Arturo Gatti Jr., found dead at age 17
Arturo Gatti Jr., the 17-year-old son of boxing legend Arturo Gatti, was found dead, allegedly by suicide.
News broke on Wednesday via Chuck Zito, Gatti’s former bodyguard.
“It’s with a heavy heart that I have to say,…. R.I.P. to 17-year-old ARTURO GATTI JR. who was found hanging in an apartment in Mexico yesterday. The same way they found his Father dead in an apartment in Brazil 16 years ago,” Zito wrote.
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The elder Gatti died July 11, 2009, in a hotel in Ipojuca, Pernambuco, Brazil, where he was on holiday with his Brazilian wife, Amanda Rodrigues, and their 10-month-old son (Arturo Gatti Jr.)
Gatti was 37 years old. His 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.
A world champion in two weight classes, Gatti held the International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior lightweight title from 1995 to 1998, and the World Boxing Council (WBC) super lightweight title from 2004 to 2005.
After his death in 2009, Gatti was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, in his first year of eligibility, becoming the tenth Canadian boxer to be so inducted.
