It’s not true that Jake LaMotta was never knocked down in 106 professional fights. Jake did hit the mat once during an abortive 10 rounder vs up and coming light heavyweight, Danny Nardico in December 1952.
Far from diminishing his reputation as one of the toughest men in boxing history, the aberration from a largely forgotten slugfest in Florida merely enhances it. A glimpse at the fight on YouTube shows Lamotta decked heavily against the ropes in the 7th round.
The former middleweight king duly rises to absorb a blizzard of hellacious bombs whilst holding the top rope with his outstretched right glove and a disdainful aplomb more consistent with a casual barroom wager. Fittingly, the scene could have been mocked up for the silver screen.
Following initial rumours of a hoax, hordes of credible world media sources confirmed the news, yesterday, that the hugely iconic Jake La Motta has passed away at the grand old age of 95.
The legacy of the ‘Bronx Bull’ is forever etched in immortality as the epitome of toughness and an indomitable fighting spirit that saw him ascend to the mantle of World Middleweight Champion in an age when that tag had a majesty that modern day fighters could scarcely contemplate.
The first man to defeat the incomparable Sugar Ray Robinson, LaMotta was further immortalised by Robert De Niro’s spellbinding portrayal in what many regard as the greatest Boxing movie of all time.
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