Friends and fans paid their final respects at a visitation for former Montreal boxing champion Arturo Gatti on Sunday.
"He was a super gentleman, he had a big heart ," said boxing referee Gerry Bolen. "He took time for the people, to thank them, to sign autographs, laugh with them. Not too many boxers do that "
Visitation was held Sunday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and resumes from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Magnus Poirier Funeral Complex, located at 10 300 Pie IX Blvd.
Gatti's family members attended a private visitation on Saturday.
His funeral will be held in Little Italy on Monday at 11 a.m. at the Notre Dame de la D�fense church, located at 6800 Henri Julien Ave.
Murder or suicide?
Gatti's body was found last Saturday in the apartment he was renting at Porto de Galinhas, an upscale Brazilian seaside resort in the northeastern state of Pernambuco.
He was on a second honeymoon with his wife, Amanda Rodrigues, and their 10-month-old son, Arturo Jr.
Rodrigues, 23, was taken into police custody the day after his death, alleged to have strangled her husband with a purse strap after he became intoxicated and fell asleep.
But a Brazilian newspaper, the Jornal do Comercio, reported that Gatti, 37, may have killed himself, a theory those close to Gatti say is unbelieveable.
"This is a farce, it's like a spit in the family's face... No, he had everything. Why?" said family friend Antoinette Mastantuono.
The newspaper said it had obtained a copy of the coroner's initial findings, which stated that Gatti's body was "suspended and hanged, indicating he may have committed suicide."
"The only place I think Arturo would have liked to die was in the boxing ring, because you know what? He's died in there a few times, came back from the dead, and he came out on top," said former boxer Howard Grant, a friend of Gatti's.
Police maintain they are certain Rodrigues killed her husband.
With files from The Canadian Press and The Associated Press
