The Bronx Bull

“His nickname was the Bronx Bull or Raging Bull. His real name was Giacobbe “Jake” LaMotta.” I didn’t see the movie based on his real-life experience as a boxer and a stand-up comedian. I also didn’t read his autobiography. He lived 95 years and died in 2017. Not that many years ago. “He fought 199 times for 174 wins (109 by KO), 19 losses (1 by KO), and 6 draws between 1940 and 1965, with a break between June 1952 and January 1955, years he dedicated to the festive atmosphere of show business.”

Why was he called Raging Bull? “The characters in the movie are flawed and dysfunctional, but their travels and struggles through life is a compelling narrative, making “Raging Bull” a film one won't easily forget after watching it. ... We no longer see Robert De Niro playing a role; we only see the character of Jake La Motta. Is the movie, Raging Bull violent? Parents need to know that this 1980 biopic about boxing champion Jake LaMotta is one of the most highly acclaimed American movies ever made. It's supremely brutal, with punishing boxing sequences as well as shocking violence set outside the ring (Jake beats up his wives and his brother).”

I read somewhere that he was training and as a part of training he was abstaining from relations with his wife. My husband, a big boxing fan said, “It was standard training protocol at one time, and there may still be some of that going on now.” And what else? He was jealous. Put those two things together and for some you could get a raging bull. It was said that even though his punches weren’t that strong, his opponents took a beating in the ring. He fought the greatest. Sugar Ray Robinson for one. It was fun talking with the Hubby about this fighter. I asked him if he knew any raging bull stories and right away, he brought up this fighter. The husband said he used to watch two televisions at a time with fights on both. I am so grateful that was before my time. He will have the television on now and a fight on his phone on occasion. I think he is not watching two televisions now as he can not get all the fights, he could on television at one time.

I listened to an interview where LaMotta talked about a Raging Bull II, that he had written and was hoping to have made into a movie. I couldn’t find any sign of that. There was something about a lawsuit and his changing the name to Bronx Bull. In looking for his comedy stand up; all I could find was a comment when he was being interviewed again about with his sixth wife he finally found “the one.” He said, “We both had a headache at the same time at night, making her the most compatible.” When being interviewed another time he talked about boxing with “Bobby”, or Robert DeNiro over a one year time period to prepare him for the role he played in the Raging Bull.

My only experience with a raging bull was when I was newly married and living on a registered black angus’ cattle ranch in Montana. The owners purchased a new bull. I heard they paid $60,000. for that bull. That was a lot of money back in 1972. It wasn’t long before they were collecting sperm from the bull. It may have been the next day. The veterinarian was there to start the process. I asked what they would do with the sperm and I was told that they would sell some and save some for their cattle. They would keep track of who the parents were for each calf born. The next thing that happened is the bull was put up against the lead bull at the ranch. They fought until the lead bull was ready to give up and the new bull took that place. From what I could tell that new bull was both a strong hitter and beat up the other bull too. I get where the raging bull title may have come from as I watched just a small part of that battle between the bulls and you can almost see the steam coming out of their nostrils in a similar way to what I saw on cartoons as a child.