By Keith Idec
NEW YORK — Another look at that infamous photo of Arturo Gatti’s lifeless, bloody body on the floor of a Brazilian villa made Micky Ward’s heart hurt.
Four years later, Ward still can’t make any sense of what happened that tragic night in July 2009. Ward reiterated Wednesday night after a screening of “The Tale of Gatti-Ward” at HBO’s headquarters in Manhattan that he’ll never believe Gatti committed suicide.
Ward, who grew close to Gatti after their thrilling trilogy in 2002 and 2003, also acknowledged that revisiting Gatti’s demise made parts of the latest installment in HBO’s “Legendary Nights” series “tough to watch.” The Lowell, Mass., native is hopeful, however, that Brazilian authorities will re-open the investigation into what happened the night Gatti died in Porto de Galihnas, Brazil.
“I never believed that he did that, that he took his own life — never,” Ward said during the documentary. “He had a son [Arturo Jr.] that he loved to death. He had a daughter, Sofia, that he loved to death. Two kids. He wouldn’t do it. No way. I don’t see it.”
Discussing Gatti’s death created the most emotional moments for those interviewed in “The Tale of Gatti-Ward.” The 75-minute documentary will premiere Saturday night, tentatively at midnight ET/PT, following a replay of the Timothy Bradley-Juan Manuel Marquez pay-per-view fight and live coverage of a highly anticipated brawl between Denver’s Mike Alvarado (34-1, 23 KOs) and Russia’s Ruslan Provodnikov (22-2, 15 KOs) from Broomfield, Colo.
“The Tale of Gatti-Ward” also examines the unforeseen friendship Gatti and Ward established after abusing each other for 30 unforgettably brutal rounds. It includes footage of Gatti’s posthumous induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame four months ago in Canastota, N.Y., where Ward was among a group that spoke on Gatti’s behalf.
The documentary opens powerfully with a shot of a mausoleum in Laval, Quebec, Gatti’s final resting place. That sad scene instantly reminds viewers of the mysterious circumstances surrounding the beloved boxer’s death.
Brazilian police arrested Amanda Rodrigues, Gatti’s widow, in the immediate aftermath of his death. Authorities there suspected she was involved in murdering Gatti, whose will was changed three weeks before his death to leave all of his assets to her.
Rodrigues was released 18 days after her arrest, though, and never charged with a crime. Gatti’s death was ruled a suicide. Those closest to Gatti, who was 37 when he died, don’t believe he hanged himself from a staircase with Rodrigues’ purse strap, as Brazilian police ruled.
A coroner employed by the Canadian government performed another autopsy once Gatti’s body was returned to Quebec, but it didn’t disprove that Gatti killed himself. Based on the Brazilian government’s determination that Gatti committed suicide, Rodrigues was awarded what was left of Gatti’s fortune. It was estimated at $3.4 million when a Quebec judge ruled in Rodrigues’ favor in December 2011.
A team of independent investigators hired by Gatti’s career-long manager and close friend, Pat Lynch, produced evidence that strongly suggests Gatti didn’t commit suicide. Brazilian authorities still haven’t re-opened the case, which leaves Lynch and Gatti’s family members, friends and fans frustrated.
“It’s really hard because it happened in a foreign country,” Lynch said during the documentary. “There’s really not much cooperation down there. They did what they felt was their investigation and it’s kind of closed on their end. And there’s so many conflicting stories. No one really knows the truth of what happened. But I believe, in my heart, no one knew him better than me in his adult life. I can guarantee you Arturo Gatti didn’t take his life that night in Brazil. He was killed. He was murdered.”
Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
