[12] Arturo Gatti was a member of the Canadian National team, and was training to represent Canada at the 1992 Summer Games, but in 1991, at age 19, he decided to turn pro instead.
[14] In 1994, he beat Leon Bostic, and followed through with a Round 1 knockout over Pete Taliaferro to win the USBA super featherweight title.
[16][17] He then scored a technical knockout over former world champion Calvin Grove in the seventh round of a non-title affair.
[14] In 2001, Gatti only had one fight, going up in weight to meet welterweight Oscar De La Hoya, who beat him by a technical knockout in five rounds.
[22] In 2002, Gatti returned to the light welterweight division and defeated former world champion Terronn Millett by a knockout in round four.
Gatti broke his twice-repaired right hand when he struck Ward's hip bone with an attempted body shot in the fourth, and he dropped his arm.
[28] On January 24, 2004, Gatti, having recovered from a broken hand, scored a tenth round knock-down and defeated Gianluca Branco of Italy by a 12-round unanimous decision to win the vacant WBC light welterweight title.
[29][30][31] On July 24, 2004, he knocked out the previously unbeaten former world champion Leonard Dorin Doroftei in two rounds at Atlantic City, to retain his title.
[33] Gatti's protege, Danny "Little Mac" McDermott made his professional debut on the undercard with a victory over Alex Matos.
He took a horrific beating and Gatti's corner man threw in the towel after he was beaten around the ring, thus ending his title reign via sixth-round technical knockout.
He beat Thomas Damgaard on January 28, 2006, by an eleventh-round technical knockout to win the vacant IBA welterweight title and become a champion in 3 different weight divisions.
After the fight, Gatti announced his retirement in the dressing room, reportedly quipping: "I'm coming back — as a spectator.
On September 24, 2008, reports had surfaced that Gatti was considering a comeback against Montreal welterweight Antonin Décarie, the Canadian and North American Boxing Organization champion.
Early on in his career, Gatti showed his tremendous punching power as he amassed a large number of first-round knockouts.
He was able to absorb incredible amounts of punishment by fighters such as Wilson Rodriguez, Gabriel Ruelas, Angel Manfredy, Ivan Robinson, Oscar De La Hoya, Micky Ward, Floyd Mayweather and Carlos Baldomir, none of whom could knock him out cold.
[42] On July 11, 2009, Gatti was found dead in a hotel in Ipojuca, Pernambuco, Brazil, where he was on holiday with his Brazilian wife, Amanda Rodrigues, and their 10-month-old son.
After an autopsy, the pathologists ruled there was "no clear evidence of foul play" and expressed doubt at the conclusions reached by the private investigators hired by Gatti's manager.