Jake LaMotta, the legendary boxer played by Robert De Niro in the 1980 movie Raging Bull, has died at the age of 95.
LaMotta’s wife, Denise Baker, told TMZ that he died in a nursing home due to complications from pneumonia after his condition had deteriorated in recent days.
“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,” she said.
According to the International Boxing Hall of Fame, LaMotta won 83 of 106 professional fights in a career spanning 13 years, with four draws and 19 losses, including five defeats in a memorable rivalry with Sugar Ray Robinson.
LaMotta went onto a career in the entertainment industry following his retirement from the ring, touring as a stand-up comedian and starring in several films.
His boxing career and tumultuous life outside the ring was the subject of Martin Scorcese’s 1980 movie, Raging Bull, for which Robert De Niro won an Academy Award for Best Actor.
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