BoxRec

Has anyone here had the opportunity of seeing Jake La Motta fight in his day and does anyone have any interesting stories about the man and fighter.I have read his autobiography and since he was my grandfathers favourite fighter i have been told many a story about what a great and entertaining fighter he was.I come here to read mostly and i know there are many intelligent posters among you here who know their old school boxing and i would be grateful and very interested in reading other peoples opinions and memorys of Jake La Motta.

Watching tapes is just as good as watching in person if not better for assessing quality, so long as quality of footage is good. Obviously for excitement it is nowhere near as good as in person but for assessing stuff or scoring fights it's better. You can rewind and there are multiple angles.

LaMotta must have been very exciting in person.

IronKidDynamite wrote:Watching tapes is just as good as watching in person if not better for assessing quality, so long as quality of footage is good. Obviously for excitement it is nowhere near as good as in person but for assessing stuff or scoring fights it's better. You can rewind and there are multiple angles.

LaMotta must have been very exciting in person.

The fights i have of La Motta are the 6th meeting with Robinson,the two Murphy fights and his second fight versus Eugene Hairston.But all of those fights that are available are of a past his best La Motta and thats why i'm hoping some posters here had the privilige of seeing him in his prime and describe him to me.I'm hoping a few of these intelligent and knowledgeble fellows on here who regularly post in the boxers of the past section could tell me some stories about him or describe what kind of fighter he was in his prime.It's a damn shame he was denied a title shot for four years for his refusal to bend over for the mob,he was the number one contender during those four years for the middleweight crown and took on all the black fighters that most other white fighters of his day avoided like the plague.Like he once said "they helped me make a living and i helped them make a living",one of a kind Jake La Motta and he is still alive and ticking without a hint of slurred speech.incredible to say the least.

I guess no one has any thoughts or memory's to share after all on Jake La Motta,i'm disapointed to say the least.

IronKidDynamite wrote:Watching tapes is just as good as watching in person if not better for assessing quality, so long as quality of footage is good. Obviously for excitement it is nowhere near as good as in person but for assessing stuff or scoring fights it's better.

I don't know that I agree with that...there's nothing like being there, ringside in living color...but you can't see any 'boxers of the past' live anymore, so films are all one has to study....

Ive seen LaMotta Vs.

Tommy Bell
Joey Dejohn
Ray Robinson 6
Gene Hairston 1 and 2
Bob Murphy 1 and 2
Danny Nardico
Billy Kilgore
Cerdan
Mitri
Dauthille 2
Norman Hayes

and that may be it.

Anyway Ill relate some of the stories Ive heard.

First of all LaMotta was a tremendous fighter, but a total shit as a human being. He was absolutely hated and frankly many people today still hate him.

Once not long ago, within the past few years, a guy was walking down the street in New York and passed an alley where he heard the sounds of a scuffle. He looked down the alley and sees Jake LaMotta kicking the shit out of some guy and possibly mugging him. The guy, who knew of LaMotta and was a boxing fan yelled "Jake what the hell are you doing?" LaMotta answered back "Keepin in practice". This is an 80+ year old man mind you.

Another story that was told to me by Tony Zales sparring partner was that LaMottas brother Joey had fought a tough fellow by the name of Anton Raadick in Chicago on one of LaMottas undercards. Joey lost and got a bad beating. To salvage the family honor LaMotta challenged Raadick to a match. Raadick agreed provided if he win he gets to keep LaMottas brand new leopard skinned robe. LaMotta agreed as long as Raadick put up $5000 for his end. The match was signed and during one round in the fight Raadick was just beating the hell out of LaMotta and the crowd is going nuts (remember this is by a guy who was THERE) he said LaMotta was wobbling all over the place and stumbling with Raadick raining blows down on the Bull. Suddenly LaMotta backed into the ropes and looked as if he was going down. Just when the crowd was "oohing, and ahhing" the loudest LaMotta stood straight up like a statue, flexed his biceps in a bodybuilder/He-Man pose and then tore into Raadick like a wildcat. He had been faking the whole thing, playing possum. He won the decision by the way.

The same man, Zales sparring partner a man by the name of Leon Thompson who was a Chicago area club fighter, told me that he had sparred with Cerdan (he had the photos to prove it), Zale (who was a close friend in addition to being a sparring partner, Joey LaMotta, and Jackie Conn (Billy Conns brother). He told me himself that having seen Graziano live, LaMotta live, and sparred with Cerdan and Zale, that none of those guys would have ever beaten Jake. This is a guy who had nothing to gain by saying that and was even going against his friendship with Zale by saying it.

LaMotta was a tremendous body puncher. I talked to Allan Rosenfeld who wrote the recent book on Charlie Burley. Rosenfeld lived in Detroit when LaMotta was a big favorite there and used to attend all of LaMottas fights. He told me that during LaMottas fight with a guy named Charley Hayes LaMotta was working the body almost exclusively. He said he barely touched the guys face. In the sixth round for no reason blood starts pouring out of the guys mouth and LaMotta hadnt even hardly hit him in the face. It was internal bleeding. He was coughing up blood from his insides such was the body beating LaMotta gave him.

Another guy named Andy DePaulo (who works for the Penn. Athletic Comm.) who was a ranked welterweight during LaMottas time and worked out in the same gyms as LaMotta said LaMotta was an animal. A great fighter but a grouchy, mean spirited jerk. His exact words were "you cant shine shit!". He told me that LaMottas sparring partners had to wear body suits to protect them from his body punching. LaMotta would go into an almost rabid fury when sparring and literally tear off the body protector to get at these guys like he was trying to rip their guts out. Nobody wanted to spar with him he was so rough.

Rosenfeld also told me that when LaMotta fought Cerdan (a fight Rosenfeld attended) everybody was curious about how the fight would go because most people felt LaMotta was on the downside having lost a couple of bouts recently. Anyway, LaMotta comes into the ring in his trademark leopard skin robe and everybody was hushed. When he took the robe off the crowd went nuts. LaMotta was built like a statue, he was such magnificent condition. He also stated that while he has no doubt Cerdan legitimately injured his shoulder, LaMotta was beating the hell out of him BEFORE the shoulder injury and would have won the fight, injury or not. He said LaMotta was literally lifting Cerdan off his feet with body punches.

Hope you enjoyed those. Im sure I have more but I cant remember them all.

Just when I get so bored with the endless stream of Frick vs. Frack questions along comes somthing like the comments of Klompton....and I log on another day.

Thank you very much.

Klompton i thank you for sharing these stories and memory's with me, i enjoyed reading them very much.I personally believe that Jake La Motta belongs on any top ten middleweights list even though he held the title only briefly.A true Raging Bull he was in the ring and once again thanks for the story's and if you have any more please do share them.And let me know when your book on Harry Greb comes out for i will most definately buy it.