Ex-boxing champ LaMotta dies at 95

Jake LaMotta, an ironfisted battler who brawled his way to a middleweight title and was later memorialized by Robert De Niro in the film “Raging Bull,” has died. He was 95.

The former middleweight champion died Tuesday at a Miami-area hospital from complications of pneumonia, according to his longtime fiancee, Denise Baker.

LaMotta (83-19-4) handed Sugar Ray Robinson his first defeat and reigned for nearly two years as middleweight champion during a time boxing was one of America’s biggest sports.

LaMotta gained fame with a new generation because of the 1980 film based loosely on his autobiography from a decade earlier.

“Rest in Peace, Champ,” De Niro said in a statement.

Colleges

NCAA PUNISHES PACIFIC >> The men’s basketball team and baseball team at Pacific have been punished by the NCAA for academic and recruiting violations. Penalties include two years of probation, recruiting and scholarship reductions, a $5,000 fine and a vacation of all games in which ineligible athletes participated.

NFL

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Soccer

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Motorsports

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