Jake LaMotta vs Tiberio Mitri

Jake LaMotta retained the world middleweight championship by outpointing Tiberio Mitri over 15 rounds at Madison Square Garden, New York, on July 12, 1950. Both men weighed 159 pounds. Referee Mark Conn scored 12 rounds to three for LaMotta, while judges Joe Agnello and Bert Grant returned narrower cards of 9–6 and 8–7. The unanimous verdict was therefore clear, although the differences between the three cards showed that Mitri’s cleaner boxing had earned greater recognition from the judges than from the referee. A paying crowd of 16,369 produced receipts reported at $99,841.

The match was LaMotta’s first defence of the championship he had taken from Marcel Cerdan in Detroit in June 1949. A return with Cerdan had been arranged, but the Frenchman was killed in an air crash while travelling to the United States. LaMotta subsequently lost a non-title contest to Robert Villemain before returning to winning form. His intended first defence against Rocky Graziano was cancelled when Graziano injured his left hand, and Mitri, the Italian and European champion, was brought forward as the challenger. The contest took place on Mitri’s twenty-fourth birthday. He had lost only once in more than 50 professional contests and had earned his opportunity through his success in Europe and a points victory over Dick Wagner in New York.

LaMotta took the opening round by carrying the fight forward and forcing Mitri to work at a faster pace than the challenger would have preferred. Mitri was the smoother boxer, with a straight left jab and quicker movement, while LaMotta advanced behind a high guard and attempted to bring his shorter hooks into play. The Italian recovered after the first round and began countering effectively as LaMotta came towards him. He used the jab to the champion’s head, stepped away from the heavier blows and then returned with short punches before LaMotta could reset himself. The early rounds developed into a contest between Mitri’s speed and LaMotta’s persistent pressure.

Mitri’s movement caused LaMotta some difficulty, but the challenger was not always properly balanced when he punched or withdrew. LaMotta later remarked on this awkwardness, which contributed to the fight becoming untidy at times. Mitri could make the champion miss, yet he was not consistently in a position to take full advantage afterwards. LaMotta continued to follow him, striking to the body whenever the challenger paused and forcing him towards the ropes before working with both hands. Mitri remained composed and answered with jabs and left hooks, but he was required to box continuously to keep LaMotta from settling into close range.

The champion began to make greater progress in the middle portion of the contest. In the sixth round, he struck Mitri around the left eye, and the challenger’s face began to show the effect of the pressure. Mitri responded strongly in the seventh. He increased his attack, caught LaMotta with punches to the head and appeared briefly to disturb the champion. LaMotta did not retreat for long. He came back with a succession of blows upstairs, while Mitri crouched beneath the attack and drove left hands into the body. The exchanges were hard and closely contested, with neither man able to establish complete control.

Mitri produced another good round in the eighth. He used his quicker hands, moved sufficiently to prevent LaMotta from trapping him and scored with counters as the champion advanced. His success kept the contest competitive on the cards of Agnello and Grant. LaMotta, however, was setting the pace and forcing the challenger to expend more energy. The champion absorbed Mitri’s lighter punches without being discouraged and continued to work at the body, gradually reducing the Italian’s movement.

From the ninth round, LaMotta took firmer command. He won the next three rounds in succession according to contemporary accounts, pressing Mitri backwards and making better use of his strength at close quarters. The challenger’s jab was less frequent, and his legs no longer carried him clear as readily as before. LaMotta stepped inside the straight punches, drove hooks into the ribs and then brought both hands to the head. Mitri still countered whenever space was available, but his attacks had become shorter and were increasingly made while giving ground.

By the twelfth, Mitri was visibly tired. His earlier speed had diminished, and much of his remaining effort was directed towards avoiding prolonged punishment against the ropes. LaMotta continued to advance, though he was unable to produce the sustained attack necessary for a stoppage. Mitri defended with determination, tied the champion up when he could and used occasional jabs and left hooks to interrupt LaMotta’s work. The challenger’s condition made a late recovery unlikely, but he refused to surrender and remained sufficiently alert to prevent LaMotta from landing freely.

Mitri attempted a final effort in the fifteenth, throwing what strength remained into an attack intended to influence the verdict. LaMotta met him without giving ground and replied with the heavier punches. The champion finished the round strongly and was credited with it by the contemporary Italian account. At the bell, Mitri had completed the full championship distance, but LaMotta’s pressure, body punching and stronger finish had established the clearer claim to the decision.

The official cards ranged from a near shutout to a contest decided by a single round. Conn’s 12–3 score placed heavy value upon LaMotta’s aggression and physical command, while Grant’s 8–7 card gave greater credit to Mitri’s early counter-punching and movement. Agnello’s 9–6 verdict stood between them. LaMotta was the proper winner, though the narrowest card better reflected the challenger’s periods of success than the referee’s wide total.

The victory was not, as the original account stated, LaMotta’s third successful defence. It was his first. Two months later, he retained the championship in extraordinary circumstances by knocking out Laurent Dauthuille with only 13 seconds remaining in the fifteenth round while behind on the scorecards. In February 1951, he lost the title to Sugar Ray Robinson in their sixth meeting. Mitri returned to Europe, later regained the European championship and scored a notable first-round knockout of former world champion Randy Turpin in 1954. Against LaMotta, he had shown speed, skill and considerable endurance, but the champion’s strength and pressure carried the greater authority over the full 15 rounds.

I’ve watched the highlights of this fight several times and come to the conclusion that Tiberio Mitri was no soft touch. He came to Madison Square Garden as European middleweight champion, having built an unbeaten 50-fight start to his career, and he challenged Jake LaMotta on his twenty-fourth birthday. Mitri was quicker, neater and technically smoother, while LaMotta was what he always was: physically strong, awkward, relentless and prepared to make every round uncomfortable.

I thought Mitri boxed well early. He countered LaMotta’s advances, used the jab and picked up rounds with movement. But he was often off balance after punching, and against someone like LaMotta, that matters. Jake kept walking him down, digging to the body and making him work at a pace he could not maintain for 15 rounds. Mitri had a good spell in the seventh and won the eighth, but from the ninth onwards LaMotta took command. By the twelfth, the Italian was tired and mostly trying to survive the champion’s pressure.

The official cards were 12–3, 9–6 and 8–7 for LaMotta. The 12–3 score was far too wide because Mitri had genuine success, but the right man won. LaMotta did not outbox him; he wore him down mentally and physically, which was his trade.

This was LaMotta’s first title defence, not his third, and it showed exactly why he was such a difficult champion to beat. You could be faster and prettier than Jake, but unless you could hold your shape under pressure for every minute, he eventually dragged you into his kind of fight.