Toughest of the tough

Canadian boxing great Arturo Gatti, 37, who died on Saturday in Brazil, was apparently strangled to death by his wife while he slept/was passed out in their hotel room. Reports indicate that the couple had a deeply troubled relationship. I’m not going to dwell on that, or his death. Instead, I’ll focus for a moment on the fighter.

A former world junior lightweight and junior welterweight titleholder, Gatti fought the likes of Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr. He cemented his reputation as the toughest of the tough with a trio of bouts against “Irish” Micky Ward in 2002-03, winning two of the three. The two went toe-to-toe each time and both delivered and received an ungodly amount of punishment. The clip above is from round 9 of their first fight. I know the Rocky theme music certainly helps but this is still damn rousing stuff.

Gatti last fought in 2007, losing by seventh-round stoppage to Alfonso Gomez. He finished with a record of 40-9, with 31 knockouts.