JCC

I just finished reading his book Raging Bull ... My Story .. Jake LaMotta.

I say this is my hero ... Jake LaMotta, and he has my respect because of his fantastic "excellent" intestinal fortitude.

Jake LaMotta had a lot of bottom to him, and was one of the toughest guys that ever put on a pair of tights.

I was too young to have seen any of his fights. But I've sure enjoyed watching old tapes of his fights. This guy would just go out there and punch, punch, punch, and never give up, and take all the punishment the other guy could dish out but would still stay right in there slugging.

They don't make fighters as tough in body and as tough in mind as Jake LaMotta any more, and he had strategy, used strategy, and knew how to fight.

I salute Jake LaMotta as one of the greats.

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"The more I sweated in the gym, the less I bleed in the ring."

Sonny Liston

GREAT! A FELLOW FAN! Raging Bull was my favorite movie and I read the book as well! Jake LaMotta is actually my all-time favorite boxer! He was a no-nonsense fighter who just wanted to beat you up... but he also had brains... for most of his career! HE WAS ALSO THE ONLY MAN WHO COULD TAKE IT TO THE GREATEST BOXER OF ALL TIME... SUGAR RAY ROBINSON! Sure... Robinson beat him 5/6 times... but LaMotta did hand him his first ever defeat ever in boxing! Robinson was undefeated as an Amateur as well you know... Robinson had never ever tasted defeat in any way shape or form... and for LaMotta to knock him down as well (for the first time in his career) and beat the sucker too... COOL! When Robinson beat LaMotta... he had to work hard... LaMotta took him the distance! In boxing's version of St. Valentine's Day Massacre (as shown graphically in The Raging Bull movie)... althought Robinson did win by TKO... HE NEVER GOT LAMOTTA DOWN! Robinson never ever knocked LaMotta down... LaMotta... a true no nonsence gritty boxer and absolute legend in the sport... pity about his personal life in those days! But that's the thing... he wasn't living it up with the big time money makers and all of that crap... he was a very personal and private kind of person who DID NOT TRUST ANYBODY... he had a right to be paranoid (I guess)... but anyways... Jake LaMotta rules... The Bronx produced some mighty fine boxers... kid you not!

JCC

Hey, kid. If you want to watch The Bronx Bull ... Jake LaMotta fight at the time of the peak of his career, and to win the title becoming the middleweight champion of the world go to youtube.com ... and when you get there do a search. Type in .. Jake LaMotta, and the one you want to watch is the Cerdan-LaMotta Fight. He's a rare breed. They don't make fighters like Jake LaMotta any more.

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"The more I sweated in the gym, the less I bleed in the ring."

Sonny Liston

Seen it... and loved it! If Jake LaMotta (at the age and in his prime of course) took on Jermain Taylor... Taylor would probably be quicker... but LaMotta would land "Bad Intentions" flat on his ass!

JCC

There are no fighter's today even close to Jake LaMotta's class as a fighter that I can see. Of course, you got to remember too that he beat Sugar Ray Robinson. How many today did you think could even come close to doing that?

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"The more I sweated in the gym, the less I bleed in the ring."

hhascup

I met Jake many times. He was, or is, one mean guy. Joe Miceli once told me that he was the only guy he wouldn't fight. Joe said he was an animal.

As far as beating Sugar Ray goes, you have to remember that Jake weighed 160½ and Ray weighed only 144½. That is a large difference in weights.

JCC

After watching some tapes of his fights and now to have read his book the impression I got of him was that he was a rough neck, he had a rough neck personality, and that he was a kind of wild guy, when he was younger and the kind of life he lived wasn't as stable as it should have or could have been. But that was due to his nature being as it was. In fact, he was like bull. He wasn't a sophiscated boxer but he was so damn tough that he didn't need to be, he had more guts than any body.

Jake could draw money, crowds and attention and that's what its all about.

Fans knew that when The Bronx Bull ... Jake LaMotta stepped into the ring he came to fight! They knew they were going to see one hellauva fight! Even fans who would boo him respected him because they knew he was so damn tough.

I see Jake LaMotta as being one of boxings greatest of all performers. Jake's fights were exciting to see. I really like watching tapes of his fights.

There is only one other guy that I would say that may had been near as tough and had as much guts as Jake, but he was a heavyweight a guy named Tony Galento.

Yeah, I knew Sugar Ray had been a welterweight and moved up to the middleweight division. Only, I didn't know he was that light in that fight.

Also I knew that Sugar Ray really stretched himself later trying to move up into the Light-heavyweight division too. Only, he didn't so as good there I heard.

As I understand it Jake later came to have to really go to extremes to keep his weight down to remain a middleweight, and came later really to be more a natural as a Light-heavyweight.

I heard Jake did good there too beating some top Light-heavyweight contenters.

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"The more I sweated in the gym, the less I bleed in the ring."

bill1234

Jake LaMatta... One of the greatest P4P greatest sluggers ever. Also one of the if not the toughest men to enter the ring. He packed a punch, was tough as nails, and he could take a shot. He holds the acomplishment of never being knockeddown by Sugar Ray Robinson.

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MEMBER OF BOXINGFORUM.COM HALL OF FAME-JANUARY, 2008

Sonny Liston

Robinson may have won most of their fights... but still... Jake had him... he really had him!!! One more thing... is it true that Jake LaMotta also tried his hand at being a Light Heavyweight? I read it somewhere! I don't know if it is true!

JCC

Of course, I wasn't old enough to have been able to see Jake LaMotta's fights in the early 1950s, and he fought pro even in the 1940s or late 1940s. I'm not a historian, but remembering things I read and learned about him was that he was real tough guy. I mean a REALLY tough guy, and he had also beaten some good light heavy weights for example he had flattened Bob Satterfield as well as to have beaten other good light-heavyweight contenders, he was a middleweight that at times did fight in the light-heavy weight division and he had beaten some Light-heavy weight contenders.

As best I remember LaMotta towards the end of his professional boxing career it was a real strain for him to keep his weight down to remain a middleweight he could gain weight easy I mean like 10-15 pounds or more in a week but mostly in the gut his waist and in the end he came to be really a more natural Light-heavyweight than really a middleweight it came to be real hard for him to keep his weight down to remain a Middleweight. I mean REALLY hard for him. It came to be that he would really have to starve himself to remain a Middleweight and that came to be a real strain on him. He had entered some fights a little weak on some occasions for reasons of it too.

By the way, Sugar Ray Robinson had come to fight in the Light-heavyweight division too. Only, he wasn't as good there as in the Middleweight and Welterweight divisions. Of course, he held the world title both as first being a Welterweight and then later as a Middleweight and later had a title fight in seeking the Light-heavyweight title but lost he couldn't win there. I think as best I remember any way that LaMotta had more success fighting over all in the Light-heavy weight division than Sugar Ray did.

LaMotta wasn't all that big a man really he was short only about five foot eight, had the kind of physique that could carry more weight more easily than Sugar Ray could.

In his book in telling his story which I read I remember LaMotta saying that Sugar Ray only really beat him twice or something like that he apparently thought that he got a bad decision in the four fight he lost to Sugar Ray, but of course, LaMotta did at least win one of the five fights he had with Sugar Ray.

Really I don't ever like to hear all the cry baby stuff like that from some good or even great fighters or champions when they do lose a fight all the excuses that some will give ... "Oh, I wasn't in shape, or "I got a bad decision," to me that's all just a bunch of cry baby stuff and excuses for having lost a fight.

Hey, every body loses fights sooner or later if they stay too long even the greatest of fighters cannot go on winning all their fights forever.

Even Rocky Marciano ... who is my favorite ... only reason he never lost a fight and retired undefeated he got out and didn't stay too long.

Really I have to here good or even great fighters to gave excuses for the fights they lose to me that just pride and a bunch of cry baby stuff.

Though I never fought pro ... but fought in the amatuer ranks for many years .. only for reasons I started boxing at such a very young age, and only lost a couple of kids fights is all, won all the rest, and then when I got older out of all those fights I had. I only lost one fight so I know the pain of losing especially if you near always won your fights. But I never made excuses for losing no matter if losing on a close split decision. If you lose you lose! That's it! Nobody can always forever win all their fights no matter who they are ... there are no superman just men.

I liked the book in having read Jake LaMotta tell his life story, but that part in his book in which he starts up with all this stuff about him thinking he only lose two of those five fights instead of four with Sugar Ray. I didn't like hearing him to say that! For as tough as LaMotta was for him to say that surprised me really, that's cry baby stuff.

Of course, all good fighters and champions have got their pride you know, but still I always hate it some I hear them to give all these excuses when they do lose. Not all will do that but some do.

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"The more I sweated in the gym, the less I bleed in the ring."