Though the real reason is said to be that LaMotta’s father collected the money and used it to help pay the rent. A poor family, Jake’s father is said to have forced Jake to fight other boys ostensibly to entertain the neighbourhood adults, who threw pocket change into the ring. The family lived briefly in Philadelphia before returning to New York and settling in the Bronx. LaMotta like so many ‘greats’ of the boxing fraternity was born to Italian parents on the Lower East Side of New York City on the 10 th July 1922. His mother was born in the United States to Italian immigrant parentage, whilst his father was an immigrant from Messina, Sicily. Jake LaMotta lived a turbulent, captivating and even entertaining life in and out of the ring, yet it is his six-fight rivalry with Sugar Ray Robinson which elevated his career and himself to legendary status and even inspired arguably the greatest boxing movie ever made: The 1980 Martin Scorsese movie, ‘Raging Bull’. Something that was borne out by one of his own boasts: “no son-of-a-bitch ever knocked me off my feet” – which was accurate until sadly that did occur in one of his last fights, against Danny Nardico in 1952. So much so that he is regarded as having one of the greatest chins in boxing history.
Notorious for his brutal fighting style Jake often took in as much punishment as he dished out and indeed was happy to do so! Equipped with an incredibly strong jaw and a thick skull, LaMotta would absorb ridiculous (and often unnecessary) amounts of punishment over the course of his career. Back in the day he was just known as a bully!
La Motta in modern day terms would be labelled as a ‘swarmer’ or a ‘slugger’. Not particularly a big puncher as his KO records shows LaMotta would nevertheless subject his opponents to vicious beatings, constantly pressuring and enticing his opponents into a brawl where he would unleash brutal body shots. Giacobbe “Jake” LaMotta was an American professional boxer, widely known as one of the toughest men to have ever entered a boxing ring. 11 Jake LaMotta: Interesting Facts and Notoriety.10 Jake LaMotta: Retirement, Bar Owner and Comedian!.
9 Jake LaMotta: ‘The St Valentine’s Day Massacre’.7 Jake LaMotta: First Title (Marcel Cerdan).6 Jake LaMotta and the fixed fight (Billy Fox).5 Jake LaMotta vs Sugar Ray Robinson (I-V).
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