Jake LaMotta vs Laurent Dauthuille 2

Jake LaMotta, known to boxing fans as ‘The Bronx Bull ’, retained the world middleweight championship by knocking out Laurent Dauthuille with only 13 seconds remaining in the final round at Olympia Stadium in Detroit. Before a paid attendance of 11,424, the champion appeared certain to lose his title on points until a desperate closing assault put the French challenger down against the ropes. Referee Lou Handler completed the count at two minutes and 47 seconds of the 15th round. Both men weighed exactly 160lb.

The result settled a debt which LaMotta had carried for 19 months. Dauthuille had outpointed him over ten rounds in Montreal in February 1949, winning unanimously by scores of 7–3, 6–3–1 and 6–3–1. Four months later, LaMotta defeated Marcel Cerdan for the championship in Detroit, but Cerdan’s death in an air disaster prevented their proposed return. LaMotta subsequently retained the title against Tiberio Mitri before accepting a second meeting with Dauthuille, whose speed, counter-punching and previous victory made him a dangerous challenger.

Dauthuille again gave LaMotta the same problems. He let the champion advance, then met him with the jab, short rights, and quick combinations before changing position. LaMotta tried to force the fighting at close quarters, where he could work to the body and use his physical strength, but he found it difficult to keep the Frenchman in place. Dauthuille did not waste time attempting to match the champion’s strength. He struck, moved and made LaMotta begin each attack again.

The early rounds were competitive, with LaMotta pressing steadily and Dauthuille scoring the cleaner blows. The champion accepted punches to reach the body, but his attacks lacked their usual continuity. Dauthuille’s judgement of distance enabled him to interrupt LaMotta before slipping away, and when the pair exchanged at middle range, the challenger’s straighter punches generally arrived first. LaMotta remained the aggressor, though aggression alone was not enough to win rounds against such accurate counter-punching.

Through the middle portion of the contest, Dauthuille increased his advantage. He was composed under pressure and sufficiently confident to stand his ground for brief exchanges before moving clear. LaMotta drove him towards the ropes on occasions, but too many of the champion’s punches were caught on the arms or missed as the challenger turned away. Dauthuille repeatedly caught him coming forward and marked his face, while LaMotta struggled to assemble more than one or two effective punches at a time.

The match had been well fought during the first 11 rounds, but the urgency increased sharply over the last four. LaMotta knew the championship was slipping away and tried to raise the pace, swinging harder and taking greater risks in pursuit of a decisive blow. Dauthuille continued to answer him and appeared to possess sufficient strength for the remaining distance. His movement had slowed, yet his lead was substantial, and he still found LaMotta with counters whenever the champion advanced without first setting up his attack.

At the end of 14 rounds, every official had Dauthuille in front. The three totals were 72–68, 74–66 and 71–69, while the Associated Press had awarded the challenger eight rounds to six. Dauthuille therefore required only to remain upright and avoid unnecessary exchanges during the final three minutes. Instead, he came out prepared to fight. Whether through confidence, fatigue or a reluctance to surrender the initiative, he remained within range when safety called for movement and restraint.

LaMotta initially looked as exhausted as he had during the preceding rounds. Dauthuille continued punching and, for much of the 15th, appeared to be completing another disciplined victory. Then, with little more than a minute remaining, the champion summoned one final attack. He drove Dauthuille towards the ropes and began landing with both hands, mixing hooks to the body with blows to the head. The challenger tried to cover and move away, but his legs had lost their earlier quickness, and LaMotta gave him no room in which to recover.

The closing seconds became a race between LaMotta’s fists and the clock. A succession of rights and lefts left Dauthuille unsteady, but he remained standing as the crowd rose and the champion continued after him. LaMotta then threw a looping left hook that caught Dauthuille on the jaw. The challenger collapsed backwards against the lower ropes, partly supported by them but plainly unable to continue. Handler counted him out as the timekeeper signalled that only 13 seconds remained.

Dauthuille had been within touching distance of the world championship. Had he held, moved or kept away during the last part of the round, the official cards would have given him a clear victory. His performance for more than 14 rounds had been skilful and controlled, and the knockout did not erase the superiority he had shown before the finish. It did, however, expose the danger of remaining in front of LaMotta while the champion still had strength enough to throw.

LaMotta’s victory was not the product of a hidden points advantage or a questionable verdict. He required a knockout and produced one at almost the last possible moment. The Ring later selected the contest as its Fight of the Year for 1950, while the 15th was also named the magazine’s Round of the Year. Dauthuille never received another world-title opportunity. LaMotta retained the championship, though only after coming closer to losing it than the official result could ever adequately convey.

This is one of my favourite fights because the final round provides one of the greatest finishes boxing has ever produced. Dauthuille had already outpointed LaMotta once, and for 14 rounds he repeated the trick. He stayed just outside Jake’s hooking range, countered his wide advances and made the champion look painfully slow.

Dauthuille’s mistake was believing the fight was finished before the bell. He was comfortably ahead on every card and only needed to move, hold when necessary and keep his chin out of danger. Instead, he continued exchanging with a man whose entire reputation was built on refusing to accept defeat.

LaMotta looked exhausted, but he kept edging closer. Once Dauthuille’s back reached the ropes, Jake shortened his punches and stopped loading up. The hooks began landing in clusters, Dauthuille’s legs went, and suddenly all those points meant absolutely nothing.

With 13 seconds remaining, LaMotta landed the left hook that put him down against the ropes for the full count. It was not polished boxing, and it certainly was not clever from Dauthuille, but it demonstrated why LaMotta was such a horrible man to fight. You could outbox him, cut him and make him look ordinary for almost 15 rounds. Unless the final bell had sounded, he still believed he could break you.