Jake LaMotta: biography and fights of the famous boxer

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:44

Fighters from the past today seem to us real heroes, because at the beginning of the 20th century the fights were much bloodier and tougher than today, when the referee can stop the fight with the slightest cut. It was the beginning and middle of the last century that gave the world a whole galaxy of outstanding boxers, among which is the hero of our article, who at one time received the nickname "Bronx Bull". We will talk about life, the defeats of boxer Jake LaMotta.

First years of life

The future world champion was born in 1921 in New York in an Italian-American family. In his childhood, the guy's father taught him the basics of boxing, organizing the training process with a combination of both entertaining elements and tough wrestling. Over time, young Jake LaMotta realized that for adults, boxing is something similar to gambling, because they bet money on athletes during fights. Largely due to this, Jake, at the age of fourteen, began to earn his living, receiving the first fees.

Performing like a pro

Jake LaMotta started fighting in the pro ring at the age of 19. At the same time, he was not called up for military service because he underwent mastoid surgery.

Already inFrom March to August 1941, the boxer entered the ring 15 times and won all his fights. However, LaMotta suffered his first defeat in a duel with Jimmy Reeves. The fight itself took place with a large number of violations and clinches. At the end of the fight, Reeves was pressed against the ropes several times and was in passive defense, but the judges eventually recognized him as the winner, which provoked chaos and bewilderment among the spectators in the hall. Literally a month later, the fighters met again and again, more confidently, Reeves won. In 1943, the boxers had another fight between themselves, in which LaMotta won by knockout.

Fights with Robinson

In 1942, Jake LaMotta first met in the square of the ring with the legendary Ray Robinson, who at that time already had 35 victories. Already in the first three minutes of their confrontation, "Sakharny" was knocked down, but still managed to turn the tide of the battle and confidently win all the remaining rounds. As a result, the judges declared Ray the winner.

In 1943, the rivals fight again. This time their meeting place was Detroit. Jake then won, thanks to which the famous Robinson received the first defeat, which for a very long period of time remained the only one in his career. After this fight, an unspoken competition began between the fighters, which consisted in gaining more victories over the course of the calendar year.

The third fight of the boxers took place in 1945. After all the allotted ten rounds, Ray celebrated the victory. However, in fairnessit is worth noting that Jake LaMotta at that time was no longer lagging behind his sworn rival in terms of the number of victories. The Bronx Bull has already won against all the famous boxers in the world, including such names as Holman Williams, Tony Janiro, Tommy Bell, George Cohan and others.

Injustice

Unfortunately for Jake, despite all his significant victories, he was denied the world middleweight title. In fact, he met with the manifestation of the criminal world in the field of boxing matches. However, LaMotta did not lose heart and agreed to fight with the famous Billy Fox for the world title. The fight was successful for LaMotta - he managed to knock out his opponent in the fourth round.

Life at the top

In 1949, boxer Jake LaMotta again fights for the championship title and wins again. This time Marcel Cerdan was defeated. After this fight, a rematch was scheduled between the fighters. However, the fight was not destined to take place, since Serdan tragically died in a plane crash during a flight to the American continent. At the time of his death, the fighter was only 33 years old.

In the summer of 1950, LaMotta successfully defended his title against Tiberio Mitri. The champion defended his title on points.

In September 1950, LaMotta Jake, whose photo is given in the article, held a rematch with the Frenchman Oran Dutouille. The second fight between boxers is quitecould end in failure for the American, but here the format of the championship fight came to the rescue, which then lasted 15 rounds. Jake was able to win the last four rounds and eventually knock out his opponent in the last three minutes. The fight was so tight and dramatic that it received the title of "Fight of the Year", according to the authoritative boxing publication "Ring".

Loss of title and retirement

In early 1951, LaMotta and Robinson have their last meeting. This fight was for the title of world champion, which at that time was Jake. The duel itself took place in the most severe, uncompromising struggle and fully justified the expectations of the public. That evening, Jake LaMotta, whose biography is reviewed in this article, lost, and ahead of schedule. In the 13th round, due to numerous cuts on his face, the fight was stopped. But at the same time, Jake remained on his feet and was conscious. For this fight, he received $64,000, which was a colossal fee for those times.

After this fight, Jake entered the ring 10 more times, and all the fights were already in the light heavyweight division. He ended his boxing career in April 1954 with a confrontation with Billy Kilgore, whom he lost by split decision.

LaMotta's professional career spanned 13 years. The total number of fights was 103. This meant that he entered the ring once every forty-five days. For today's boxers, this figure is simply unthinkable, but then it was the norm.

In 1960 LaMottusummoned to the U. S. Senate Committee to testify. He was charged with involvement in illegal boxing fights, and he was also charged that because of him, Billy Fox lost under pressure from the mafia.

Private life

Jake has been married four times. He has two daughters. He also had two sons, the eldest of whom died of liver cancer, and the youngest died in a car accident. Moreover, both sons died in the same year.

Jake is quite active in various conferences and writes books. He is also inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame and ranked 52nd in The Ring Magazine's Top 80 Boxers of the last century.

A film about Jake LaMotta called "Raging Bull" was released in 1981. The main role in the film was played by the then young Robert De Niro, who had to gain twenty kilograms of weight for the role. The audience really liked the tape, but it was mercilessly criticized by experts.

LaMotta himself was recognized as one of the most persistent boxers in history. His style was to use as little of his own strength as possible while dealing massive damage to the enemy.