In terribly shocking and sad news, it has been reported that Arturo Gatti Junior was found dead earlier this week, this from hanging. The son of the legendary, all-action fan-favourite who lost his own life at the age of 37, was a mere 17 years old. Chuck Zito, Gatti Senior’s former bodyguard, broke the news on social media, with Zito informing the world that Gatti Jr was found dead in Mexico.
“It’s with a heavy heart that I have to say…..R.I.P to 17-year-old Arturo Gatti Jr, who was found hanging in an apartment in Mexico yesterday,” Zito wrote. “The same way they found his father in an apartment in Brazil 16 years ago.”
This really is a genuine tragedy, and some people may even feel the Gatti name is cursed. To this day, Gatti’s friends, his millions of fans, and some of his former opponents refuse to believe the official version that says Gatti took his own life. Now, Gatti Jr has apparently ended his own life, this before it had really had a chance to begin. Words cannot begin to explain the pain Gatti’s siblings and his mother must be going through right now.
It’s been a terrible year for boxing as far as legends passing away; what with heroes such as George Foreman, Dwight Muhammad Qawi, Mike McCallum and, most shockingly (until now), Ricky Hatton all leaving us here in 2025. Gatti’s sad death at such a young age has hit like a thunderbolt.
Our thoughts and condolences go out to Gatti’s family and friends at this time.
The teenager had taken up boxing himself, and there was a very real buzz surrounding the son of the man so many of us feel ranks as the most exciting fighter of them all. Sadly, we will now never get to find out how far Gatti Jr might have gone as he sought to emulate his Hall of Fame father.
