The body of former world boxing champion Arturo Gatti has been exhumed at his family’s request.

A new autopsy will now be carried out on Mr Gatti’s body at the Quebec coroner’s office.

Mr Gatti was found dead on 11 July in a hotel in north-eastern Brazil where he had been staying with his wife and son.

Police initially arrested his wife, Amanda Rodrigues, on suspicion of murdering him, but on Thursday said he had probably hanged himself.

Mr Gatti’s family have not accepted the Brazilian theory that he killed himself.

Deputy Chief Coroner Gilles Ethier said Mr Arturo’s family had enlisted an American pathologist to assist with the new autopsy, which is scheduled for Saturday.

"Clearly, it’s necessary for us to pursue the investigation," he told the Associated Press.

But he said the investigation would be "more complex for the pathologist because the body has been embalmed".

Mrs Rodrigues had been accused of strangling Mr Gatti with the strap from her handbag, but was released from detention on Thursday.

In an interview with AP after her release, she said her husband might have taken his own life because he thought she was going to leave him following an argument.

Mr Gatti was IBF super-featherweight champion in 1995 and WBC light-welterweight champion in 2004, and retired in 2007.

Gatti’s career spanned 49 fights and he won 40 of them, 31 by knockout. He retired two years ago.</p

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