A brief look into the life of the Boxing Legend Jake "The Bronx Bull" LaMotta
A man who was tough and a man who fought in a crafty way - Jake LaMotta is an American former world middleweight champion boxer. Jake was born in New York City, on July 10, 1921. LaMotta has been married six times and has four daughters.
Jake’s Early Life
Jake was a kid of a very poor family who began boxing at an early age when his father made him fight other neighborhood kids for the entertainment of adults. The money that the spectators would throw into the ring after the Jack’s fight, helped to pay the rent of his home.
Jake’s Boxing Career
With an experience of crowd-pleaser fights, LaMotta turned to professional boxing in 1941 at the age of 19. During his sizzling boxing career, Jake compiled a record of 83 wins, 19 losses, and 4 draws with 30 wins by way of knockout. LaMotta was one of the first boxers to adopt the "bully" style of fighting, in that he always stayed close and in punching range of his opponent.
He was well known for having the best chin in boxing over the last 75 years. He was the first man to defeat the great "Sugar" Ray Robinson. During his career, he won the Middleweight Championship of the World. Due to his aggressive, unrelenting style, he was known as "The Bronx Bull.”
During his sizzling boxing career, Jake defeated some of the extrusive boxers like, Bob Satterfield, Tony Janiro, Laurent Dauthuille, Robinson, Marcel Cerdan, Tommy Yarosz, Fritzie Zivic, Holman Williams Anton Raadik, Robert Villemain, d**k Wagner, and Tiberio Mitri.
Although it is morally correct to confess the committed mistake, but in Jake’s case, the confession took an ugly turn -one that greatly damaged his reputation in the eyes of both the media and the public.
Jake’s Retirement
During 1954, Jake fought only three fights and decided to retired from boxing, leaving behind a impressive boxing career.
Jake’s Post-Boxing Career
After retirement, Jake bought a few bars and became a stage actor and standup comedian. In 1980, Hollywood executives approached him with the idea of a movie about his life. Robert De Niro famously portrayed Jake LaMotta in the film “Raging Bull.”
The movie depicted LaMotta as very violent and impractical particularly one scene that showed him beating his manager after accusing him of having an affair with his wife.
After seeing the movie, LaMotta said that it had finally made him realize what a horrible person he had been during his younger years.
The film was initially only a minor box office success, but eventually became greatest of all the time.
Two Biggest Tragedies of Jake’s Life
In February 1998, LaMotta's elder son Jake LaMotta, Jr., died of liver cancer. In September 1998, his younger son Joseph LaMotta died in the crash of Swissair Flight 111 off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada.
Jake’s Later Life
Today, LaMotta “The Raging Bull” embarks on several tours across the United States to banquets and lectures he holds, and a series of books about his life, his fights with Robinson and other matters about his life have been published. LaMotta is also an avid autograph signer.
Jake is a member of the International Boxing Hall Of Fame. He was ranked 52nd on Ring Magazine's List of the 80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years. The magazine also ranked him as one of the 10 greatest middleweights of all time.
Tags: