Arturo Gatti's fortune will be handed to his widow, a judge ruled Friday, following a long-running legal battle over the deceased Canadian boxer's estate.
Amanda Rodrigues will inherit her late husband's $3.4-million fortune, which was also being sought by the boxer's mother and younger brother.
The judge in the case pointed to Gatti's final will, drafted in 2009, as the key reason in his decision.
"Mr. Gatti voluntarily signed the will in 2009 and named Ms. Rodrigues as his sole heir," declared Quebec Superior Court Justice Claudine Roy.
"Ms. Rodrigues did not control or manipulate Mr. Gatti in order to benefit herself."
During legal proceedings, Gatti's mother and his brother had argued that the Montreal-based boxer had been tricked into signing the will, which left everything to Rodrigues.
Only a few weeks later, Gatti was found dead at a Brazilian resort. His death has since been ruled a suicide, but there have been ongoing questions from family members about the veracity of that finding.
Gatti's family had argued that a previous will should instead be honoured; one that put control of the boxer's estate into the hands of his family.
However, a signed copy of that 2007 document was never found.
Since Gatti's 2009 death, his family has refused to accept that the death was a suicide. During civil court proceedings, lawyers repeatedly questioned Rodrigues about the events leading up to the death.
Initially, Rodrigues was arrested and questioned by Brazilian police after Gatti was discovered dead. But she was eventually released without charge.
The Brazilian investigator's suicide findings have since been echoed by a Quebec coroner, hired by Gatti's family, who said there were no signs of foul play.
But during the civil case into who should control the estate, the judge expressed concerns that Gatti's money was being drained by legal expenses.
Judge Roy noted that Gatti and Rodrigues had their share of fights, but they were still a couple at the time of the boxer's death.
Plus, Roy said that concerns over Gatti's death shouldn't be aired at the civil trial, which was focused on the boxer's will.
"(The family) did not state nor prove that Ms. Rodrigues might have been involved in the death of her husband," she said.
Gatti was a well-known welterweight champ who retired in 2007 after a career record of 40-9.
With a report from The Canadian Press
