Jake LaMotta was one of the toughest and most relentless middleweights in boxing history.

Nicknamed the “Bronx Bull” and later immortalized as the “Raging Bull,” LaMotta built his career around pressure, physical strength and an extraordinary ability to absorb punishment. He fought Sugar Ray Robinson six times, handed Robinson the first loss of his professional career and eventually captured the world middleweight championship from Marcel Cerdan.

Decades later, Robert De Niro’s portrayal of LaMotta in Martin Scorsese’s Raging Bull introduced his turbulent life and boxing career to an entirely new audience.

The movie became inseparable from LaMotta’s legacy, but the fighter behind it was more than a Hollywood character. He competed 106 times professionally during one of boxing’s deepest eras and fought many of the outstanding middleweights of his generation.

Career Snapshot

LaMotta turned professional in 1941 at 19 years old.

He quickly established himself as a difficult opponent because of his combination of aggression, strength and durability.

LaMotta was not simply a fighter who could take a punch. His pressure was calculated. He crowded opponents, worked at close range and used subtle movement to reduce the impact of incoming punches while continually forcing opponents backward.

His career became permanently connected with Sugar Ray Robinson.

LaMotta and Robinson fought for the first time in 1942, with Robinson winning a decision.

They met again on February 5, 1943.

This time LaMotta defeated Robinson by decision, handing Sugar Ray the first loss of his professional career after 40 consecutive victories.

Just 21 days later, they fought for a third time.

Robinson won the decision.

Their rivalry eventually stretched to six fights, with Robinson winning five and LaMotta winning one.

But LaMotta’s career extended well beyond Robinson.

He defeated accomplished fighters including Fritzie Zivic, Holman Williams, Bob Satterfield, Tony Janiro and Laurent Dauthuille.

After years of waiting for a championship opportunity, LaMotta finally faced Marcel Cerdan for the world middleweight championship in 1949.

He won the title when Cerdan, who had injured his shoulder during the fight, was unable to continue after the ninth round.

Career Highlights

• World Middleweight Champion from 1949–1951
• Handed Sugar Ray Robinson the first defeat of his professional career
• Fought Robinson six times
• Defeated Marcel Cerdan to win the world middleweight championship
• Successfully defended the championship against Tiberio Mitri
• Produced a dramatic 15th-round knockout of Laurent Dauthuille with only seconds remaining
• Competed in 106 professional fights
• His autobiography Raging Bull: My Story inspired Martin Scorsese’s 1980 film Raging Bull
• Inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990

Best Fights

Best Win: Sugar Ray Robinson II

LaMotta’s greatest victory came against Sugar Ray Robinson on February 5, 1943.

Robinson entered undefeated as a professional.

LaMotta used his physical strength and relentless pressure to force Robinson into the kind of fight he wanted.

He won the 10-round decision.

It was Robinson’s first professional defeat after 40 consecutive victories.

Robinson would eventually establish himself as one of boxing’s greatest fighters, making LaMotta’s victory increasingly more significant with time.

Best Fight: Sugar Ray Robinson VI

The sixth and final meeting between LaMotta and Robinson took place on February 14, 1951.

LaMotta’s middleweight championship was at stake.

The fight became known as the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.

Robinson gradually took control and subjected LaMotta to increasingly severe punishment.

But LaMotta would not go down.

The referee finally stopped the fight in the 13th round with LaMotta still standing.

Robinson became middleweight champion, and one of boxing’s greatest rivalries was over.

Most Dramatic Win: Laurent Dauthuille II

LaMotta defended his middleweight championship against Laurent Dauthuille on September 13, 1950.

Dauthuille was comfortably ahead as the fight entered the 15th and final round.

LaMotta needed something extraordinary.

He produced it.

With only seconds remaining, LaMotta launched a desperate attack and knocked Dauthuille out.

Only 13 seconds remained in the fight when Dauthuille was counted out.

Without that knockout, LaMotta almost certainly would have lost his championship on the scorecards.

Most Controversial Fight: Billy Fox

LaMotta’s 1947 fight against Billy Fox became one of the darkest chapters of his career.

LaMotta performed so poorly that suspicions immediately arose that the fight had been fixed.

He was subsequently suspended.

Years later, LaMotta testified before a U.S. Senate committee that he had intentionally lost the fight as part of an arrangement he believed would finally secure him an opportunity to fight for the middleweight championship.

The episode demonstrated the influence organized crime and boxing’s power brokers could exert over championship opportunities during that period.

Boxing Style & Skill Breakdown

LaMotta is often remembered simply as a brawler with an extraordinary chin.

That description undersells him.

His toughness was exceptional, but LaMotta also understood how to apply intelligent pressure.

He constantly advanced, forced opponents toward the ropes and created exchanges at distances where his physical strength became an advantage.

Strengths

Durability

LaMotta possessed one of boxing’s most famous chins.

He absorbed tremendous punishment throughout his career and was exceptionally difficult to knock down.

His refusal to fall during the final Robinson fight became one of the defining images of his career.

Pressure

LaMotta rarely allowed opponents to relax.

He constantly moved forward and forced fighters to work under pressure.

Opponents who needed time and space to establish rhythm often struggled against him.

Physical Strength

LaMotta was exceptionally strong for a middleweight.

He used that strength at close range, where he could push opponents backward and prevent them from comfortably establishing distance.

Body Punching

Once LaMotta forced opponents into close quarters, he attacked the body effectively.

That helped slow faster fighters and made his pressure increasingly difficult to escape as fights progressed.

Defensive Movement

LaMotta’s defense was subtler than his reputation suggests.

He rolled with punches and moved his upper body at close range, reducing the force of some shots even while appearing to absorb them cleanly.

He was willing to take punches, but he was not simply standing motionless and allowing opponents to hit him.

Weaknesses

LaMotta’s style required him to enter dangerous territory.

Faster boxers could score while he attempted to close distance, and his willingness to absorb punches meant that even successful performances could become physically punishing.

Sugar Ray Robinson represented the ultimate version of that problem.

Robinson possessed the speed and movement to create distance but also had enough power and combination punching to punish LaMotta when the fight became physical.

LaMotta could make Robinson uncomfortable.

He could even beat him.

But over six fights, Robinson proved better able to adjust.

Style Matchups

LaMotta was extremely difficult for fighters who needed room to operate.

His pressure reduced space and forced opponents into exchanges.

Mobile fighters with excellent stamina presented a more difficult challenge because they could make LaMotta expend energy chasing them.

The ideal opponent for LaMotta was someone he could physically impose himself upon.

The most difficult opponent was someone who could withstand his pressure while remaining faster and more versatile.

Sugar Ray Robinson was exactly that.

Physical Attributes & Ring IQ

LaMotta stood approximately 5’8″ (173 cm) with a 67″ (170 cm) reach.

Those dimensions encouraged the aggressive style that became his trademark.

LaMotta generally needed to work his way inside against longer opponents.

Once there, his strength, balance and compact punching became much more effective.

His ring intelligence is sometimes overlooked because of the brutality associated with his fights.

LaMotta understood pressure.

He knew how to reduce space, move opponents toward unfavorable positions and roll with punches at close range.

The punishment he absorbed was real.

But his success across more than 100 professional fights cannot be explained by toughness alone.

Jake LaMotta vs. Sugar Ray Robinson

Few rivalries better demonstrate contrasting boxing styles.

Robinson was faster, longer and a superior outside boxer.

LaMotta was physically stronger and determined to turn their fights into close-range battles.

They fought six times between 1942 and 1951.

Robinson won the first.

LaMotta won the second.

Robinson won the remaining four.

But the simple 5-1 series record doesn’t completely describe their rivalry.

LaMotta pushed Robinson through difficult fights and remains historically significant as the man who handed Robinson his first professional defeat.

Their final meeting elevated the rivalry into boxing mythology.

The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre

LaMotta and Robinson met for the sixth and final time at Chicago Stadium on February 14, 1951.

Unlike their earlier fights, this time LaMotta’s world middleweight championship was at stake.

Robinson gradually took control.

As LaMotta tired, Robinson unleashed increasingly brutal combinations.

LaMotta continued absorbing them.

By the 13th round, the punishment had become severe enough that the referee stopped the fight.

LaMotta never went down.

Robinson had finally taken LaMotta’s championship.

The fight became known forever as the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.

Was Jake LaMotta Ever Knocked Down?

LaMotta’s ability to remain standing became central to his legend.

Despite fighting more than 100 professional bouts against elite opposition, he was extraordinarily difficult to knock off his feet.

Even during the punishment he absorbed against Robinson in their final fight, LaMotta remained standing until the referee intervened.

However, the claim that LaMotta was never knocked down during his career is incorrect.

Danny Nardico knocked LaMotta through the ropes at the end of the seventh round of their December 31, 1952 fight. LaMotta’s corner stopped the contest before the eighth.

It was the only officially recognized knockdown of LaMotta’s professional career.

Jake LaMotta vs. Marcel Cerdan

LaMotta finally received his opportunity to fight for the world middleweight championship on June 16, 1949.

Champion Marcel Cerdan injured his shoulder early in the contest but continued fighting.

After nine rounds, Cerdan could no longer continue.

LaMotta was declared the winner by technical knockout and became world middleweight champion.

A rematch was arranged.

It never happened.

Cerdan died in a plane crash while traveling to the United States later that year.

LaMotta instead continued his championship reign with defenses against Tiberio Mitri and Laurent Dauthuille.

Why Did Jake LaMotta Throw the Billy Fox Fight?

For years, boxing observers suspected something was wrong with LaMotta’s November 1947 fight against Billy Fox.

The suspicion was justified.

In 1960, LaMotta testified before a U.S. Senate committee that he had intentionally lost the fight.

According to LaMotta’s testimony, taking the dive was connected to his efforts to obtain a long-denied opportunity to fight for the middleweight championship.

LaMotta eventually received that opportunity against Cerdan in 1949.

The Fox fight remains an important part of his record because it illustrates a boxing environment in which talented contenders could find championship opportunities influenced by powerful figures outside the ring.

Jake LaMotta and Raging Bull

For millions of people, Jake LaMotta is inseparable from Raging Bull.

The 1980 Martin Scorsese film starred Robert De Niro as LaMotta and was based on LaMotta’s autobiography Raging Bull: My Story.

The movie follows both LaMotta’s boxing career and his turbulent personal life.

De Niro famously underwent a major physical transformation for the role and won the Academy Award for Best Actor.

LaMotta himself worked with the production and helped De Niro prepare to portray a professional fighter.

The film gave LaMotta something unusual among fighters of his generation.

His boxing career ended in 1954, but his cultural profile became considerably larger decades later.

How Accurate Is Raging Bull?

Raging Bull is based on real events, but it should not be treated as a documentary.

Many of the central boxing events are historical.

LaMotta really fought Robinson six times. He really handed Robinson his first professional defeat. He really threw the Billy Fox fight. He really became middleweight champion by defeating Marcel Cerdan. And Robinson really stopped him in their brutal final fight.

Other elements were altered or condensed for the movie.

One significant example involves Joey LaMotta, played by Joe Pesci.

The movie’s Joey incorporates elements of another real person in LaMotta’s life, Pete Savage, who was LaMotta’s friend and one of the co-authors of his autobiography. Consequently, events involving those men were combined for the film.

LaMotta himself gave varying reactions to the movie over the years, but later described its overall portrayal as largely accurate while disagreeing with some details.

The best way to understand Raging Bull is therefore as a dramatization built around the major events of LaMotta’s real life rather than a scene-by-scene historical record.

Robert De Niro and Jake LaMotta

Robert De Niro became deeply involved in preparing to portray LaMotta.

LaMotta helped train him, giving De Niro firsthand exposure to the movements and mechanics of a professional fighter.

De Niro’s performance ultimately won him the Academy Award for Best Actor.

The role also required him to portray dramatically different periods of LaMotta’s life, from the conditioned middleweight contender to the much heavier retired fighter.

The result became one of the most recognizable portrayals of a boxer in film history.

Legacy & Historical Ranking

Jake LaMotta occupies an unusual position in boxing history.

His championship reign was relatively short, but his résumé, rivalry with Robinson and extraordinary durability gave him a legacy far beyond the length of that reign.

He competed 106 times.

He defeated numerous high-level fighters.

He became world middleweight champion.

And he handed Sugar Ray Robinson the first professional defeat of Robinson’s career.

That achievement alone permanently connects LaMotta with one of boxing’s greatest fighters.

But LaMotta’s legacy also contains uncomfortable elements.

The Billy Fox fight was fixed. His personal life was turbulent. And Raging Bull ensured that his failures outside the ring became nearly as famous as his accomplishments inside it.

That complexity is part of why LaMotta remains such a compelling historical figure.

The Bronx Bull was neither simply the indestructible warrior of boxing mythology nor exactly the character depicted on film.

He was an exceptional fighter whose greatest victories, worst decisions and most famous rivalry combined to produce one of boxing’s most enduring stories.

Record Breakdown

Jake LaMotta finished his professional career with:

83 wins

19 losses

4 draws

30 knockouts

He fought 106 professional bouts between 1941 and 1954.

LaMotta became world middleweight champion by defeating Marcel Cerdan in 1949 and lost the championship to Sugar Ray Robinson in 1951.

Notable Rivalries

Sugar Ray Robinson

LaMotta and Robinson fought six times.

Robinson won five, but LaMotta’s victory in their second meeting handed Robinson the first loss of his professional career.

Their final fight became the legendary St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.

Marcel Cerdan

LaMotta defeated Cerdan to become world middleweight champion in 1949.

A rematch was scheduled, but Cerdan died in a plane crash before it could take place.

Laurent Dauthuille

Dauthuille defeated LaMotta in their first meeting.

In their rematch, with LaMotta’s middleweight championship at stake, LaMotta produced one of boxing history’s most dramatic late knockouts with only 13 seconds remaining.

Related Fighters

Sugar Ray Robinson

Marcel Cerdan

Rocky Graziano

Fritzie Zivic

FAQ

What was Jake LaMotta’s boxing record?

Jake LaMotta finished his professional career with 83 wins, 19 losses and four draws, including 30 victories by knockout.

Was Jake LaMotta a world champion?

Yes. LaMotta defeated Marcel Cerdan in 1949 to become world middleweight champion. He held the championship until Sugar Ray Robinson defeated him in 1951.

Did Jake LaMotta ever beat Sugar Ray Robinson?

Yes. LaMotta defeated Robinson by decision in their second fight on February 5, 1943. It was Robinson’s first professional loss.

How many times did Jake LaMotta fight Sugar Ray Robinson?

LaMotta fought Robinson six times. Robinson won five of the fights and LaMotta won one.

Was Jake LaMotta ever knocked down?

Yes. Danny Nardico knocked LaMotta down and through the ropes in their 1952 fight. It is recognized as the only official knockdown of LaMotta’s professional career.

Is Raging Bull based on a true story?

Yes. Raging Bull is based on Jake LaMotta’s life and his autobiography, although the movie alters, combines and dramatizes some events and characters.

How accurate is Raging Bull?

Many of the major boxing events depicted in Raging Bull are based on real events, but some characters and personal events were changed or combined for dramatic purposes. For example, the film’s Joey LaMotta incorporates aspects of LaMotta’s real-life friend Pete Savage.

Did Jake LaMotta throw a fight?

Yes. LaMotta later testified before a U.S. Senate committee that he intentionally lost his 1947 fight against Billy Fox as part of an arrangement connected to obtaining a championship opportunity.

How did Jake LaMotta die?

Jake LaMotta died on September 19, 2017 at age 95. His family reported that he died from complications of pneumonia.

How tough was Jake LaMotta?

LaMotta was exceptionally difficult to knock down and became famous for his ability to absorb punishment. Across 106 professional fights, Danny Nardico is credited with scoring the only official knockdown against him.