Jake LaMotta

By Richard Diaz
Love of Sports Correspondent

The battle between MMA and boxing won’t be televised on ESPN.

Albeit an interesting idea, you’re not going to see Don King duke it out with Dana White, nor will you ever see Quinton “Rampage” Jackson squaring off with Joe Calzaghe.

The type of action that’ll play out during this battle is found in magazines, or all over the Internet. MMA pundits can go on and on about the future of their sport. They’ll throw out names like Chuck Liddell or Kimbo Slice and celebrate the level of popularity their sport’s reached.

Conversely, boxing analysts can tell you about Manny Pacquiao or Nate Campbell and will be more than happy to explain why their sport’s future is the brighter one.

With that said, historical relevance is an element of the battle boxing will always win, because it’s something UFC and EliteXC will never attain. Ken Shamrock was the “it” guy a decade or so ago, but now he’s just some dude who used to fight.

Along that same line of thought, Giacobbe “Jake” LaMotta was a boxer who turned pro in 1941, when he was just 19 years old. Sixty-seven years later, he’s still revered as the “Raging Bull.”

The way I see it, the man’s been retired since 1954, yet the mere mention of his name is enough to ignite a hellacious debate. How can you not give up some Old School Love for that accomplishment?

His introduction to the world of boxing came at a very young age, as his father encouraged him to fight other children in the neighborhood. LaMotta’s first big time bout came in 1942, when he faced Sugar Ray Robinson. He went 10 rounds with the heavily favored Robinson, but lost the match by decision.

Even though Robinson’s generally considered the overall victor in this heated rivalry, the fact that LaMotta handed him his first ever loss can’t go without mention. Also worth mentioning is the fact that LaMotta’s the only one who landed a thunderous knock out blow in any of their six bouts.

In fact, one of the Raging Bull’s most famous quotes came at the conclusion of his 1951 loss to Sugar, when he proudly told him “You couldn’t drop me! You never dropped me!”

Given it was for LaMotta’s world championship, that sixth and final fight is often viewed as the most meaningful of the six. Having said that, their rivalry easily goes down as one of boxing’s greatest.

Beyond his fierce encounters with Robinson, LaMotta won some big-time fights against heavyweights like Tommy Bell, Holman Williams and George Kochan, to name a few. He won the world championship in 1949, after his fight against Frenchman Marcel Cerdan was called in then 10th. His first title defense, against Laurent Dauthuille, turned out to be a close call, but he managed to knock him out in the 15th round, thus retaining his title. He also defended it against Tiberio Mitri. He then lost the title to Robinson in that 1951 fight.

LaMotta isn’t remembered for being the greatest fighter of all time, but rather for having one of the toughest chins ever. He absorbed punches without the slightest hint of being affected by them and was also skilled at rolling with the punches to reduce the amount of damage. He’s remember for being one of the first fighters to master the “bully” style of fighting, in that he was always up close and personal with his opponent.

He didn’t hop on a bicycle like some of today’s boxers. Instead, he stalked them and sacrificed himself for the sake of being able to go blow-for-blow.

The Raging Bull eventually became Raging Bull, as portrayed by Robert De Niro, who received an Oscar for his performance. The Martin Scorsese film was by no means a box office hit, but did receive critical acclaim and, perhaps more importantly, gained a cult following that still exists today.

Simply put, Jake LaMotta’s easily among the Top 10 middleweights of all-time, and for that, we’ve got to give the Raging Bull a hefty helping of Old School Love.