Arturo Gatti was the most exciting boxer of the past decade only because Diego Corrales died in a motorcycle accident two years ago. Now Gatti, who fought three epic battles with Mickey Ward, is dead too. On Saturday, Brazilian police found the Italian brawler dead in a Porto de Galihnas hotel room. He had a wound to the back of the head, which is consistent with a coward's strike. Who would have ever dared to kill Arturo Gatti with a frontal blow? This is completley devastating, particularly as the news came upon the super-bowl of mixed-martial arts, to boxing. Between 1997 and 2003, Gatti fought in four Ring magazine "fights of the year." He split the contests, two and two. Arturo Gatti wasn't the best fighter; a strong case could be made that he was the best fighter to watch. Perversely, for the likes of Diego Coralles and Arturo Gatti, the ring, which seemed a most menacing venture, proved a safehouse. Perhaps that's why what seemed so daunting to us appeared as just another hurdle to them. Arturo Gatti, rest in peace.

Violent men reach violent ends. Steve McNair comes to mind.

That's bad news. I'm forever grateful to you Dan, for introducing me to a Gatti the boxer. AG RIP.

Funny thing is he wasnt italian, he was Canadian and lived in Jersey and then married a Brazilian who is alleged to have strangled him with a purse strap. The wrong kind of purse, for Gatti.
He was a hell of a fighter.

His nationality, as your words suggest, was complex. His ethnicity wasn't. He was born in Italy to Italian parents, which is why I say in the post that he was Italian. But he grew up in Quebec, spoke English with a French accent. In his heyday, he fought out of Jersey City, New Jersey to crowds at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City--which amounted to a home ring advantage. As of late, he had been spending time in Brazil with his Brazilian wife, and also Acelino Frietas, an exciting fighter in his own right, who boxed in nearby weight-classes as Gatti but never fought him. Human highlight reel, rest in peace.