A second autopsy report on the death of late Canadian boxing champion Arturo Gatti reportedly says that he died by hanging, not from being strangled by another person.

The autopsy, conducted in Montreal, concluded Gatti was not beaten or tied up. However, it also found a drug in his system that causes drowsiness.

Gatti's former manager said the presence of the drug proves that he died as a result of foul play.

"No one is going to convince me that Arturo Gatti committed suicide," Pat Lunch told CTV Montreal. "As more information comes out it be concluded that it was a murder."

Howard Grant, a boxing instructor and friend of Gatti, agreed.

"I would put my hand on the bible and tell God to strike me down -- there's no way Arturo killed himself," he told CTV Montreal.

Montreal medical staff conducted the post-mortem last month following a request by his family, who rejected the results a July autopsy by Brazilian authorities.

The original post-mortem suggested the ex-boxer hanged himself, likely with a purse strap. Brazilian police said he had tied the strap around a wooden staircase column more than two metres off the ground, put it around his neck and stepped off a stool.

Hoping to refute that conclusion, Gatti's family asked high-profile U.S. pathologist Dr. Michael Baden to look into the cause of his death. Baden subsequently criticized how the Brazilian autopsy had been conducted.

"There were some surprises," he said in an interview with The Canadian Press. "The first surprise was that it was a partial autopsy, and not a full autopsy; the second was that there were some important findings, like the injuries that had not been identified."

Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said the federal government also formally requested that Brazilian authorities release more information about their investigation.

However, the second autopsy appears to have reached a similar conclusion: that Gatti took his own life.

The Montreal native was found dead on July 11 at the Brazilian resort where he had been staying with his wife, Amanda Rodrigues, and their young son, Arturo Gatti Junior.

Rodrigues, a 23-year-old Brazilian citizen, was held by police for three weeks following his death on suspicion that she had strangled her husband. Based on evidence from the first autopsy, however, she was released from custody.

"I want people to know the truth," Rodrigues told CTV Montreal by phone in August. "I'm sick and tired of all these accusations. You know, it's been very painful for me to go through the loss of my husband."

Rodrigues also said Gatti had problems following his retirement in 2007, and that he had struggled with drugs, alcohol and depression.

During his 16-year pro career Gatti won two world titles. He retired with a record of 40-9.

With a report from CTV Montreal's Aphrodite Salas