the left eye and almost went down on lap 4 after an uppercut. In lap 5, Gatti got involved in an open exchange of blows in the infight and unexpectedly won by knockout after Ruelas was sent to the ground by a left hook. Ring Magazine chose the duel as “Fight of the Year” and Gatti's knockout punch as “Knockout of the Year”. Then he put down the world title.

Defeats to Manfredy and Robinson

On January 17, 1998, he boxed in a non-title fight in Atlantic City against WBU world champion Angel Manfredy . Already in the first lap Gatti suffered a bloody cut over the left eye, in lap 2 he even staggered due to heavy hits. However, since Gatti repeatedly landed isolated impact hits, it was still a draw on points at the beginning of the third round. In the third round, however, Gatti went to the ground in an open exchange of blows through a left hook and was counted, but was able to catch himself again. Gatti, who had regained his strength, won the next round, but his cut burst again and the referee ended the fight on the advice of the ring doctor towards the end of the 8th round in favor of Manfredy.

On August 22, 1998, he met former US champion Ivan Robinson (25-2-0) in another bloody duel . In the wild exchange of blows, Gatti had to take many heavy hits and suffered several bloody cut injuries on the face. In lap 4, however, Gatti managed a knockdown, in lap 10 he brought Robinson to the edge of another knockdown. Robinson stumbled into the ring ropes twice but did not go down. Robinson won the fight in the end by a split point decision. This fight was voted Boxing Match of the Year by Ring Magazine. The rematch on December 12 was similarly spectacular; Gatti was again badly drawn, received a point deduction because of a low hit and lost to his opponent again on points after 10 rounds. Robinson had boxed in a technically versatile way in both duels and benefited from his speed.

Wins against Muñoz, Gamache, Jakubowski and Hutchinson

After these three defeats, however, Gatti reported back impressively when he got into the ring on August 14, 1999 against Reyes Muñoz (21-3-0). Gatti won in the first round by dropping out of the referee, after Muñoz stumbled around dazed after a heavy rainfall and then had to be taken out of the ring on a stretcher.

On February 26, 2000, Gatti boxed against Joey Gamache . Gamache was already well known as an amateur boxer and in 1991 became the first world boxing champion from the US state of Maine . He had won 55 of his 58 fights so far, 38 of them by knockout, and was a former WBA light and light welterweight champion. Gatti's weight superiority caused outrage. The day before the fight he had weighed 141 pounds. However, on the day of the fight, the scales measured 160 pounds. So he had put on 19 pounds (approx. 8.6 kg) within 27 hours and would have been two weight classes higher.

In the fight itself, Gatti was far superior from the start and knocked Gamache to the ground twice in the first round. Due to the three knockdown rule, Gamache would have been automatically taken out of the fight with a third knockdown, but he survived the further attacks with difficulty. Gatti was once again noticed negatively when he hit Gamache with a left hand about two seconds after the round gong sounded, which visibly shook it. In the second round, Gatti hit an uppercut in quick succession, followed by a left and right hook, making Gamache difficult to knock out. He could not get on his feet for several minutes, spent a week in the hospital and had to retire from his career due to chronic health problems.

On April 29, 2000 he defeated Eric Jakubowski (20-6-0) by technical knockout in the second round, where he had him on the ground in the first round. On September 8th, he fought a bizarre match against the undefeated Joe Hutchinson. In the second round, Gatti got into trouble and was put on the ropes by Hutchinson. Possibly through an impact hit, his left eyebrow burst open, whereupon the fight was interrupted. Gatti angrily claimed the injury was from a headbutt, but the referee denied it. If such an injury in the fight against Manfredy led to the fight being stopped, this time he was allowed treatment during the interruption and the fight continued. Hutchinson avoided most of Gatti's hooks due to his high mobility in the upper body. In the third round, a headbutt also caused his right eyebrow to burst, for which he returned the favor with a headbutt and was then warned. In round 4 Gatti was punished with a point deduction for a low blow. In lap 6 Gatti finally managed a knockdown, while in lap 8 Hutchinson was punished with a point deduction for a low blow. After the full ten rounds, however, Gatti was declared the unanimous point winner.

Loss to de la Hoya and win against Millett

On March 24, 2001 there was a long-awaited meeting with the five-time welterweight champion Óscar de la Hoya (32-2-0). Gatti had to take hard hits in the first lap and even go down at the end of the lap. A severe cut injury under the right eye was not a major obstacle for Gatti, but you could see how often De La Hoya met. In the 5th round, Gatti's corner of the ring had an understanding and threw in the towel.

On January 26th, 2002 he won by tKo in the fourth round against the former IBF world champion Terron Millett (26-2-1). He had Millett on the ground three times.

Trilogy with Micky Ward

On May 18, 2002, he played a fight against the Irish-American Micky Ward , who, like Gatti, was considered a "brawler" (bat) with above-average ability to take but negligible coverage. The two boxed light welterweight at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville , Connecticut .

At first it looked like another quick win for Gatti. Gatti clearly dominated the first round and landed numerous hits, Ward also suffered a bleeding cut injury over the right eye. In the second round, Ward landed a few impact hits, but Gatti continued to lead with a hit ratio of 3: 1. In the third round, Ward caught up with Gatti and had an open exchange of blows, in which he also used his most famous punch, the left body hook. In the fourth round Gatti landed a low blow and was punished with a point deduction; he had already been warned several times by the referee to raise his blows. Due to the intensity of the fight that was now emerging, in which Gatti also suffered swelling in his face, the commentators present were already speaking of a fight of the year .

The fifth lap was extremely spectacular and put Gatti in dire straits. Eleven successive blows from Gatti, which pushed Ward on the ropes, responded with a 15-second hail of blows against the almost uncovered Gatti. He suffered almost 20 hits in the head and again left body hooks and was visibly damaged. At the beginning of the sixth round it was already a draw on points. In this round, however, Gatti was able to take the lead again and landed more hits, a highlight of the round were also about ten consecutive punches by Ward, which Gatti avoided by clever avoidance movements. Round seven went back to Gatti, while round eight went to Ward, who brought Gatti to the edge of a knockout for the first time at the end of the round. In the ninth lap, Gatti had to go down after another left body hook and was counted to nine. Then he was careful to cover his body, which is why he had to take many head hits. Gatti, for his part, was now able to push Ward back and hit the ropes with blows. After the two were briefly separated from the referee, Ward regained the upper hand and again brought Gatti to the brink of precipitation. Due to the fact that the number of points was tight up to that point, both tried to win the tenth and last lap.

In the end, Micky Ward won just on points, the fight was again voted Fight of the Year by Ring Magazine, and the ninth round was also voted Round of the Year.

A rematch was held in Atlantic City on November 23. The fight was again extremely spectacular, in round three Gatti also managed a knockdown. His energetic attempt to bring the decisive knockout blow to the now dazed Ward failed, instead Ward regained the upper hand and landed several impact hits. Both opponents were already marked in the face in the fourth round. After another ten laps, this time it was Gatti who was declared the winner on points.

On June 7, 2003 there was a decisive third duel between Ward and Gatti, held again over ten rounds in Atlantic City. This was also Ward's last professional fight. The third duel was just as spectacular as the first, both boxers took turns winning the upper hand and brought her into trouble several times. At the end of the sixth round Ward managed a knockdown, whereupon Gatti was counted to eight. In the end, however, Arturo Gatti was declared the point winner again. The bout was again named Bout of the Year by Ring Magazine. In the three fights against Gatti, Ward took 975 hits. The two have had an open friendship since their first meeting, which was also reflected in sporty gestures in the ring. In later fights, Ward was part of Gatti's support team in the corner of the ring.

WBC world champion

On January 24, 2004 Gatti became the new WBC light welterweight champion. He won it in Atlantic City unanimously on points against the unbeaten European champion Gianluca Branco in 33 fights , whom he also had on the ground in the tenth round. He defended the title for the first time on July 24th by knockout in the second round against the also undefeated former WBA world champion Leonard Dorin .

On January 29, 2005 he defended the title by knockout in the fifth round against ex-WBC world champion Jesse Leija . Gatti was the more active boxer from the start and was in the lead with 128: 56 hits by the knockout blow.

Lost to Mayweather

On June 25, 2005, he stepped into his third title defense against the undefeated, 28-year-old Floyd Mayweather Jr. (33-0) in the ring. Mayweather was a former WBC world champion in super feather and lightweight, was listed as the "best pound-for-pound " (fighting strength in relation to weight) boxer in the world and was even then known for his speed and covering work. Already in the first round there was a controversial precipitation by Mayweather; he had pushed Gatti down with his left arm. When the referee gave the order to separate and Gatti rose uncovered, Mayweather looked twice more. When Gatti then turned to the referee to protest against it, Mayweather looked up again and sent Gatti into the ring ropes. Although Gatti complained heavily, he was counted to eight and the fight was released again, with no consequences for Mayweather.

From the second round, Mayweather completely dominated the action and hit Gatti at will. The sixth round clearly showed that Gatti could not turn things around; Due to the far superior hit ratio of 115: 10 for Mayweather, the badly marked Gatti did not come out of his corner, Mayweather was declared the winner by tKo.

Victory against Damgaard

After a seven-month break in the ring, Gatti made an impressive return. He boxed on January 28, 2006 against the unbeaten three-time European champion Thomas Damgaard from Denmark in 37 fights . It was about the internationally insignificant IBA title. Gatti could flash his class here again; he withstood the occasional hits from Damgaard without any problems, while the Dane suffered severe facial swelling in the first few laps. In the eleventh lap, Damgaard's face was already swollen very badly, and he was now also noticed by unsportsmanlike conduct. So he pushed Gatti down twice with one arm and then struck several times with the other. Thereupon he was punished by the referee with deduction of points. A few seconds before the end of the round, Damgaard was finally taken out of the fight badly beaten by the referee, Gatti won by tKo

Defeats to Baldomir and Gómez

On July 22nd there was a meeting with the reigning WBC world champion Carlos Baldomir . Baldomir was recognized by all rankings as the undisputed number 1 in welterweight. Gatti's hits could not put the Argentine in trouble, but the world champion's blows repeatedly had an effect on Gatti. In the ninth lap, Gatti engaged in a long, open exchange of blows and fell through a left hook to the ground. Gatti got back on his feet and the fight was released again, but Baldomir attacked again immediately and sent Gatti to the ground again, whereupon the referee broke off the fight.

Gatti then did not fight for almost a year and only got back into the ring on July 14, 2007. His opponent was the Mexican Alfonso Gómez (16-3-2), who was supposed to be the opponent. However, Gómez clearly dominated the fight and landed constant impact hits that left their mark on Gatti. The Mexican, who was almost ten years younger and physically taller, knocked Gatti to the ground after a series of heavy hits in the seventh round; So evident was Gatti's inferiority that New Jersey State Athletic Commissioner Larry Hazzard personally stepped into the ring and declared the fight over. Gatti then announced his retirement from boxing.

death

On July 10, 2009, Gatti went on vacation with his 23-year-old Brazilian wife and their son in Porto de Galinhas, northern Brazil. The next day he was found dead by his wife in the rented holiday apartment. With injuries to his head and neck, the police did not rule out a violent crime and started an investigation. His wife was arrested on suspicion of murder, but was released three weeks later for lack of evidence. The Brazilian police decided that the drunk Gatti had strangled himself at the resort with his wife's handbag. According to several witnesses, the injuries to the head and neck stem from a street fight that Gatti had with four men while drunk.

Gatti's manager Pat Lynch did not believe this version and hired two private investigators. They announced in August 2011 that a suicide could be physically ruled out, that the autopsy was also incomplete and that the investigations were unacceptable. The Brazilian authorities announced that they would reopen the case. A Canadian court is meanwhile preventing Gatti's savings of around $ 6.5 million from being paid out to his wife and awaiting the final results of the investigation.

Others

His brother Joe Gatti is a former professional boxer and was one of the opponents of Sven Ottke in one of his title defenses.

predecessor	Office	successor
Tracy Harris Patterson	Super featherweight boxing world champion ( IBF ) December 15, 1995–1998	vacant Roberto Garciaa

predecessor	Office	successor
Kostya Tszyu	World Light Welterweight Boxing Champion ( WBC ) January 24, 2004 - June 25, 2005	Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Boxer Arturo Gatti's death: Suicide or murder ?, cbsnews.com
2. ↑ Foul play suspected in Gatti's death, espn.com

Web links

• Arturo Gatti in the BoxRec database
• Homepage ( Memento of March 24, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
• Obituary article on the Daily Telegraph homepage (August 3, 2009)