Jake LaMotta

Class of 1990
Modern Category
Hall of Fame bio:click

Name: Jake LaMotta
Alias: Bronx Bull
Birth Name: Giacobbe LaMotta
Hometown: The Bronx, New York, USA
Birthplace: The Bronx, New York, USA
Died: 2017-09-19 (Age:95)
Stance: Orthodox
Height: 173cm
Reach: 170cm
Pro Boxer: Record
Amateur Boxer: Record

• Trainer: Al Silvani
• Managers: Mike Capriano, Joey LaMotta

Jake LaMotta Gallery

• Defeated Sugar Ray Robinson by a ten-round unanimous decision in Detroit on February 5, 1943. It was Robinson's first loss after 40 professional victories. LaMotta fought Robinson six times. LaMotta later said, "I fought Sugar Ray so often, I almost got diabetes."
• Stopped in four rounds by Billy Fox in New York City on November 14, 1947. Suspecting the fight was fixed, the New York State Athletic Commission withheld the fighters' purses and launched an investigation. LaMotta's doctor told the commission that LaMotta was suffering from an injured spleen, and LaMotta said that a punch by Fox to the injured side hurt him and led to the stoppage. After the commission found no evidence of a fix, the purses were released. However, LaMotta was suspended for entering the fight without disclosing the injury. In 1960, LaMotta was called to testify before a U.S. Senate subcommittee that was looking at underworld influence on boxing. He testified that he had thrown the fight with Fox so that the mob would arrange a title bout for him.
• Fought Marcel Cerdan for the World Middleweight Championship in Detroit on June 16, 1949. Cerdan injured his left shoulder when LaMotta threw him to the canvas in the first round. He made little use of his left hand and took a bad beating before retiring in his corner after the tenth round. Cerdan died in a plane crash on October 27, 1949. He on his way back to the United States for a rematch with LaMotta.
• Scheduled to make his first title defense against Rocky Graziano in New York City on June 28, 1950, but the fight was canceled after Graziano fractured his left hand.
• Made his first title defense against Tiberio Mitri in New York City on July 12, 1950, and won by a fifteen-round unanimous decision.
• Defended the title against Laurent Dauthuille in Detroit on September 13, 1950. Behind on points, LaMotta knocked out Dauthuille with just thirteen seconds left in the fifteenth and final round.
• Lost the title to Sugar Ray Robinson by a thirteenth-round TKO in Chicago on February 14, 1951. LaMotta took a beating in the later rounds, but he never went down. The fight became known as "The Saint Valentine's Day Massacre."
• Opened a nightclub in 1955 called Jake LaMotta's in Miami Beach, Florida. He was arrested in 1957 after a fourteen-year-old girl who was arrested on a prostitution charge told police that she plied her trade at LaMotta's club. He was convicted on two counts of promoting prostitution and served six months in prison.
• Played a bartender in the 1961 Paul Newman movie The Hustler and appeared on several episodes of the TV series Car 54, Where Are You? in 1962 and 1963.
• LaMotta's autobiography, Raging Bull: My Story, was published in 1970. It was made into a movie in 1980. Raging Bull was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Robert De Niro, who played LaMotta, won for Best Actor in a Leading Role.
• Both of LaMotta's sons died in 1998. Jake LaMotta Jr. died from liver cancer in February, and Joseph LaMotta died in a plane crash in September.
• Joey LaMotta, Jake's younger brother, was his manager. He also boxed professionally, compiling a record of 32-5-2.
• The Ring named LaMotta the fifth greatest middleweight of all-time in 2004.
• Official Site

Amateur bouts

• 1940-10-21 W-KO4 Helmuth Decker [Jamaica Arena] - 175 pounds, LaMotta's debut in the ring per next-day Long Island Daily Press report
• 1940-11-20 W5 Zeke Brown [Ridgewood Grove, Brooklyn] - 175-pound Diamong Belt Novice
• 1940-11-27 W5 Frederick Saunders [Ridgewood Grove, Brooklyn] - 175-pound Diamong Belt Novice, quarter-final
• Diamond Belt semi-final bouts were held on December 6 at Broadway Arena, and on December 11 at Bronx Coliseum, whether LaMotta fought on either date requires further look-up
• 1940-12-16 W-TKO3 Jimmy Miller [Madison Square Garden] - 175-pound Diamong Belt Novice, final
• 1940-12-23 W5 Jack Reiter [Jamaica Arena] - 165 pounds
• 1940-12-30 W-KO2 Luther McMillan [Jamaica Arena] - 175 pounds
• 1941-01-13 W5 Al Foreman [Jamaica Arena] - 175 pounds
• 1941-02-10 W5 John Fowler [Jamaica Arena] - 175 pounds
• 1941-02-17 W5 Floyd Lemon [Jamaica Arena] - 175 pounds

Preceded by: Marcel Cerdan

World Middleweight Champion 1949 Jun 16 – 1951 Feb 14

Succeeded by: Sugar Ray Robinson