Arturo Gatti found dead in Brazil hotel room

[moegolden]

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=4321150

Reports: Foul play suspected in death
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ESPN.com news services

Former champion Arturo Gatti has been found dead in northeastern Brazil on Saturday, several media outlets are reporting.

Gatti, 37, was on a second honeymoon with his wife and 10-month-old baby, the CBC reported. Gatti's blood-stained body was found in an apartment in Porto de Galinhas, Brazilian police say.

A police investigation is underway and foul play is suspected, the CBC reported.

Gatti was found in his underwear, with blood stains on his neck and the back of his head around 6 a.m. Saturday morning, the CBC reported.

Gatti, who was raied in Montreal, was one of the most successful Canadian boxers in history. He started his professional career in 1991 at age 19.

He won the United States Boxing Association junior lightweight title and successfully defended it twice and International Boxing Federation's world junior lightweight title.

Gatti (40-9, 31 KOs) was best known for his all-action style, which was epitomized in his classic trilogy with Micky Ward in 2002 and 2003.

It's why Gatti was a fixture at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J., where he drew huge crowds and fought many times, including the final nine fights of his career.

In his first fight after the Ward trilogy -- which Gatti won 2-1 -- he captured a world title in his second division, outpointing Gianluca Branco for the vacant WBC junior welterweight title.

Gatti made two defenses before losing it to Floyd Mayweather Jr. via sixth-round TKO in June 2005. He returned to defeat Thomas Damgaard but lost his final two bouts, a ninth-round TKO in a challenge to then-welterweight champion Carlos Baldomir in July 2006 followed by a one-sided beating from former "Contender" star Alfonso Gomez in July 2007.

In the dressing room following the seventh-round knockout loss to Gomez, Gatti announced his retirement.

He had been working in real estate in Montreal following his retirement, but still attended fights, as he did in April for the Timothy Bradley-Kendall Holt junior welterweight unification bout at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

ESPN.com boxing writer Dan Rafael contributed to this report.

[JimsInfectedEye]

Wow, you're kidding....holy shit, not Arturo Gatti...

Wait, who?

[ginaf20697]

I'm glad someone went there before I did :D

[Mother Shucker]

You two are kidding, right? I mean he is no MJ, but I sure as hell know who is was and what he did.

[moegolden]

He wasn't sugar ray leonard, but he was one of the only 10 or so boxers whose names I remember from my days as a sportswriter. He fought in atlantic city alot.

[bb1mobile]

Never heard of him.

[frankjg]

Thats a fucking shame.. his fights against Ward were legendary.

[blazin]

Saw him fight Mayweather and he was in that Fight Night video game.

RIP

[sinAtra]

Good talent, great heart.







P.S.

The woman did it.

[EarthCrisis]

37 Wtf thats way to young.

Is there a god, probably not.

I hope there is something after this. but its all fantasy. :(

[Absolutely]

They're saying that the wife did it, using a purse strap?
No offense, but how does your wife strangle you with a purse strap?
Swat that bitch away.

[Ballbuster1]

SAO PAULO -- Brazilian authorities detained the wife of former boxing champion Arturo Gatti and formally accused her Sunday of killing him at a posh seaside tourist resort in Brazil.
Police said 23-year-old Amanda Rodrigues was taken into custody after contradictions in her interrogation and presented a formal accusation against her. Prosecutors will later decide whether she will be charged.
However, various media reports said Rodrigues had already been charged with the murder.
Rodrigues, who denies any involvement in her husband's death, was the first to find the slain boxer's body early Saturday inside the vacation apartment they were renting at the Porto de Galinhas resort in northeastern Brazil, police said.
The former junior welterweight champion was apparently strangled with the strap of a purse, which was found at the scene with blood stains, said Milena Saraiva, a spokeswoman for the Pernambuco state civil police. She told The Associated Press that the Canadian also sustained a head injury.
Police said Rodrigues, a Brazilian, could not explain how she spent nearly 10 hours inside the residence without noticing that Gatti was already dead.
Rodrigues told police she had a fight with Gatti after dinner Friday night and he pushed her to the ground during the altercation, causing her to sustain minor injuries to her elbow and chin. She told authorities Gatti was drunk and that a third party likely committed the crime after he went to the apartment by himself.
Witnesses had reported to police that the couple fought and that Gatti was drunk.
Authorities were told the couple was extremely jealous of each other and that Gatti constantly complained about her clothing when she traveled to Brazil, Saraiva said.
Acelino "Popo" Freitas, a four-time world champion Brazilian boxer, told Globo TV's Web site on Saturday that he was a close friend of Gatti and his wife and that he "knew they were having some sort of problem and were about to separate."
They had planned to spend one month in Brazil on vacation.
The couple's 1-year-old son, who was unhurt, was handed to Rodrigues' sister, Saraiva said.


So they were known to have problems, they were drinking and she was
in the house for 10 hours and didn't know he was dead?

Someone else broke in , killed him and slipped out sliently.
Yeah....right.

[domelogic]

Thats a fucking shame.. his fights against Ward were legendary.

fucking amazing fights. check them out if you have never seen them

[Aaron Burrito]

He won 'fight of the year' four times with three different opponents. That should tell you people something.

[gleet]

He won 'fight of the year' four times with three different opponents. That should tell you people something.

But he lost the one that really counted. Gatti vs Purse Strap

[NotSoFast]

Never heard of him.

Thank you.