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Shades of Corrales: sources say Gatti assaulted wife in past
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Sources say that Gatti had assaulted his wife before she killed him
The drunken street fight in Pernambuco, Brazil, early Saturday morning between former world champion boxer Arturo Gatti and his wife, Brazilian native Amanda Carina Barbosa Rodrigues was not the first physical confrontation between the mutually hot tempered couple, sources tell Examiner.com
"They had problems in New Jersey and in Montreal," the sources said. "Their arguments were constant, about his drinking and drugging or him looking at other women and he would complain about her wearing scanty clothing. They were always arguing."
As if Gatti's murder isn't bad enough, this tale of domestic violence is starting to sound like the case of the late champion Diego "Chico" Corrales who went to prison for assaulting his then pregnant wife.
Corrales later died in a motorcycle accident in Las Vegas.
Police in the Northeastern Brazil seaside city have Gatti’s 23-year-old wife in custody and will charge her with premeditated murder for first stabbing the passed out boxer with a knife in the back of the head and, when that did not evidently kill him, strangling him with a purse strap.
“This wasn’t the first time they went at it physically,” someone who has known Gatti for many years said. “Gatti had been seen striking her in the past. He would be in a good mood but then the liquor and drugs would get to him and he would go off on her. She is also very high strung and she often accused him of cheating or just eyeballing other women.”
Brazilian police have discounted any other possible suspects in the case. Gatti was found on the floor, surrounded by blood, in a condo affiliated with a hotel.
The couple and their 10-month-old son had gone to Brazil for what some called “a second honeymoon.”
The couple had gone to a local bar Friday night and argued there. The argument began again on the street and the fighter punched his wife.
He returned to the posh condo with their baby son and evidently fell asleep.
When she returned to the condo apartment, Gatti's wife knifed him and then strangled him. Police found blood on the floor and are examining a bloody purse strap.
Gatti was 37 years old. He was born in Italy, grew up in Montreal and made Jersey City his boxing base.
Gatti had last been to Brazil to attend the 36th birthday party of former world champion Acelino “Popo” Freitas.
Freitas told Brazilian media that Gatti had drug abuse problems and was talking about splitting up with his wife recently.
Sometimes it seems the less we know about the private life of some great fighters, the better it is.
Personally, I have never understood men hitting women for any reason let alone great ring warriors such as Corrales and Gatti doing so.
Of course, putting alcohol and drugs in the mix alters everything.
(Bloody purse strap photo, Globo TV Nordeste)
It amazes me that such macho men inside the ropes can be woman beaters outside the ring.
I hope that the word on Gatti is not revealed to be true but, like I said, it all fits into the incendiary mixture with drugs and liquor,
Say it ain't so, Arturo!
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