Arturo Gatti

Childhood and youth

Arturo Gatti was born on April 15, 1972 in Cassino (Italy). In 1977, Giovanni, the father of the future champion, moved his family to the suburbs of Montreal (Canada). Gatti Sr. managed to get a job in the field of industrial production. Ida Di Paolo, Arturo's mother, was engaged in raising two sons and a daughter. Joe Gatti, Arturo's older brother, learned the basics of fist art in one of the halls of Montreal. Joe is the national champion of Canada in the welterweight division. In the professional ring, brother Arturo fought for the main titles in the first middleweight and second middleweight divisions, but lost both times to Terry Norris and Sven Ottke, respectively. To perform professionally, Joe moved to the city of Beyonne (New Jersey, USA). During his schooling, Arturo was fond of football and hockey. In 1987, he crossed the threshold of the boxing club for the first time. Joe played a crucial role in choosing a future profession for his younger brother. Arturo watched Joe's fights on central television. Joe was nicknamed "Iightning" (Lightning). After winning the national championship, Arturo received the nickname "Thunder" (Thunder)

Amateur career and fighting style

Height - 171 centimeters. The arm span is 178 centimeters. Gatti attracted the attention of the public for his ability to take conscious risks. He acted in the sphere of the opponent's blows, which led to early defeats both at the amateur and professional level. Arturo took a lot of damage and boxed excessively openly. Gatti's advantages lay in his work with power strikes. The "business card" of the Italian is lateral blows with the front hand in the area of the body and head. Gatti has not been stable throughout his career. He often injured his hands. Arturo Gatti's fighting style is an open style. He had good stamina and was able to keep a high pace for 12 rounds. In 2001 Gatti began a collaboration with James McGirt. Thanks to the joint work, Arturo began to act more rationally, but Buddy (McGirt's nickname) failed to completely rid his ward of tactical mistakes. (pictured by James McGirt and Arturo Gatti).In the amateur ring, Gatti won 2 national junior championships, as well as 3 Canadian Golden Gloves tournaments in three weight categories: the lightest division, the lightest division, the featherweight division In 1986, Gatti lost to Wayne McCulloch, the representative of Ireland, at the international youth tournament. McCulloch knocked out his opponent in the 1st round. In 1990, Arturo joined the Canadian national team. In October 1990 Gatti took part in the World Youth Championship in Lima (Peru). In the first round, he lost to Gilberto Otelo, a boxer from Puerto Rico. Arturo lost his place in the national team to Michael Strange. Gatti lost the opportunity to represent Canada at the Olympic Games in Barcelona (Spain, 1992). In 1991, he moved to New Jersey to begin his professional career. His amateur record is 86-14. Arturo made an agreement with Pat Lynch, the manager who worked with Joe Gatti.

Professional career

There is an opinion among the fans of Arturo Gatti that he never looked into the eyes of his opponent at the briefing before the fight. This is not true. At the initial stage of his career, the Italian did not use this technique. He earned the love of the American public thanks to his open style. In the 7th fight Gatti lost to King Solomon by a separate judicial decision. Arturo closed the setback with 10 wins. In 1994, he received the status of a mandatory challenger through the International Boxing Federation in the second featherweight division. The Italian confirmed his title twice before the fight for the championship title. On December 15, 1995, Arturo "crossed gloves" with Tracy Harris Patterson, the adopted son of Floyd Patterson and the IBF world champion in the second featherweight division. In the 2nd round Gatti sent the champion to a knockdown. Patterson stood up. The initiative passed from hand to hand. At the end of 12 rounds, the judges ruled in favor of Gatti. On March 23, 1996, Gatti made his first IBF title defense. In the 2nd round of the fight with Wilson Rodriguez, he found himself on the floor. Arturo stood up. Rodriguez outperformed his opponent in most episodes of the fight. In the 6th round, the Italian brought his left side to the goal. The challenger was knocked out. At the time of stopping the fight, Gatti was inferior on the cards of two judges. In the second title defense, Gatti met Tracy Harris Patterson again. On February 22, 1997, Arturo managed to repeat the success of a year ago. He defeated his opponent by unanimous decision. However, the fight was overshadowed by the referee's mistake. In the 1st round, Patterson knocked Gatti out with a blow to the liver area. The moment of the attack was out of sight of the referee. He considered the blow "low" (in the groin area). Arturo decided not to dissuade the judge. The Italian got a few precious seconds to recover from the knockout. Tracy Harris failed to build on his success. He lost to a young opponent after 12 rounds. On October 4, 1997, Arturo held the 3rd IBF title defense. The Italian knocked out Gabriel Ruelas in the 5th round. In the 4th leg, both boxers were in a groggy state. The fight was recognized as the "best fight of 1997" by the RING magazine. After the fight with Ruelas, Gatti decided to move to the lightweight division. The debut in the lightweight division was unsuccessful. On January 17, 1998, Gatti lost to Angela Manfridi ahead of schedule. In the 3rd round, Arturo found himself on the floor. In the 8th leg, Gatti refused to continue the fight after the referee invited a doctor into the ring to examine the injuries on the Italian's face. In 1998, Arturo's black streak continued in duels with Ivan Robinson. On August 22, 1998, Gatti conceded to Robinson by a split decision. The fight was recognized as the "best fight of 1998" by the RING magazine. On December 12, 1998, Ivan and Arturo had a rematch. This time, all three judges ruled in favor of Robinson. Arturo closed three defeats with four wins. His success in a duel with Joey Gamache, the former world champion in the lightweight division, stood apart. On March 24, 2001, Gatti won the right to fight Oscar De La Hoya. The Golden Boy (nicknamed De La Hoya) defeated his rival. In the 1st round, Arturo was knocked down. In the 5th segment, the referee stopped the beating. The crushing defeat led to a pause in Gatti's career. He decided to replace his coaching staff. On January 26, 2002, Arturo returned to the ring. He knocked out Terron Millett, the former world champion in the first welterweight division, in the 4th round. Gatti received the right to a qualifying match on the line of the World Boxing Council in the category up to 63.5 kilograms. By the will of fate, Arturo had three fights with Mickey Ward, thanks to which both fighters became famous all over the world. On May 18, 2002, Ward defeated Gatti by majority decision. In the 9th round, Arturo found himself on the floor after missing a blow to the liver area. The Italian got up. The fight was recognized as the "best fight of 2002" by the RING magazine. Due to the commercial success, the organizers of the fight, together with representatives of the WBC, sanctioned the rematch. On November 23, 2002, a rematch took place between Arturo and Mickey. In round 3, Ward found himself on the floor. Gatti's blow damaged his eardrum. Mickey continued the fight. The Italian won a unanimous decision despite an injury to his right hand. On June 7, 2003, a decisive duel took place between Gatti and Ward. The third fight resembled the first meeting. Arturo defeated his opponent by unanimous decision and received the status of a mandatory challenger through the World Boxing Council. The third fight was recognized as the "best fight of 2003" by the RING magazine. On January 24, 2004, Arturo won the right to fight for the vacant WBC title in the first welterweight division. Konstantin Tszyu was stripped of his champion status due to the refusal to conduct a mandatory defense. Gatti's opponent was Gianluca Branco, No. 3 WBC. In the 10th round, Arturo managed to send his opponent to a knockdown. In an equal match, the judges ruled in favor of the Italian. Gatti won the WBC title. Gatti held two defenses of his title: Leonard Dorin (July 24, 2004, knockout in the 2nd round) Jesse James Leiha (January 29, 2005, knocked out in the 5th round) On June 25, 2005 Gatti entered the ring against Floyd Mayweather. In the 1st round, the champion was on the floor. The American defeated his opponent. After the 6th round, Arturo's corner refused to continue the fight. The Italian lost his champion status. Arturo closed the defeat in the fight with Floyd with a victory over Thomas Damgaard. On July 22, 2006, Gatti received the right to fight Carlos Baldomir, the current WBC world champion in the welterweight division. In a duel with the Argentine, Arturo injured his hands. In the 9th round, Baldomir knocked out the challenger. On July 14, 2007, the Italian had a fight with Alfonso Gomez. Gatti was knocked out in the 7th round. After the fight, he decided to end his sports career. His professional record is 40 wins, 31 knockouts and 9 defeats.

Relationships and children

Arturo was married twice. The first wife is Erica Rivera. Erica and Arturo have a daughter together, Sofia Bella. The couple separated in 2007. (in the photo of Katya with her first wife and daughter).The second spouse is Amanda Rodriguez, a native of Brazil. Amanda and Arturo have a son together, Arturo Jr. (in the photo of Katya with her second wife and son)

Life after boxing and mysterious death

After the end of his professional career, Arturo returned to Montreal. He became addicted to drugs and alcohol. The ex-champion saved the money he earned thanks to Amanda, his wife. On July 11, 2009, Gatti was found dead in a Brazilian hotel where he was on vacation with his wife. He was 37 years old. The official cause of death of Arturo Gatti: strangulation (blocking access to oxygen in the cervical region). Initially, the boxer's death was recognized as violent. Amanda Rodriguez, his wife and a Brazilian citizen, was accused of Gatti's murder. However, further investigations revealed no signs of violent death. Arthur committed suicide.Arturo Gatti is a cult figure among Russian-speaking boxing fans. The Italian has never been the best of the best. He achieved popularity thanks to his bright style. Outside the ring, Gatti turned out to be a helpless and dependent person. His weak character led him to commit suicide. He was not ready for life without participation in battles. In America and Europe, the public is more developed than in the former CIS countries. Most Western boxing fans have no illusions about the level of Italian boxing, while in the CIS there is a cult of "Arturo Gatti" due to a weak understanding of boxing, as well as exposure to television propaganda. Arturo became the author of 4 fights of the year according to the magazine "RING", but he lost in three out of four cases. Gatti was just one of hundreds of ordinary world champions. The reason for his popularity is a number of prevailing factors, as well as a weak understanding of boxing among fans from the former CIS countries. Using the example of Arturo's persona, every reader can observe how an ordinary boxer, who can hardly become an example for novice athletes, turns into a cult among the public exposed to television propaganda.