THEY WILL TAKE A NAP AFTER THE WEDDING CEREMONY

Former middleweight champion Jake LaMotta, 90, to marry bride 30 years his junior

I knew Jake through my friendship with Rocky Graziano. Rocky and Jake were best friends. According to this article, Jake’s ‘father put him on the street to fight other neighborhood children for entertainment in order to make money to help pay the rent.’ I don’t know whether that is actually true, but I do know that Rocky and Jake stood back to back in many street fights with neighborhood thugs.

BOXING LEGEND JAKE LAMOTTA WHO INSPIRED RAGING BULL IS SET TO MARRY FOR SEVENTH TIME AGED 90
LaMotta engaged to long-term girlfriend Denise Baker, 62

By Louise Boyle

Mail Online
December 21, 2012

Jake LaMotta has never been shy of stepping into the ring - or placing one on the finger of the woman he loves.

The 90-year-old boxing hero is to marry for the seventh time to long-term fiancée Denise Baker, 30 years his junior.

LaMotta, the New York boxer who inspired Oscar-winning movie Raging Bull, is set to tie the knot at a justice of the peace in Bisbee, Arizona on January 4.

Ms Baker, 62, told the New York Post that they would probably 'take a nap' following the ceremony.

The couple planned to have a big party two days later where a preview of a new film about LaMotta will be shown.

The Bronx Bull was originally billed as a follow-up to Raging Bull before a legal dispute with the film studio forced creators to publicly say it had no affiliation with Scorsese's masterpiece.

The couple also recently performed in a stage show in New York written by Ms Baker.

The boxer was born Giacobbe LaMotta on the lower east side of Manhattan in 1922. His father put him on the street to fight other neighborhood children for entertainment in order to make money to help pay the rent.

LaMotta went pro at the age of 19 and became known as the 'Bronx Bull' for his aggressive style of fighting where he stalked opponents around the ring, often taking heavy blows himself into order to land devastating punches. He won 83 fights in his career including 30 knockouts.

Following his retirement from boxing, LaMotta owned bars and had a successful career in the film industry appearing in 15 films including The Hustler with Paul Newman and Jackie Gleason.

His memoir Raging Bull: My Story became the basis for the 1980 film starring Robert De Niro and directed by Martin Scorsese.

DeNiro trained with LaMotta until he had the look and moves of a professional boxer.

Later the actor famously gained 60 pounds to play the older LaMotta by gorging himself in Paris restaurants for three months. DeNiro won the Academy Award for best actor for Raging Bull.

LaMotta has been married six times before. His second wife Vickie, whom he married when she was 16, is portrayed in Raging Bull by actress Cathy Moriarty. The sporting legend has six children, four daughters and two sons.