BOXING

Police eye wife in Gatti death

07-14-2009 | AP

Panama Star RIO DE JANEIRO. Brazilian police investigating the death of former boxing champion Arturo Gatti are working on the assumption his wife strangled him with her purse strap.

But police spokeswoman Milena Saraiva says Monday nothing is being ruled out in the investigation, including the possibility another person may have been involved. Gatti was found dead early Saturday in a seaside tourist resort.

Saraiva says police in the northeastern state of Pernambuco are focusing on Gatti's 23-year-old Brazilian wife, Amanda Rodrigues. She is in custody and has been accused by police of killing Gatti. Rodrigues has yet to be charged and has denied any involvement in the death.

The 37-year-old Gatti, whose epic trilogy with Micky Ward branded him one of the most exciting fighters of his generation, retired in 2007 with a career record of 40-9 and 31 knockouts.