T-TOPPS5.0
07-11-2009, 05:39 PM
"SAO PAULO -- Police in Brazil say former boxing champion Arturo Gatti has been found dead in a hotel room in the northeastern state of Pernambuco.
Police investigator Edislon Alves told The Associated Press that the body of the former junior welterweight champ was discovered Saturday morning in the posh seaside resort of Porto de Galinhas, where he arrived on Friday with his wife and 1-year-old son.
Alves said police were investigating. It was unclear how the 37-year-old Canadian died.
[+] EnlargeAP Photo/Mel Evans
Arturo Gatti celebrates his win over Thomas Damgaard in 2006.
A spokeswoman for the public safety department said Gatti's wife and son were unhurt.
"There were no bullet or stab wounds on his body, but police did find blood stains on the floor," the spokeswoman said.
Gatti won the United States Boxing Association junior lightweight title 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."
Rest in peace Arturo. He was one of my favorite boxers.
Police investigator Edislon Alves told The Associated Press that the body of the former junior welterweight champ was discovered Saturday morning in the posh seaside resort of Porto de Galinhas, where he arrived on Friday with his wife and 1-year-old son.
Alves said police were investigating. It was unclear how the 37-year-old Canadian died.
[+] EnlargeAP Photo/Mel Evans
Arturo Gatti celebrates his win over Thomas Damgaard in 2006.
A spokeswoman for the public safety department said Gatti's wife and son were unhurt.
"There were no bullet or stab wounds on his body, but police did find blood stains on the floor," the spokeswoman said.
Gatti won the United States Boxing Association junior lightweight title 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."
Rest in peace Arturo. He was one of my favorite boxers.