Raging Bull – BOXINGWRITER.CO.UK

Deep as first love, and wild with regret;
O Death in Life, the days that are no more
Alfred Tennyson, poet 1809-1892, The Princess (1847)

No hush fell beneath the domed ceiling of the Miami Coliseum on New Year’s Eve 1952. Drawn to party, the event, the crowd seemed neither stunned nor charged by the sight of former Middleweight champion and boxing superstar Jake LaMotta slumped to the canvas for the first time in his then 103-fight career. Referee Bill Regan, a Welterweight now broadened by twenty years of retirement, took up the count. LaMotta, 31 and fighting at a career high of 173 pounds, pawed for the bottom rope with his right hand as Regan loomed in.

Opponent Danny Nardico rushed to a corner, the adrenaline racing through his body. The enormity of what he’d just done with a thunderous cross-cum-hook, the last of a flurry of clubbing shots, writ large before him.

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‘Raging Bull’ LaMotta hits out at demise of boxing

I never tire of hearing the opinions of boxing’s grandmasters and the ‘Raging Bull’ is one of the last remaining voices from the era in which he excelled. Tim Gaynor of the Scotsman has taken the time to ask Jake his opinions on the current state of boxing, his view on the rise of UFC and his own motivations and methods as a fighter. Of course, for fervant boxing fans some of the content is familiar ground and the famous ‘diabetes’ line he enjoys reciting to summarise the frequency with which he met nemesis Sugar Ray Robinson has another airing, but his opinion remains relevant and interesting. Click on the image above to read Tim’s interview.

Continue reading “Link: Jake LaMotta speaks to the Scotsman” →