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Former boxer Arturo Gatti found dead on second honeymoon in Brazil
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Posted by: min0 lee
Former champion Arturo Gatti, who was scheduled to testify in a trial in New York this week in a lawsuit filed against the New York State Athletic commission by former opponent Joey Gamache, has been found dead in northeastern Brazil, according to several reports.
Gatti, 37, was on a second honeymoon with his wife and 10-month-old baby when his blood-stained body was found in an apartment in Porto de Galinhas, the Canadian Broadcasting Company reported.
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 at about 6 a.m. Saturday morning, according to the the CBC.
Gatti, who was raised in Montreal and was one of the most exciting fighters in the sport, was scheduled to testify in Gamache's trial on a lawsuit charging negligence by the NYSAC at the weigh-in for the Feb. 2000 fight that left Gamache nearly dead from head trauma and with permanent brain damage. Gatti had knocked Gamache down twice in the first round, then rendered him senseless in the second round of their fight at Madison Square Garden. According to Gamache, Gatti was as much as 19 pounds overweight for the 141-pound fight.
"I feel sad, he did a lot for boxing," Gamache said Saturday when he learned of Gatti's death. "He had a lot of memorable fights. People will never forget what he did for boxing."
He started his professional career in 1991 at 19 and won the United States Boxing Association junior lightweight title and successfully defended it twice. He also won the International Boxing Federation's world junior lightweight title.
Gatti (40-9, 31 KOs) was best known for his three Pier 6 brawls with Micky Ward in 2002 and 2003. He fought often at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, where he was a fan favorite.
In his first fight after the Ward trilogy, which he won 2-1, Gatti captured a world title in his second division, winning a decision against Gianluca Branco for the vacant WBC junior welterweight title.
Gatti would go on to make two successful defenses before losing to Floyd Mayweather Jr. by a sixth-round TKO in June 2005. When most pundits thought his career was over, he came back to defeat Thomas Damgaard. But he lost his final two matches, suffering a ninth-round TKO against then welterweight champion Carlos Baldomir in July 2006. That was followed by a loss to former "Contender" star Alfonso Gomez in July 2007.
Posted by: min0 lee
Arturo Gatti's wife Amanda Rodrigues strangled him with her purse strap, say cops
Brazilian authorities have charged the wife of slain former boxing champ Arturo Gatti with her husband's murder, police said.
They arrested 23-year-old Amanda Rodrigues Sunday, saying she used the strap of her purse to strangle the former junior welterweight champion in his sleep, police said.
Authorities had earlier detained Rodrigues as a suspect because of contradictions in her story when she was first interrogated, police said, explaining that she was "inconsistent and incoherent."
Rodrigues, a Brazilian, could not explain how she spent nearly 10 hours in the room without noticing that Gatti was already dead, authorities said.
The purse was found stained with blood in their hotel room at the luxurious Porto de Galinhas resort in northeastern Brazil, where the couple was vacationing - apparently to attend the graduation of a relative.
The spokeswoman also said that Gatti had a head injury, but no stab or gunshot wounds.
Rodrigues initially told police that she woke up Saturday morning to tend to their 1-year-old baby, and Gatti, 37, was still asleep in the living room.
She decided to check on him three hours later and discovered he was dead, she claims, and then called police.
Police said Gatti was dead for at least 10 hours before Rodrigues claimed to have first noticed.
The couple allegedly went to a bar Friday night and began to argue. Rodrigues claims Gatti got drunk, hit her, and pushed her to the floor.
She allegedly showed police elbow and chin injuries from the fight.
Witnesses said the couple was still fighting when they returned from the bar early Saturday morning.
Acelino "Popo" Freitas, a four-time world champion Brazilian boxer and close Gatti pal, told Globo TV that the boxer and his wife "were having some sort of problem and were about to separate."
The couple's son, who wasn't hurt, is now with Rodrigues' sister, police said.
Gatti (40-9, 31 knockouts) was raised in Montreal, but became a star in Atlantic City, where he won his first title. He continued to live in Atlantic City after retiring in 2007.
Nicknamed "Thunder," he won world championships in two different weight classes - at 130 pounds and 140 pounds.
With News Wire Services
Posted by: I Are Baboon
Further proof that women are always going around killing their husbands.
Posted by: crazy_enough
wow, just incredible...that poor kid
Posted by: IronAddict
WHAT!?!
Arturo "Thunder" Gatti, killed by his wife!?! WTF, is going on in this phuqed up game we call life?
As many times as I've seen this guy give his soul in the ring, he was killed by his wife, and strangled by a woman, naw, I just don't believe that!
Someone else had to do the heavy lifting, my gosh, that was her home country after all, wasn't it ?
Posted by: IainDaniel
Guess they jumped to conclusions a little to quickly
Boxer Gatti's death ruled a suicide
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