“I just want people to know, he was a great, sweet, sensitive, strong, compelling man with a great sense of humour, with eyes that danced.”

Mrs LaMotta

Jake LaMotta, the uncompromising fighter portrayed by Robert De Niro in “Raging Bull”, has died aged 95. Born 10 July, 1922 to Italian parents in the Bronx area of New York City, he took up boxing after being rejected by the US military due to a medical condition.

LaMotta won the World Middleweight title on June 16, 1949 in Detroit, Michigan, defeating Frenchman Marcel Cerdan.

A rematch was arranged, but while Cerdan was flying back to the United States to fight the rematch, his Air France Lockheed Constellation crashed in the Azores, killing everyone on board.

As “soft power goes,” Piaf and Cerdan were really the number one couple on the planet. It would take about 5 years to replace them with the wedding of Marylin Monroe and Joe DiMaggio.

I will not go into the details of why I post this news on this INTEL blog. The time will come.  For now, I will just tell you that Hubble — Yes, this Edwin Hubble — claimed he used to spare (/train) with Marcel Cerdan. The late John Bahcall told me to ignore this story as utter nonsense… — Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY

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LaMotta won the World Middleweight title on June 16, 1949 in Detroit, Michigan, defeating Frenchman Marcel Cerdan.

LaMotta won the first round (also knocking Cerdan down), Cerdan the second, and the third was even. At that point it became clear something was wrong.

Cerdan dislocated his arm in the first round, apparently damaged in the knockdown, and gave up before the start of the 10th round. LaMotta damaged his left hand in the fifth round, but still landed 104 punches in the ninth round, whereas Cerdan hardly threw a punch.

The official score had LaMotta as winner by a knockout in 10 rounds because the bell had already rung to begin that round when Cerdan announced he was quitting.

A rematch was arranged, but while Cerdan was flying back to the United States to fight the rematch, his Air France Lockheed Constellation crashed in the Azores, killing everyone on board.

Jake LaMotta vs Marcel Cerdan

Edith Piaf – L’hymne à l’amour

Si un jour la vie t’arrache à moi
Si tu meurs que tu sois loin de moi
Peu m’importe si tu m’aimes
Car moi je mourrais aussi
Nous aurons pour nous l’éternité
Dans le bleu de toute l’immensité
Dans le ciel plus de problèmes
Mon amour crois-tu qu’on s’aime
Dieu réunit ceux qui s’aiment

REFERENCES

Jake LaMotta: Legendary Raging Bull boxer dies at 95 — BBC NEWS

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Jake Lamotta — A “Raging Bull”