CANASTOTA, N.Y. — Arturo Gatti Jr. was dressed in a black suit, with a white shirt and a black tie. The dark curls in his hair framed a 4-year-old face that looks just like his father, Arturo “Thunder” Gatti.
The handsome boy was in the McDonald’s across the street from the International Boxing of Hall of Fame where minutes earlier he stood amid a packed crowd to witness his father being awarded boxing’s highest honor.
“I came to see my daddy,” Arturo Jr. told The Post, clutching a Happy Meal of chicken nuggets.
The young Gatti made the eight-hour drive from Montreal with Victoria Purchio, a friend of Amanda Rodrigues, Gatti’s widow, who was briefly jailed after the boxer’s death in 2009 in Brazil.
“I brought him here on behalf of his mom,” Purchio said. “He’s the spitting image of his father.”
Gatti’s 7-year-old daughter with former fiancée Erika Rivera had joined manager Pat Lynch and promoter Kathy Duva on stage to accept Gatti’s award. The young girl told the crowd: “Thank you for my Daddy.”
But Arturo Jr. was not acknowledged. Purchio said Amanda Rodrigues attempted to contact the International Boxing Hall of Fame so her son could receive a personal invitation to attend the ceremony, but received no response.
“I know from the bottom of my heart that my late husband would have wanted his son Arturo Gatti Jr. and his wife to attend the induction ceremony and I am deeply saddened by this decision of your organization not to contact me,” Rodrigues wrote in a letter to the Boxing Hall of Fame, dated June 7, 2013, and obtained by The Post. “This avoidance is a serious lack of respect towards my late husband, myself and most importantly Arturo Gatti, Jr., who would have been honored to officially participate/attend the induction ceremony this weekend.”
Rodrigues said in the letter she was unable to attend the ceremony due to “my current immigration status,” but sent Arturo Jr. with Purchio to “appreciate how much his father was loved by his boxing fans.” Officials at the IBHOF could not be reached for comment.
Many of those close to Gatti, including Lynch, Duva, close friend Michael Sciarra and Chuck Zito believe the boxer was murdered and Amanda was involved, though she has denied involvement. Her presence might have created a potentially volatile situation.
“She doesn’t have a good relationship with his family,” Purchio said. “But she was upset they never mailed an invitation to Junior. This is a very special occasion for him to remember about his dad.”
Purchio said Arturo Jr. is active in gymnastics, soccer, and tennis.
“He loves sports just like his dad,” she said.