Arturo Gatti


Arturo Gatti was a Canadian professional boxer who competed from 1991 to 2007.
A world champion in two weight classes, Gatti held the International Boxing Federation junior lightweight title from 1995 to 1998, and the World Boxing Council super lightweight title from 2004 to 2005. He also participated in The Ring magazine's Fight of the Year a total of four times. He announced his retirement on July 14, 2007. After his death in 2009, Gatti was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame on December 10, 2012, in his first year of eligibility, becoming the tenth Canadian boxer to be so inducted.
Gatti was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He is the younger brother of ex-professional boxer Joe Gatti. Gatti eventually relocated to Jersey City, New Jersey, as a teenager where he found a manager he trusted and decided to turn pro. He returned to Montreal after retiring from boxing to work in real estate.
He died under mysterious circumstances in 2009. His Brazilian wife was arrested for his homicide, then released after an autopsy done in Brazil ruled his death was a suicide. Subsequent American and Canadian investigations could not agree on Gatti's cause of death and discovered a history of suicidal ideation. In October 2025, his son, Arturo Gatti Jr., also committed suicide by hanging at age 17.

Amateur career

Growing up in Canada, Gatti had a decorated amateur career, winning two national junior championships as well as winning three Canadian Golden Gloves tournaments in three different weight categories. In 1986, he qualified for the International Youth Tournament but lost to Irish representative Wayne McCulloch. In 1990, Gatti joined the Canadian national team. That October, he competed in the World Youth Championship in Lima but was eliminated in the first round by a boxer from Puerto Rico. He finished his amateur career with a record of 86–14.

Professional career

Arturo Gatti was a member of the Canadian National team, and was training to represent Canada at the 1992 Summer Games, but in 1991, at age 19, he decided to turn pro instead. He began boxing professionally on the night of June 10, 1991, with a third-round knockout of Jose Gonzalez in Secaucus, New Jersey. He went undefeated for six bouts before losing to King Solomon by split decision in six rounds on November 17, 1992.
His next fight, on March 24, 1993, was his first fight abroad, where he visited Amsterdam, Netherlands, and knocked out Plawen Goutchev in round one.
In 1994, he beat Leon Bostic, and followed through with a Round 1 knockout over Pete Taliaferro to win the USBA super featherweight title. He retained the title against Richard Salazar and former world champion Jose Sanabria.

Signing with HBO

On December 15, 1995, Gatti challenged the IBF super featherweight Champion Tracy Harris Patterson, Floyd Patterson's adoptive son. Gatti became world champion when he outpointed Patterson and signed a multi-fight deal with HBO to fight on HBO Boxing.
He only had two fights in 1996, once defending his world title. His title defense, at Madison Square Garden against Dominican Wilson Rodriguez was the first of three Gatti fights in a row to be named a candidate for "Fight of the Year" by The Ring. Dropped in round two and with his right eye closing fast, Gatti knocked Rodriguez down in round five with a left hook to the body, before finishing him off in round six to retain the title.
In 1997, he again won a points victory over Patterson, but this time by a larger margin. He then scored a technical knockout over former world champion Calvin Grove in the seventh round of a non-title affair. Then came his defense against former world champion Gabriel Ruelas, which was also named "Fight of the Year" by The Ring. Rocked by a left uppercut in the fourth, Gatti absorbed more than 15 consecutive punches before being saved by the bell. In the fifth, with Ruelas again the aggressor and looking close to victory, Gatti connected with a left hook that lifted Ruelas off the canvas and resulted in the knock out. His knockout over Ruelas was later awarded The Ring Knockout of the Year.

To the lightweight division

After that fight, Gatti relinquished the world title, going up in weight to the lightweight division. However, 1998 was a bad year for him, as he lost all three of his fights that year. He lost by a technical knockout in round eight to Angel Manfredy, and then lost a pair of close 10-round decisions to Ivan Robinson, the first by split decision, the second by unanimous. In Gatti–Robinson II, Gatti had a point deducted in the eighth round for low blows. Had the point not been deducted, the fight would have been a draw, as Robinson was ahead by only one point on two scorecards. Gatti–Robinson I was chosen "Fight of the Year" by The Ring, thus marking the second year in a row that a Gatti fight was given that award and the third year in a row a Gatti fight was nominated.
He only had one fight in 1999, knocking out Reyes Munoz in round one.

Controversial fight against Gamache

Gatti's first fight of 2000 proved to be controversial. Faced with former world champion Joey Gamache, Gatti won by a knockout in round two. A subsequent lawsuit by Gamache's handlers claimed Gatti had gained 19 pounds since the weigh-in the day before and thus had a large advantage over Gamache. In the wake of the fight, boxing regulators pushed for a new law limiting the amount of weight a competitor can gain between the weigh-in and time of the fight. Gatti was also accused by Gamache's handlers of not having actually made the contracted weight of 141 pounds. After Gatti–Gamache, some boxing commissions started weighing boxers a second time.
Gatti also won his two other fights that year, against Eric Jukabuwski and Joe Hutchinson.

Fight against De La Hoya and trilogy against Micky Ward

In 2001, Gatti only had one fight, going up in weight to meet welterweight Oscar De La Hoya, who beat him by a technical knockout in five rounds. In 2002, Gatti returned to the light welterweight division and defeated former world champion Terronn Millett by a knockout in round four.
He then split two ten-round decisions with "Irish" Micky Ward, losing their first bout, but winning their second. Gatti-Ward I also earned "Fight of the Year" honors by Ring Magazine, and the 9th round was called the Round of the Century by Emanuel Steward.
Gatti's first bout against Ward is viewed as one of the greatest in boxing history by writers and fans alike. It has since been referred to as the “fight of the century” and won both The Ring Magazines fight of the year and the BWAA Fight of the Year. Gatti was also awarded The Ring Magazine Comeback of the Year for his career resurgence in 2002.
On June 7, 2003, he and Ward had a rubber match. Gatti broke his twice-repaired right hand when he struck Ward's hip bone with an attempted body shot in the fourth, and he dropped his arm. In the sixth, Gatti dominated the round, but got caught with an overhand to the top of the head a second before the bell rang and went down. Gatti would win the match by unanimous decision. The third fight between the two was again named "Fight of the Year" by Ring Magazine.
Gatti vs Ward I & III are also part of HBO's 10 best fights of the decade. The trilogy is often regarded as one of the greatest in all of boxing.

Career after Micky Ward

On January 24, 2004, Gatti, having recovered from a broken hand, scored a tenth round knock-down and defeated Gianluca Branco of Italy by a 12-round unanimous decision to win the vacant WBC light welterweight title.
On July 24, 2004, he knocked out the previously unbeaten former world champion Leonard Dorin Doroftei in two rounds at Atlantic City, to retain his title.
Gatti's second defense of his WBC title came against former WBC super featherweight Champion Jesse James Leija on January 29, 2005. Gatti beat Leija by a fifth-round knockout.
Gatti's protege, Danny "Little Mac" McDermott made his professional debut on the undercard with a victory over Alex Matos.
In his next fight, Gatti fought former super featherweight and lightweight world champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. on June 25, 2005. He took a horrific beating and Gatti's corner man threw in the towel after he was beaten around the ring, thus ending his title reign via sixth-round technical knockout.
After the loss to Mayweather, Gatti moved up to the welterweight division. He beat Thomas Damgaard on January 28, 2006, by an eleventh-round technical knockout to win the vacant IBA welterweight title and become a champion in 3 different weight divisions.
On July 22, 2006, Gatti lost by a TKO to Carlos Baldomir, vying for the WBC & The Ring welterweight championship. He then broke off his relationship with Buddy McGirt and had a new trainer in Micky Ward.

Final fight and retirement

Gatti attempted a comeback on July 14, 2007, against Alfonso Gomez, only to get TKO'd by Gomez. After the fight, Gatti announced his retirement in the dressing room, reportedly quipping: "I'm coming back — as a spectator."
Gatti retired with a record of 40 wins and 9 losses, with 31 wins by knockout. On September 24, 2008, reports had surfaced that Gatti was considering a comeback against Montreal welterweight Antonin Décarie, the Canadian and North American Boxing Organization champion. On December 10, 2012, he was voted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Fighting style

Arturo was an aggressive, all-action fighter, often remembered as a slugger. Early on in his career, Gatti showed his tremendous punching power as he amassed a large number of first-round knockouts. Although he had the ability to box many opponents Gatti would often get into brawls when his opponents were able to take the power and fight back. This is why many of his bouts against good opposition were slug-fests.
Gatti had incredible heart, and a very good chin, shown in the majority of his major fights. He was able to absorb incredible amounts of punishment by fighters such as Wilson Rodriguez, Gabriel Ruelas, Angel Manfredy, Ivan Robinson, Oscar De La Hoya, Micky Ward, Floyd Mayweather and Carlos Baldomir, none of whom could knock him out cold. In his first title defence against Wilson Rodriguez at Madison Square Garden he showed off his recuperative abilities as he was close to being stopped under a barrage of shots and in the next round he stopped his opponent.
Even though he was often described as a slugger and a "brawler," Gatti also possessed good boxing skills, including a strong jab and the ability to box off his back foot.
Due to Gatti's entertaining style he earned the nickname “The Human Highlight Reel.”
Oscar De La Hoya, who faced many big punchers from 130 pounds to 160 pounds, says Gatti hit him the hardest out of any fighter.

Death

On July 11, 2009, Gatti was found dead in a hotel in Ipojuca, Pernambuco, Brazil, where he was on holiday with his Brazilian wife, Amanda Rodrigues, and their 10-month-old son. He was 37 years old. Gatti's wife was initially charged with murder after Brazilian authorities ruled Gatti's death a homicide, but after the coroner's autopsy report was released, they declared it was a suicide by hanging, and charges against his widow were dropped. Gatti had a history of suicidal threats and had previously attempted suicide in 2006.
Gatti's funeral was held on July 20, 2009; about 1,000 mourners filed into Our Lady of Defence Church in Montreal's Little Italy, and he was buried in a crypt in Laval Cemetery in Quebec. The WBC also presented Gatti's mother with a posthumous championship belt. There were many other tributes made by members of the boxing world in Gatti's honor, along with a public memorial in New Jersey.
On July 31, 2009, it was announced that the Canadian government would be seeking more information from the Brazilian authorities on Gatti's death. Gatti's family confirmed that there would be a second autopsy done in Quebec.
Two independent investigators hired by Gatti's longtime manager Pat Lynch released a statement in September 2011 that they believed Gatti was murdered. A contributing factor to their conclusion was an injury to the back of Gatti's head that they believed could not have been self inflicted. After receiving the independent investigators' findings, Brazilian authorities again concluded that Gatti died by suicide.
At the family's request, a Quebec coroner agreed to exhume the body so that two pathologists could conduct a second autopsy. After an autopsy, the pathologists ruled there was "no clear evidence of foul play" and expressed doubt at the conclusions reached by the private investigators hired by Gatti's manager. CBC's The Fifth Estate and HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel both interviewed witnesses who stated Gatti assaulted his wife in public the night before his death and that the injuries to the back of his head came as result of Gatti fighting with a passer-by who attempted to intervene.

Titles in boxing

Major world titles

Minor world titles

Regional titles

Awards and achievements

Fights of the year
Other awards

Personal life

Gatti was born in Italy and his family is of Italian ancestry. His family shortly relocated to Montreal, Quebec, where he was raised and fought his entire amateur career. He later relocated to New Jersey as a teenager to begin his professional career. His brother, Joe, was also a professional boxer.
During the 2000s Gatti was in a relationship with Erika Rivera who he met in New Jersey they had one daughter together named Sophia who was born in 2005 the couple shortly separated. In 2007 Gatti married Amanda Rodrigues, a Brazilian woman he met in Atlantic City, their son Arturo Gatti Jr., was born in 2008. Gatti Jr. followed in his footsteps and competed at amateur level with plans to turn professional but died at just 17 years old with his body discovered hung from an apartment in Mexico on 7th October 2025.
After he retired in 2007, Gatti returned to Montreal, Canada, and got involved in real estate/property development.
Gatti developed a strong friendship with his former opponent Micky Ward. The two often went out to dinner together and played golf. After Gatti's death, Ward stated “a big part of me is gone.” Gatti enjoyed living a lavish lifestyle however he did struggle with alcoholism throughout his life.

In popular culture

In 2013, HBO released a one-hour documentary, The Tale of Gatti-Ward, as part of its Legendary Nights series. The film highlighted Gatti's iconic trilogy with Micky Ward and the friendship that followed.
In 2016, Dennis Taylor and John Raspanti published the book Intimate Warfare, which chronicled Gatti's trilogy of fights with Ward and the bond the two men later formed.
In 2023, a three-part true crime documentary titled Thunder: The Life and Death of Arturo Gatti was released. It explored Gatti's life and boxing career while also investigating the circumstances surrounding his death. The series won Best Documentary Series at that year's Alberta Film and Television Awards.

Video games

The game Fight Night Round 3 features Ward and Gatti on the cover.
YearTitleRole
2004Fight Night 2004Playable character
2005Fight Night Round 2Playable character
2006Fight Night Round 3Playable character
2009Fight Night Round 4Playable character
2023UndisputedPlayable character

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
49Loss40–9Alfonso GómezTKO7, 2:12Jul 14, 2007Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
48Loss40–8Carlos BaldomirTKO9, 2:50Jul 22, 2006Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.Lost IBA welterweight title;
For WBC and The Ring welterweight titles
47Win40–7Thomas DamgaardTKO11, 2:54Jan 28, 2006Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.Won vacant IBA welterweight title
46Loss39–7Floyd Mayweather Jr.RTD6, 3:00Jun 25, 2005Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.Lost WBC super lightweight title
45Win39–6Jesse James LeijaKO5, 1:48Jan 29, 2005Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.Retained WBC super lightweight title
44Win38–6Leonard DorofteiKO2, 2:55Jul 24, 2004Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.Retained WBC super lightweight title
43Win37–6Gianluca BrancoUD12Jan 24, 2004Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.Won vacant WBC super lightweight title
42Win36–6Micky WardUD10Jun 7, 2003Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
41Win35–6Micky WardUD10Nov 23, 2002Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
40Loss34–6Micky WardMD10May 18, 2002Mohegan Sun Arena, Montville, Connecticut, U.S.
39Win34–5Terron MillettTKO4, 2:23Jan 26, 2002The Theater at Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
38Loss33–5Oscar De La HoyaTKO5, 1:16Mar 24, 2001MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
37Win33–4Joe HutchinsonUD10Sep 8, 2000Molson Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
36Win32–4Eric JakubowskiTKO2, 0:40Apr 29, 2000Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
35Win31–4Joey GamacheKO2, 0:41Feb 26, 2000Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
34Win30–4Reyes MunozTKO1, 3:09Aug 14, 1999Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, Connecticut, U.S.
33Loss29–4Ivan RobinsonUD10Dec 12, 1998Etess Arena, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
32Loss29–3Ivan RobinsonSD10Aug 22, 1998Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
31Loss29–2Angel ManfredyTKO8, 2:57Jan 17, 1998Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
30Win29–1Gabriel RuelasTKO5, 2:22Oct 4, 1997Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.Retained IBF junior lightweight title
29Win28–1Calvin Grove7, 3:00May 4, 1997Circus Maximus Showroom, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
28Win27–1Tracy Harris PattersonUD12Feb 22, 1997Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.Retained IBF junior lightweight title
27Win26–1Feliciano CorreaKO3, 2:05Jul 11, 1996Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
26Win25–1Wilson RodriguezKO6, 2:16Mar 23, 1996The Theater at Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.Retained IBF junior lightweight title
25Win24–1Tracy Harris PattersonUD12Dec 15, 1995Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.Won IBF junior lightweight title
24Win23–1Carlos VergaraTKO1, 0:57Oct 7, 1995Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
23Win22–1Barrington FrancisTKO6 Jul 13, 1995Circus Maximus Showroom, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
22Win21–1Tialano TovarKO1, 1:41Apr 22, 1995Bally's Park Place, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
21Win20–1Roman SmolenkovKO1Mar 9, 1995Martinihal, Groningen, Netherlands
20Win19–1Jose SanabriaUD12Nov 22, 1994Meadowlands Exposition Center, Secaucus, New Jersey, U.S.Retained USBA junior lightweight title
19Win18–1Richard SalazarTKO10, 2:29Aug 16, 1994The Blue Horizon, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.Retained USBA junior lightweight title
18Win17–1Pete TaliaferroTKO1, 3:00Jun 28, 1994Meadowlands Exposition Center, Secaucus, New Jersey, U.S.Won USBA junior lightweight title
17Win16–1Darrell SingletonTKO1, 0:41May 6, 1994Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
16Win15–1Leon Bostic8Jan 8, 1994Friar Tuck Inn, Catskill, New York, U.S.
15Win14–1Glenn IrizarryTKO1Nov 11, 1993Huntington Hilton Hotel, Melville, New York, U.S.
14Win13–1Derek FrancisKO1Oct 23, 1993Sands Casino Hotel, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
13Win12–1Luis GuzmanKO1Aug 24, 1993Merv Griffin's Resorts, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
12Win11–1Robert ScottKO1Jul 30, 1993Ramada Hotel, New York City, New York, U.S.
11Win10–1Christino SueroKO3, 1:55Jun 20, 1993Harrah's Marina Hotel Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
10Win9–1Clifford HicksKO3May 15, 1993Memorial High School, Brick Township, New Jersey, U.S.
9Win8–1Curtis MathisTKO3Apr 7, 1993Robert Treat Hotel, Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
8Win7–1Plamen GechevTKO1Mar 23, 1993Rotterdam Ahoy Sportpaleis, Rotterdam, Netherlands
7Loss6–1King Solomon6Nov 17, 1992The Blue Horizon, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
6Win6–0Joe Lafontant6May 15, 1992Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
5Win5–0Antonio GonzalezTKO1, 1:35Apr 22, 1992Meadowlands Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey, U.S.
4Win4–0Francisco AguianoTKO1Oct 22, 1991The Blue Horizon, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
3Win3–0Richard De JesusTKO1, 0:28Aug 2, 1991Quality Inn Hotel, Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
2Win2–0Luis Melendez1, 0:19Jul 9, 1991The Blue Horizon, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
1Win1–0Jose Gonzales3, 1:27Jun 10, 1991Meadowlands Exposition Center, Secaucus, New Jersey, U.S.