Arturo Gatti’s boxing career was the stuff of legend, and by the time he retired from the ring in 2007, he had won 31 fights on knockouts alone … and those weren’t the only fights he won. He was a fan favorite, had an infamous rivalry with Mickey Ward, and won a tie-breaking fight against Ward while fighting with a broken hand. After retiring he married, settled down, had a son, and then, in 2009, he died from an apparent suicide.
Not everyone is convinced that he died by suicide, though, and Ward — his fiercest rival — told CBS News, “I just can’t see him taking his own life. That’s just not him! … Everything in life was going good for him.” On the other hand, though, close friends and family say that he struggled to adapt to retired life, struggled with alcohol addiction, and some believe that it ended in murder, not suicide. They point to a few things found at the scene of his death as evidence.
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Gatti allegedly hanged himself with a purse strap, but criminal investigators have stated (via ESPN) that the purse strap wouldn’t have been long or strong enough. They also point to the presence of blood-stained towels at the scene, and they were towels that were never properly processed as evidence. A cut on the back of his head cast further doubt on the idea that he had died by suicide, and although doubts remain, the official cause of death remains unchanged.
