Arturo Gatti's wife to be charged with murder

by Scott Christ on Jul 12, 2009 4:05 PM EDT in Boxing News Analysis

We're going to have a lot more on the career of Arturo "Thunder" Gatti, who was killed this weekend in Brazil at the age of 37. The investigation is ongoing and the details are looking pretty grim thus far.

Again, everyone is innocent until proven guilty and we're throwing no accusations out whatsoever, but latest reports from police in Brazil are that they believe Gatti was passed out drunk, when Amanda Rodrigues stabbed him in the back of the head with a kitchen knife. When that didn't kill him, she strangled him with a purse strap. These are the allegations as being presented right now.

This horrible story is likely to get worse before it gets better. At the same time, I really want to keep remembering the great fights that Arturo Gatti gave us. He deserves to have his career remembered right now.

Arturo Gatti was one of those rare fighters whose grit and almost inhuman ability to take punishment elevated him to a status within this violent and grueling sport that his pure skills never would have allowed him to reach. Gatti was a decent boxer when he felt like using it, but the man came to fight. He warred in the squared circle for his living and it was exceptionally rare to leave an Arturo Gatti fight thinking you hadn't seen at least one participant throw everything he had into the bout. He could've come with a money-back guarantee.

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i usually despise Lux aeterna (it was awesome the first time i heard it), but that was an amazing video.

gatti will always be in my top 5 favorite fighters ever. if there ever was a war god of the ring, it was gatti

The Dude Abides

by battle axe of doom on Jul 12, 2009 4:46 PM EDT reply actions

Technically, that’s “Requiem for a Tower”, not Lux Aeterna.

by schraubd on Jul 12, 2009 5:31 PM EDT up reply actions

hmm haven’t listened to the Requiem OST in a while, but i coulda sworn it was lux aeterna

The Dude Abides

by battle axe of doom on Jul 12, 2009 10:54 PM EDT up reply actions

What a heart

Gatti had real heart unlike many boxers today. There is a related post at http://iamsoannoyed.com/?page_id=588

by carlyt on Jul 12, 2009 5:09 PM EDT reply actions

Reading this makes me sick

I still can’t believe Thunder is gone.

"And Joe for Matt Hughes, dislike may not be a strong enough adjective!" - Mike Goldberg

by SSreporters on Jul 12, 2009 5:57 PM EDT reply actions

R.I.P. Gatti

Thanks for the great memories, fights, and warrior’s heart

by missmanners on Jul 12, 2009 6:13 PM EDT reply actions

sad

the story referenced above mentions Gatti pushed her, makes me wonder if he was violent towards her and that pushed her to this…no excuse for what she allegedly did however

-Brian

by bp on Jul 12, 2009 6:26 PM EDT reply actions

R.I.P. Arturo

He was a great person. I´m gona miss him very much..

by solange on Jul 12, 2009 6:32 PM EDT reply actions

Me too Solange! Miss u as well!

by Lanett on Jul 12, 2009 7:20 PM EDT up reply actions

Will miss you Arturo

Arturo was an AMAZING person in and out of the ring! My husband & I have a lifetime of memories of love & laughter with him, and he will always be in our hearts! We will miss you, dear friend!

by Lanett on Jul 12, 2009 7:20 PM EDT reply actions

if anyone deserved to enjoy his retirement, it was that man. damn. I am really, really sad about this. just, terrible news. after surviving all those wars, regardless of who did it, to be murdered……such a waste and a shame and a tragedy

Gatti. Dekkers. Pele. Aoki. Kang. Vanderlei.
http://theworldsoldestsport.blogspot.com/

by theworldsoldestsport on Jul 12, 2009 8:08 PM EDT reply actions

"Amanda Rodrigues stabbed him in the back of the head with a kitchen knife. When that didn't kill him, she strangled him"

I apologize in advance to any who find what I am about to say distasteful as it honestly is meant with affection for one of the gutsiest fighters I ever had the pleasure of watching.

Doesn’t the quoted exerpt kind of sum up Gatti? Any other fighter in the world would have crumbled under the sort of punishment he regularly took, yet he just didn’t know when to say ‘enough’. It would seem that even in the process of being murdered, Gatti simply didn’t understand how to give in, or roll over, or concede defeat in any way whatsoever. I don’t know many people that you could follow up a sentence involving them being stabbed in the head with one that reads “when that didn’t kill him”….

It is almost (I say ‘almost’, as I do find this unbelievably tragic) a fitting tribute to Arturo Gatti that even when succumbing to a violent death he showed more heart than most human beings can begin to contemplate, and in a somewhat poignant way his passing can be seen as something of a microcosm of the latter part of his boxing career.

I rarely suffer from death-induced-nostalgia, and point blank refuse to over-embellish the good points of a person due to the fact they have passed away, but I can say hand-on-heart that Arturo Gatti will be remembered for a very long time with fondness by both myself and a lot of my friends, and I would suggest most true boxing fans. I have never known yet a ‘real’ boxing fan who was not a fan of Arturo Gatti, and I genuinely believe the sport is the worse for his passing, in spite of the fact that he had all but disappeared from the big stage himself in terms of his own respective career.

Thanks for the memories, Arturo. A true great and an inspiration in so many ways.

Boxing is the beginning of all sports. I'm willing to bet that the first sport was a man against another man in a fight. (Omar Epps)

by Chaos100 on Jul 12, 2009 8:40 PM EDT reply actions 3 recs

"He could've come with a money-back guarantee."

I forgot to mention, this sentence was a fantastic way to finish any tribute to Gatti. So true, so fitting. Well said.

Boxing is the beginning of all sports. I'm willing to bet that the first sport was a man against another man in a fight. (Omar Epps)

by Chaos100 on Jul 13, 2009 7:51 AM EDT up reply actions

Can anyone remember sitting down to watch an Arturo Gatti fight and going to bed disappointed that night?

I can’t think of a single one. I’m not sure there ever will be another Arturo Gatti.

by BabyBull1289 on Jul 12, 2009 8:45 PM EDT reply actions

R.I.P Arturo Gatti

When i was getting back into watching boxing i found his first fight with Ward and after watching it i was 100% fully back into loving boxing again.
When you see Arturo fight you see what giving your all is.
I changed my signarture on here about a week or so ago to one of my all time boxing quotes and i wont be changing it for a long time

"Good, so it can’t go any deeper." - Arturo Gatti after being told he was cut to the bone

by sigidy on Jul 13, 2009 1:50 AM EDT reply actions