Former boxer Arturo Gatti has been found dead in a hotel room in Brazil.
Gatti’s body was found Saturday morning at a hotel he had checked into Friday with his wife and son. Reports are sketchy at this stage but it is believed Gatti was murdered, and local police are have commenced a murder investigation.
The cause of death isn’t known though, with one official telling the media that Gatti wasn’t shot or stabbed, but there were blood stains at the scene. Another report claimed that blood stains were found around Gatti’s neck and on his head, suggesting either stangulation or blunt force trauma.
Gatti who was scheduled to testify in a trial in New York this coming week as part of a lawsuit filed against the New York State Athletic commission by former opponent Joey Gamache. In a February 2000 fight, Gatti left Gamache nearly dead from head trauma and with permanent brain damage; Gamache, Gatti was as much as 19 pounds overweight for the 141-pound fight.