Jake LaMotta, real-life 'Raging Bull' boxer, dies aged 95

Courtesy: Reuters

New Delhi: Jake LaMotta, the former boxing champion whose life of violence in and out of the ring was portrayed in the movie "Raging Bull," died at the age of 95 on Tuesday.

LaMotta, who admitted intentionally losing a fight at the behest of mobsters, was in his 90s, listing his birthday as July 10, 1922, while other sources had the year as 1921.

His daughter Christi LaMotta announced the death on her personal Facebook page on Tuesday, as did other relatives, but did not disclose the cause of death.a

TMZ reported that LaMotta died in a nursing home after suffering pneumonia.

Born Giacobbe LaMotta, in New York's notorious neighbourhood The Bronx, the American defeated Frenchman Marcel Cerdan with a 10th round stoppage in June 1949 to win world middleweight belt. But he lost the title in little less than three years' time to his long-time rival Sugar Ray Robinson.

In a storied rivalry, he fought Robinson six times, with LaMotta winnning only the second bout. And the dou was involved in the infamous “Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre”, their sixth and final bout in which Robinson escaped with a victory after referee stopped the fight in the 13th round.

LaMotta laying on the ropes, but still going for the fight, is still one most of the enduring sights in all of sports.

But he remained one of the defining boxers of his era, winning 83 bouts in 106 outings over a 13-year career. His boxing fame was however soon overshadowd by his links to the mob, which was protrayed with liberty in the movie.