Arturo “Thunder” Gatti

Boxing fans around the world have been rocked by the news of the tragic death of one of the sport’s most courageous pugilists.  On July 11, Arturo ” Thunder” Gatti was found dead in his hotel room, by Brazilian police.  Gatti, and his wife, Amanda Rodrigues Gatti were enjoying a second honeymoon in the resort town of Porto de Galinhas. Police have arrested Amanda because due to her conflicting testimony and a bloody purse strap found at the scene, which investigators believe was used to strangle an unconscious Gatti.

Arturo “Thunder” Gatti was one of Canada’s proudest exports, born in Italy, he was raised in Montreal, Quebec. He decided to turn professional in 1991, at the age of 19. He was a member of the Canadian National Boxing team preparing for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Gatti left Montreal for Jersey City, New Jersey, to pursue his professional interests. His first fight took place on 10 June 1991, he knocked out Jose Gonsalez in the third round. The first time I saw Arturo fight on television was on December 15 1995 when he challenged for the IBF Super Flyweight title. Gatti’s victory over then champion Tracy Harris Patterson, brought him a five fight deal with HBO Boxing. Beating Patterson, the adoptive son of former world heavyweight champion, Floyd Patterson, not only secured him the title, but also made sure fight fans would get to see a lot more of this lionhearted fighter.

1996 was the year Arturo Gatti began to carve out his “Thunder” legacy, his title defense against Wilson Rodrigues was nominated by Ring Magazine as one of the fights of the year. “Thunder” got up from a knockdown in round two to KO Rodrigues in the fifth. 1997 entrenched him as one of the most watched fighter’s in the world, unique for a fighter in the lighter divisions. His fight against Gabriel Ruelas won Ring Magazine’s award for fight of the year. Savagely rocked by an uppercut in the fourth round Gatti absorbed a barrage of unanswered punches before being saved by the bell. Thunder stormed out of his corner for the fifth round and knocked Ruelas out with a left hook! Following this contest, Gatti relinquished his title and moved up a division to fight as a lightweight. All three fights contested in 1998 were lost, but his public profile and following increased as he again won fight of the year losing a points decision to Ivan Robinson. HBO surely made the deal of a lifetime signing a fighter that produced three fight of the year nominations in a row, with two of those fights actually winning the award! The following two years were less illustrious, dominated by the controversy surrounding his second round knockout of Joey Gamache. Gatti reportedly gained 19 pounds between the weigh-in and the fight. Gamache’s handlers protested that this gave Gatti an unfair advantage over Gamache. The knockout left Gamache in a coma for a day. After this fight, boxing commissions began weighing fighters twice, the second time, on the day of the fight. In 2001 Arturo moved up to welterweight to take on the great Oscar De La Hoya, it was a bridge too far and he lost by TKO in the fifth. 2002 saw him move back down to junior welterweight and begin his trilogy with Micky Ward. These three wars are probably what Gatti is most famous for, the first 10 rounder, which Gatti lost, earned him another fight of the year award. After avenging the first defeat, in the second fight, the stage was set in 2003 for the final instalment of the trilogy. Gatti fought with a broken hand from the fourth round onwards, showing tremendous heart. His bravery was rewarded as he was awarded the fight by all three judges. The heroics of Ward and Gatti earned them another fight of the year award. This victory lead to Gatti reclaiming his light welterweight title, defeating Gianluca Branco of Italy, over 12 rounds, again he fought much of the fight with a broken hand. January 2005 saw Gatti KO highly rated former world champion Jesse James Leija. This fifth round knockout victory earned Gatti a shot at Floyd Mayweather. June 25 of 2005 brought Arturo Gatti’s most resounding defeat, his corner throwing in the towel in the sixth round. To me, Gatti was never the same fighter after this loss. A year later he was knocked out by Carlos Baldomir trying to win the welterweight title again. Buddy McGirt, Gatti’s trainer must’ve agreed with me, as he and Gatti parted ways after this defeat. Gatti made one more attempt at reaching his previous highs, this time with long time rival, Micky Ward as his trainer, but was knocked out by Contender champ, Alfonso Gomes. Mercifully Gatti hung up his gloves after this fight, on 14 July 2007.

Arturo “Thunder” Gatti retired with a fight record of 40 wins and 9 losses with 31 KO’S.

He fought his way into many hearts, displaying an unrelenting fighting spirit. Thunder Gatti became synonymous with a never say die attitude, enjoying a cult following that was unaffected by his defeats. I hope that this brief synopsis of his most important fights gives honour to his memory. May the truth be revealed regarding the circumstances of his unfortunate death , a man who left his heart on the canvas so many times deserves nothing less.