Arturo Gatti

Arturo Gatti (born April 15, 1972, Calabria, Italy—died July 11, 2009, Porto de Galinhas, Brazil) was an Italian-born Canadian boxer who held two world titles during his 16-year professional career (1991–2007)—the International Boxing Federation (IBF) super featherweight (junior lightweight; 1995–97) and the World Boxing Council (WBC) junior welterweight (2004–05). Gatti’s relentless aggression and fierce determination in the ring made him a perennial favourite with boxing fans, and his three brutal nontitle bouts against American Micky Ward (May 18, 2002; November 23, 2002; and June 7, 2003), the latter two of which Gatti won, were considered by many to be among the most exciting fights in boxing history.

(Read Gene Tunney’s 1929 Britannica essay on boxing.)

Gatti took up amateur boxing as a boy in Montreal and was expected to represent Canada in the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games; instead he chose to turn professional and settle in New Jersey. He won his first title on December 15, 1995, in a 12-round upset of IBF champion Tracy Patterson of the United States; after three successful defenses and several nontitle bouts, Gatti defeated Gianluca Branco of Italy on January 24, 2004, to capture the vacant WBC junior welterweight (super lightweight) belt. He had two successful defenses before losing that title to American Floyd Mayweather on June 25, 2005. Gatti failed in his July 22, 2006, fight against Carlos Baldomir of Argentina for the WBC welterweight title and retired in 2007 with a career record of 40 wins (31 by knockout) and 9 losses. Although police initially suspected that Gatti had been murdered by his Brazilian wife, authorities later ruled his death a suicide. Gatti was inducted in 2013 into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.