Jake LaMotta: Difference between revisions
commas removed |
(No difference)
|
Latest revision as of 15:15, 27 April 2025
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox boxer
Giacobbe "Jake" LaMotta (July 10, 1922 – September 19, 2017) was an Italian-American professional boxer who was world middleweight champion between 1949 and 1951. Nicknamed "The Bronx Bull" or "Raging Bull" for his technique of constant stalking, brawling and inside fighting, he developed a reputation for being a "bully"; he was what is often referred to today as a swarmer and a slugger.
Due to his hard style of fighting, LaMotta often took as much as he dished out in an era of great middleweights. With a thick skull and jaw muscles, LaMotta was able to absorb incredible amounts of punishment over the course of his career, and is thought to have one of the greatest chins in boxing history. LaMotta's six-fight rivalry with Sugar Ray Robinson was one of the most notable in the sport. Although each fight was close and LaMotta dropped Robinson to the canvas multiple times, LaMotta won only one of the bouts. LaMotta, who lived a turbulent life in and out of the ring, was managed by his brother Joey. He was ranked 52nd on Ring MagazineTemplate:'s list of the "80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years",<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and also ranked amongst its list of the 10 greatest middleweights of all time.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> LaMotta was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in the inaugural class of 1990.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
LaMotta's autobiography was adapted into the 1980 Martin Scorsese film Raging Bull. It went on to be nominated for eight Academy Awards, with Robert De Niro winning Best Actor for his portrayal of LaMotta.
Early life
[edit]LaMotta was born on the Lower East Side of New York City on July 10, 1922, to Italian parents, Elizabeth (Merluzzo) and Giuseppe "Joseph" LaMotta.<ref name="nyt" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Many sources had reported his year of birth as 1921,<ref name=ausobit /> but his daughter Christi claimed it was in fact 1922.<ref name=ausobit>Template:Cite news</ref> His mother was born in the United States to Italian immigrants, while his father was an immigrant from Messina, Sicily, who came with family including Jake's older brother Joseph. The family lived briefly in Philadelphia before returning to New York City and settling in the Bronx.<ref name="nyt" />
Jake's father forced the boy to fight other boys in order to entertain neighborhood adults, who threw pocket change into the ring. LaMotta's father collected the money and used it to help pay the rent.<ref name="AftertheFall">Template:Cite web</ref> One of LaMotta's cousins on his father's side was Richard LaMotta, who became an entrepreneur and creator of the Chipwich ice cream treat.<ref name="NYTOBITUARY">Template:Cite news</ref>
LaMotta learned to box while in a reformatory in upstate New York, where he'd been sent for attempted robbery.<ref name="nyt" /> Afterward he fought undefeated in amateur bouts, turning professional at age 19 in 1941. During World War II, he was rejected for military service due to a childhood mastoid operation on one of his ears which affected his hearing.<ref name="nyt" /><ref>Raging Bull: My Story (p. 112)</ref>
Boxing career
[edit]As a middleweight in his first fifteen bouts, LaMotta went 14–0–1 (3 KOs). On September 24, 1941, he almost defeated Jimmy Reeves by a knockout in Reeves' hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, but the referee counted to nine before he was interrupted by the boxing bell, signaling the end of the match, and by a split decision, LaMotta controversially lost to Reeves, despite the latter being knocked down. Chaos erupted after the decision was announced. Fights broke out around the ring and the crowd continued to riot for 20 minutes. The arena's organist unsuccessfully tried to calm down the crowd by playing the "Star Spangled Banner". However, while the crowd continued to riot, the violence outside the ring led to many arrests.
One month later, LaMotta and Reeves fought again in the same arena. LaMotta lost a much less controversial decision. A third match between the two took place on March 19, 1943, in Detroit, Michigan. The first five rounds were close, though Reeves was struggling in the fourth. In the sixth round, LaMotta floored Reeves, who was only down for a second. Once the fight resumed, LaMotta landed a left on Reeves' chin, sending him down face-first. Reeves was blinking his eyes and shaking his head as the referee counted him out.
LaMotta vs. Robinson I–V
[edit]Template:See also LaMotta fought Sugar Ray Robinson in Robinson's middleweight debut at Madison Square Garden, New York City, October 2, 1942.<ref name="Sweet Thunder">Sweet Thunder</ref> LaMotta knocked Robinson down in the first round of the fight. Robinson got up and took control over much of the fight, winning via a unanimous 10-round decision.<ref name="Sweet Thunder"/>
A 10-round rematch took place February 5, 1943, at Olympia Stadium in Detroit, Michigan.<ref name="Sweet Thunder"/> In the eighth round, LaMotta landed a right to Robinson's head and a left to his body, sending him through the ropes. Robinson was saved by the bell at the count of nine. LaMotta, who was already leading on the scorecards before knocking Robinson out of the ring, pummeled and outpointed him for the rest of the fight. Robinson had trouble keeping LaMotta at bay.<ref>"Sugar Ray Robinson vs. Jake LaMotta (2nd meeting)". Boxrec.com (May 10, 2006). Retrieved on April 7, 2012.</ref> LaMotta won via unanimous decision, giving Robinson the first defeat of his career.
The victory was short-lived, as the two met on February 26, 1943, in what was another 10-round fight, once again at Olympia Stadium in Robinson's former home of Detroit.<ref name="Sweet Thunder"/> Robinson was knocked down for a nine-count in Round 7. Robinson later stated, "He really hurt me with a left in the seventh round. I was a little dazed and decided to stay on the deck." Robinson won the close fight by unanimous decision, using a dazzling left jab and jarring uppercuts.<ref>"Sugar Ray Robinson vs. Jake LaMotta (3rd meeting)". Boxrec.com (May 10, 2006). Retrieved on April 7, 2012.</ref> LaMotta said the fight was given to Robinson because he would be inducted into the army the next day.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
A fourth fight, the duo's final 10 rounder, took place nearly two years after the third, on February 23, 1945, at Madison Square Garden, New York.<ref>Box-Rec & Sweet Thunder</ref> Robinson won again by a unanimous decision.
LaMotta and Robinson had their fifth bout at Comiskey Park, Chicago, Illinois on September 26, 1945. Robinson won by a very controversial split decision, contested over 12 rounds.<ref>Sweet Thunder & Box-Rec</ref> The decision was severely booed by the 14,755 people in attendance. LaMotta later said in his autobiography that the decision was widely criticized by several newspapers and boxing publishers. Robinson said afterward, "This was the toughest fight I've ever had with LaMotta."<ref>"Sugar Ray Robinson vs. Jake LaMotta (5th meeting)". Boxrec.com (May 10, 2006). Retrieved on April 7, 2012.</ref>
LaMotta vs. Fox
[edit]On November 14, 1947, LaMotta was knocked out in the fourth round by Billy Fox. Suspecting the fight was fixed, the New York State Athletic Commission withheld purses for the fight and suspended LaMotta. The fight with Fox would come back to haunt him later in life, during a case with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
In his testimony and in his later book, LaMotta admitted to throwing the fight to gain favor with the Mafia. All involved agreed the fix was obvious and their staging inept.
As LaMotta wrote,
The first round, a couple of belts to his head, and I see a glassy look coming over his eyes. Jesus Christ, a couple of jabs and he's going to fall down? I began to panic a little. I was supposed to be throwing a fight to this guy, and it looked like I was going to end up holding him on his feet... By [the fourth round], if there was anybody in the Garden who didn't know what was happening, he must have been dead drunk.<ref name=ReelLife>Template:Cite web</ref>
The thrown fight and a payment of $20,000 to the Mafia got LaMotta his title bout against World Middleweight Champion Marcel Cerdan.<ref name=Congress>Template:Cite book</ref>
LaMotta vs. Cerdan
[edit]LaMotta won the World Middleweight title on June 16, 1949, in Detroit, Michigan, defeating Frenchman Marcel Cerdan.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> LaMotta won the first round (in which he knocked Cerdan down), Cerdan the second, and the third was even. At that point it became clear something was wrong. Cerdan dislocated his arm in the first round, apparently damaged in the knockdown, and gave up before the start of the 10th round. LaMotta damaged his left hand in the fifth round, but still landed 104 punches in the ninth round, whereas Cerdan hardly threw a punch.<ref>"Marcel Cerdan vs. Jake LaMotta", Boxrec.com, May 30, 2007; retrieved September 8, 2015.</ref> The official score had LaMotta as winner by a knockout in 10 rounds because the bell had already rung to begin that round when Cerdan announced he was quitting. A rematch was arranged, but while Cerdan was flying back to the United States to fight the rematch, his Air France Lockheed Constellation crashed in the Azores, killing everyone on board.<ref>Lockheed L-749-79-46 Constellation F-BAZN's accident description and causes (Flight Safety Foundation). Aviation-safety.net (October 28, 1949). Retrieved on September 20, 2017.</ref>
World Middleweight Champion
[edit]LaMotta made his first title defense against Tiberio Mitri on July 7, 1950, at Madison Square Garden, New York. LaMotta retained his title via unanimous decision. LaMotta's next defense came on September 13, 1950, against Laurent Dauthuille. Dauthuille had previously beaten LaMotta by decision before LaMotta became world champion. By the fifteenth round, Dauthuille was ahead on all scorecards (72–68, 74–66, 71–69) and seemed to be about to repeat a victory against LaMotta. LaMotta hit Dauthuille with a barrage of punches that sent him down against the ropes toward the end of the round. Dauthuille was counted out with 13 seconds left in the fight.<ref name=fatlady>Template:Cite book</ref> This fight was named Fight of the Year for 1950 by The Ring magazine.
Saint Valentine's Day Massacre of boxing
[edit]Template:Main The sixth and final fight between LaMotta and Robinson took place at Chicago Stadium. This fight was scheduled for 15 rounds and was for the middleweight title.<ref name="Sweet Thunder"/> Held on February 14, 1951, Saint Valentine's Day, the fight became known as boxing's version of the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre. In the last few rounds, LaMotta began to take a horrible beating and was soon unable to defend himself from Robinson's powerful blows. But LaMotta refused to go down. Robinson won by a technical knockout in the 13th round, when the fight was stopped.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Light heavyweight
[edit]LaMotta moved up to light heavyweight after losing his world middleweight title. He had poor results at first. He lost his debut against Bob Murphy, lost a split decision to Norman Hayes, and drew with Gene Hairston in his first three bouts. In his next three fights, LaMotta had rematches with Hayes, Hairston, and Murphy, and defeated all of them by unanimous decisions.
On December 31, 1952, LaMotta had his next fight against Danny Nardico. He knocked LaMotta down for the only time in his career (not counting his thrown 1947 fight) by a right hand in the seventh round. LaMotta got up and was beaten against a corner by Nardico until the bell rang. LaMotta's corner stopped the bout before the eighth round began.<ref>"Jake LaMotta vs. Danny Nardico", Boxrec.com; accessed September 8, 2015.</ref>
Following that fight, LaMotta took time off; when he returned, in early 1954,<ref>"Giacobe LaMotta," in: Dana R. Barnes (Ed.), Notable Sports Figures. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2004. Retrieved via Biography in Context database, September 22, 2017. "He had no matches in 1953 and fought his final three in 1954."</ref> he knocked out his first two opponents, Johnny Pretzie (TKO 4) and Al McCoy (KO 1), but a controversial split decision loss to Billy Kilgore on April 14, 1954, convinced him to retire.<ref>Brady, James (September 21, 2017). "Jake LaMotta's best fights should be remembered more than 'Raging Bull'". SBNation. sbnation.com. Retrieved September 22, 2017.</ref>
Post-boxing
[edit]After retiring from the ring, LaMotta owned and managed a bar at 1120 Collins Ave in Miami Beach. He also became a stage actor and comedian. In 1958 he was arrested and charged with introducing men to an underage girl at a club he owned in Miami. He was convicted and served six months on a chain gang, although he maintained his innocence.Template:Citation needed
In 1960 LaMotta was called to testify before a U.S. Senate sub-committee that was looking into underworld influence on boxing. He testified that he had thrown his bout with Billy Fox so that the mob would arrange a title bout for him.<ref name="ReelLife" />
LaMotta appeared in more than 15 films, including The Hustler (1961) with Paul Newman and Jackie Gleason, in which he had a role as a bartender.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He appeared in several episodes of the NBC police comedy Car 54 Where Are You? (1961–63). A lifelong baseball fan, he organized the Jake LaMotta All-Star Team in the Bronx. The LaMotta team played in Sterling Oval which was located between 165th and 164th Streets between Clay and Teller Avenue.Template:Citation needed
In 1965, LaMotta appeared as "Big Jule" in the New York City Center production of Guys and Dolls for 15 performances alongside Alan King and Jerry Orbach.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In his old age, LaMotta lived mostly in a northern suburb of Miami, FL, alternating to Bisbee, AZ during the rainy Florida summer season,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> where he knew comedian Doug Stanhope. <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Fighting style
[edit]LaMotta is recognized as having had one of the best chins in boxing. He rolled with punches, minimizing their force and damage when they landed, but he was also able to absorb many blows.<ref name="AftertheFall"/> In the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre, his sixth bout with Robinson, LaMotta suffered numerous severe blows to the head. Commentators could be heard saying "No man can take this kind of punishment!" But LaMotta did not go down. The fight was stopped by the referee in the 13th round, declaring it a TKO victory for Robinson.
LaMotta was one of the first boxers to adopt the "bully" style of fighting, in that he always stayed close and in punching range of his opponent, by stalking him around the ring, and sacrificed taking punches himself in order to land his own shots. Due to his aggressive, unrelenting style he was known as "The Bronx Bull".<ref>"Jake La Motta", Encyclopædia Britannica; accessed September 8, 2015.</ref> He boasted "No son-of-a-bitch ever knocked me off my feet", but that claim was ended in December 1952 at the hands of Danny Nardico when Nardico caught him with a hard right in the seventh round. LaMotta fell into the ropes and went down. After regaining his footing, he was unable to come out for the next round.<ref>"James Looks To Title Bid As Jake Loses", Deseret News, January 1, 1953.</ref><ref>Template:YouTube.</ref>
Raging Bull: My Story
[edit]Raging Bull: My Story is a 1970 second edition of LaMotta's memoir. The autobiographical details include his life as a young teenage criminal; his reformation in prison; his extensive career as an amateur and professional boxer; his struggles with organized crime who kept a boxing title out of reach; and his jealous obsession with his wife, Vikki. The book details his life, from childhood until the end of his fame.
The first edition is:
- La Motta, Jake with Carter, Joseph and Savage, Peter (1970). Raging Bull: My Story. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall [1970]. Template:ISBN.
Raging Bull
[edit]Template:Main Hollywood executives approached LaMotta with the idea of a movie about his life, based on his 1970 memoir Raging Bull: My Story. The film, Raging Bull, released in 1980, was a box-office bomb, but eventually received overwhelming critical acclaim for both director Martin Scorsese and actor Robert De Niro, who gained about 60 pounds during the shooting of the film to play the older LaMotta in later scenes.
To accurately portray the younger LaMotta, De Niro trained with LaMotta until LaMotta felt he was ready to box professionally. De Niro lived in Paris for three months, eating at the finest restaurants in order to gain sufficient weight to portray LaMotta after retirement.<ref name="ReelLife"/> De Niro won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance.
Later life
[edit]
LaMotta had a troubled personal life, including an early spell in a reformatory, and was married seven times. He admitted to having raped a woman, having beaten his wives and coming close to beating a man to death during a robbery.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In February 1998, LaMotta's elder son, Jake LaMotta Jr., died of liver cancer.<ref name="AftertheFall"/> In September 1998, his younger son, Joseph LaMotta, died in the crash of Swissair Flight 111.<ref name="AftertheFall" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
His nephew John LaMotta fought in the heavyweight-novice class of the 2001 Golden Gloves championship tournament.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> John later became an actor, and one of his roles was as "Duke", who ran the bar of that name featured in the television comedy series Frasier. Another nephew, William Lustig, is a well-known director and producer of horror films and the president of Blue Underground, Inc.<ref>Nephew Jason Lustig</ref>
LaMotta had four daughters, including Christi by his second wife Vikki LaMotta and Stephanie by his fourth wife Dimitria. He married his seventh wife, his longtime fiancée Denise Baker, on January 4, 2013.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> LaMotta remained active on the speaking and autograph circuit, and published several books about his career, his life, and his fights with Robinson.
LaMotta appeared in a 50-minute New York City stage production, Lady and the Champ, in July 2012. The production focused on LaMotta's boxing career, and was criticized by The New York Times as poorly executed and a "bizarre debacle".<ref name="Jaworowski">Template:Cite news</ref>
LaMotta is the subject of a documentary directed and produced by Greg Olliver. The film features an appearance by Mike Tyson among other notable athletes, actors and Jake's family and friends. Also in production was a sequel to Raging Bull, although MGM filed suit to halt the project, saying that LaMotta did not have the right to make a sequel. The lawsuit was settled on July 31, 2012, when LaMotta agreed to change the title of the film to The Bronx Bull.<ref name="The Hollywood Reporter">Template:Cite news</ref>
LaMotta: The Bronx Bull stars actor William Forsythe as LaMotta, while Paul Sorvino plays his father. It also features Joe Mantegna, Tom Sizemore, Penelope Ann Miller, Natasha Henstridge, Joey Diaz and Ray Wise.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Death
[edit]LaMotta died on September 19, 2017, from complications of pneumonia in a nursing home in Florida, at the age of 95.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="nyt">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=ausobit />
Professional boxing record
[edit]Titles in boxing
[edit]Major world titles
[edit]- NYSAC middleweight champion (160 lbs)
- NBA (WBA) middleweight champion (160 lbs)
The Ring magazine titles
[edit]- The Ring middleweight champion (160 lbs)
Undisputed titles
[edit]See also
[edit]References
[edit]External links
[edit]- Template:Official website
- Template:Boxrec
- Whitney Martin (AP), "Lamotta Near End Of Trail", Lewiston Daily Sun, January 3, 1953
- Template:IMDb name
- Template:IMDb title
Template:S-start Template:S-ach Template:Succession box Template:S-sports Template:S-before Template:S-ttl Template:S-after Template:S-end
- Pages with broken file links
- 1922 births
- 2017 deaths
- American people of Italian descent
- American male stage actors
- American stand-up comedians
- International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees
- Middleweight boxers
- Boxers from the Bronx
- American male boxers
- Deaths from pneumonia in Florida
- People from the Lower East Side
- People from Morris Park, Bronx
- 20th-century American sportsmen
- American rapists
- Domestic violence in the United States