Jeff Fenech (born 28 May 1964) is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

former

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

who competed between 1984 and 2008. He won world titles in three weight divisions, having held the IBF

bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from bantam chickens. Bra ...

title from 1985 to 1987, the WBC

super-bantamweight Super bantamweight, also known as junior featherweight, is a weight class in professional boxing, contested from and up to . There were attempts by boxing promoters in the 1920s to establish this weight class, but few sanctioning organizations or ...

title from 1987 to 1988, the WBC

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, th ...

title from 1988 to 1990. He was awarded by the WBC his "fourth weight division" title at

super-featherweight Super featherweight, also known as junior lightweight, is a boxing weight classes, weight division in professional boxing, contested between and . The super featherweight division was established by the New York Walker Law in 1920, although firs ...

in November 2022 after the WBC recounted the bout in his rematch against

Azumah Nelson Azumah Nelson (born 19 July 1958) is a Ghanaian former professional boxer who competed from 1979 to 2008. He was a two-weight world champion, having held the WBC featherweight title from 1984 to 1987 and the WBC super-featherweight title tw ...

. Fenech was trained by renowned

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

-based trainer

Johnny Lewis Jonathan Kendrick Lewis (October 29, 1983 – September 26, 2012), also credited as Johnny K. Lewis, was an American film and television actor. He played Kip "Half-Sack" Epps in the first two seasons of the FX series ''Sons of Anarchy'', and o ...

. Jeff Fenech was inducted into the

International Boxing Hall of Fame The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America. The I ...

in 2002 and the

Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame was founded in 2001 and began inducting boxers into the Hall of Fame in 2003. Since then annual induction dinners have been held across Australia. Inductees are nominated and then voted upon by a panel of ...

Moderns category in 2003, and became the 4th person to be elevated to Legend status in 2013.

Boxing career

Fenech was born in St Peters,

and is of Maltese parentage. After playing junior

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

and getting into trouble with the police as a child, Fenech was turned onto boxing when he attended the Newtown Police Boys Club in Sydney where he met

. From there Fenech had a stellar amateur career, which led to him representing his country at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

where he was selected as the boxing team captain. At the Olympics, Fenech lost a controversial quarter-final bout to Yugoslavian

Redžep Redžepovski Redžep Redžepovski ( mk, Реџеп Реџеповски; born 14 December 1962) is a retired Macedonian flyweight boxer, who won silver medal for Yugoslavia in the flyweight division (< 51 kg) at the

. Fenech was initially given the decision, but after intervention by the Olympic Boxing Committee and a total recount, the decision was reversed with Redžepovski being awarded the win. Many of the other boxers and those in the press felt that Fenech had been robbed of a chance to win an Olympic medal and most boxing writers noted how political amateur boxing was, especially at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...

. It was that decision that led Fenech to turn professional later in 1984, and in his first professional fight he defeated Bobby Williams by a

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving strikin ...

in round two. Fenech quickly gained a reputation as a fast starter: he won his first eleven bouts by knockout, and held his first fight abroad in only his fourth fight, when he beat Iliesa Manila by a knockout in two rounds in

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consis ...

. He beat fringe contenders Wayne Mulholland and Rolando Navarro, both by a knockout in the fifth round, to start 1985. After those two wins, he was placed number one among the world's bantamweights by the

International Boxing Federation The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Cou ...

. However, his early wins by KO had some of the press wondering if he could last the full 15 round distance.

Bantamweight champion

Fenech took only six professional fights to become the number one contender. He became the eighth-fastest boxer to fight for a world title after beginning his career when he challenged Satoshi Shingaki for the IBF Bantamweight title in only his seventh bout, displacing the second Davey Moore, and trailing Shingaki himself,

Leon Spinks Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...

Saensak Muangsurin Saensak Muangsurin (แสนศักดิ์ เมืองสุรินทร์) (13 August 1950 – 16 April 2009) was a professional boxer from Phetchabun, Thailand. He was a Muay Thai fighter and professional boxer. He was WBC light w ...

Pete Rademacher Thomas Peter Rademacher (November 20, 1928 – June 4, 2020) was an American heavyweight boxer. A gold medalist at the 1956 Olympics, he became the only person to challenge for the world heavyweight championship in his first professional b ...

, Joves De La Puz, Joko Arter and

Rafael Lovera Rafael Lovera Montiel (born October 17, 1952) is a former professional boxer from Paraguay. Lovera fought for the WBC's vacant world Junior Flyweight title, losing to Luis Estaba. Lovera is from Fernando de la Mora, Paraguay but he resides in L ...

. Fenech was the third fastest boxer to become a world champion, behind Muangsuring and Spinks, when he knocked out Shingaki in nine rounds in front of a packed house at the Horden Pavilion in Sydney. After two non-title knockout wins, he gave Shingaki a rematch at the

State Sports Centre The State Sports Centre (known commercially as the Quaycentre) is a multi-use indoor arena in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and was opened in November 1984. With a total of 3,854 fixed and retractable seats the main arena is a focal point o ...

in Sydney and retained the crown with a knockout in three rounds. After one more non-title knockout win, Fenech had to go the distance for the first time, when he faced American Jerome Coffee at the

Sydney Entertainment Centre Sydney Entertainment Centre (later known as Qantas Credit Union Arena) was a multi-purpose arena located in Haymarket, Sydney, Australia. It opened in May 1983, to replace Sydney Stadium, which had been demolished in 1970 to make way for the ...

, retaining the title by a 15-round unanimous decision. In 1986, Fenech had only two bouts, but they were both major fights: He won a 10-round, non-title fight decision over former WBC bantamweight and future super bantamweight world champion Daniel Zaragoza, and he retained his IBF world championship with a TKO in round 14 over American

Steve McCrory Steve McCrory (April 13, 1964 – August 1, 2000) was an American boxer, who won the Flyweight Gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics. A year earlier he won a bronze medal at the 1983 Pan American Games. Personal life McCrory is the brother ...

in a bout dubbed "Olympic Revenge" by Fenech's then promoter Bill Mordy. McCrory, like Fenech, had competed in the flyweight division at the Los Angeles Olympics, winning the

Gold Medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have be ...

by defeating Redžep Redžepovski in the final. After the bout at the Sydney Entertainment Centre, McCrory graciously allowed the Australian to wear his Olympic Gold Medal to show off to the crowd. During the fight with McCrory, Fenech wore green and red trunks, the colours of the

South Sydney Rabbitohs The South Sydney Rabbitohs are a professional Australian rugby league club based in Redfern, a suburb of inner-southern Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and are one of nine existing tea ...

rugby league team with their tough forward

Mario Fenech Mario Fenech (nicknamed "The Maltese Falcon", “Falcon”, or "Muzza"; born 11 November 1961) is a Maltese Australian rugby league personality. He is a former player of the game who had a lengthy career in the New South Wales/Australian Rugby ...

(no relation) in his corner. McCrory was trained out of the

Kronk Gym Kronk Gym is a boxing gym located in Detroit, once led by trainer Emanuel Steward. It was run out of the basement of the oldest recreation center of the City of Detroit, and became a household word in the sport of boxing and its gold shorts a magn ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

Super bantamweight champion

1987 was a big year for Fenech. He went up in weight, and in his first fight as a

super bantamweight Super bantamweight, also known as junior featherweight, is a weight class in professional boxing, contested from and up to . There were attempts by boxing promoters in the 1920s to establish this weight class, but few sanctioning organizations or ...

, he defeated Tony Miller by a decision. Then the WBC super bantamweight champion, Samart Payakaroon, travelled to Australia to defend his belt against Fenech. Fenech became a two-weight world champion by knocking Payakaroon out in four rounds. For his next defense, he met future world bantamweight champion

Greg Richardson Greg Richardson (born February 7, 1958) is a former professional boxer who was WBC Bantamweight Champion between February 25, 1991, and September 19, 1991. Early life, family and education Richardson was born in Youngstown, Ohio. He was ra ...

and knocked him out in five. Next it was former WBC bantamweight champion Carlos Zarate's turn to challenge Fenech. Fenech retained his crown by a technical decision win in four rounds at the

Perth Entertainment Centre The Perth Entertainment Centre was an indoor arena and cinema complex in Perth, Western Australia, located on Wellington Street at the northern edge of the Perth central business district. It was demolished as part of the Perth City Link proje ...

, and then finished his year by knocking out Osmar Avila in one round in a non-title affair.

Featherweight champion

By 1988, Fenech had grown into a

, and the WBC matched him with

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

's former world super bantamweight champion ''

Victor Luvi Callejas Victor Callejas (born November 12, 1960) is a Puerto Rican former boxer who was world Junior Featherweight champion. Early history Callejas compiled a record of 36 wins and 4 defeats as an amateur boxer, and in 1979, he decided to turn professi ...

'' for their vacant featherweight title, once again, in Sydney. Fenech joined boxing's exclusive group of fighters who have been world champs in three or more divisions, by knocking Callejas out in the 11th round. He retained that title twice before the year was over, knocking out Tyrone Downes and Georgie "Go Go" Navarro, both in the fifth round. In 1989, he beat Marcos Villasana and former

Julio César Chávez Julio César Chávez González (; born July 12, 1962), also known as Julio César Chávez Sr., is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 2005. A multiple-time world champion in three weight divisions, Chávez was list ...

challenger Mario Martinez, both by decision.

Super featherweight title challenges

After that, Fenech took one year off and came back in 1991 as a

super featherweight Super featherweight, also known as junior lightweight, is a weight division in professional boxing, contested between and . The super featherweight division was established by the New York Walker Law in 1920, although first founded by the New ...

. After beating Johnny Calhoun by a knockout in four, he tried to become a four division world champion when he met

. The fight was fought on the undercard to the

Mike Tyson Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2005. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "The Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson is con ...

vs Razor Ruddock rematch at

Caesars Palace Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The hotel is situated on the west side of the Las Vegas Strip between Bellagio and The Mirage. It is one of Las Vegas's largest and best known landmarks. Caesar ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...

. After 12 ferocious rounds the bout was controversially declared a draw with many of the boxing press who were present (as well as Tyson) claiming that Fenech had been robbed of a clear win. Fenech has accused Nelson's promoter

Don King Donald King (born August 20, 1931) is an American boxing promoter, known for his involvement in several historic boxing matchups. He has been a controversial figure, partly due to a manslaughter conviction and civil cases against him, as well a ...

fixing Fixing may refer to: * The present participle of the verb "to fix", an action meaning maintenance, repair, and operations * "fixing someone up" in the context of arranging or finding a social date for someone * "Fixing", craving an addictive drug, ...

the fight: "Him being Azumah Nelson and being under the Don King banner helped him because I believe the referee (

Joe Cortez Joe Cortez (born October 13, 1945) is an American former boxing referee who has officiated in many important world title bouts. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2011. Biography Cortez is of Puerto Rican descent. H ...

) didn’t let me do what I wanted to do, breaking up the fight, let Azumah hit me after the bell. People want to say I’m a dirty fighter but I only retaliate when someone does something to me. I’ve got no need to do something dirty at the start because I’m busy trying to cut the ring off and put pressure on. Like I said, although I won the fight, nobody tried to help me like that. The judging, the referring, everything was against me." On Monday 7 November 2022, a review of the fight by WBC Boxing retrospectively declared Fenech the winner, thus giving him a fourth world title. Fenech returned to Australia and after beating Miguel Francia, Nelson travelled to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

to offer Fenech a second title try. This time in front of over 30,000 fans at the Princes Park football stadium, Fenech suffered his first loss, when he was knocked out in the eighth round for Nelson to retain the world title. Fenech's TKO loss was recognized as the

Ring Magazine ''The Ring'' (often called ''The Ring'' magazine or ''Ring'' magazine) is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into questio ...

Upset of the Year. After that fight, he fought sporadically. In 1993, he was beaten in seven rounds by knockout by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

former IBF featherweight champion

Calvin Grove Calvin Grove (born August 5, 1962) is an American former professional boxer who was the Featherweight champion of the world. Professional career Grove turned pro in 1982 and in 1988 captured the IBF featherweight title with a TKO over Antonio R ...

at the

Rod Laver Arena Rod Laver Arena is a multipurpose arena located within Melbourne Park, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The arena is the main venue for the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tennis tournament of the calendar year. History Replacing ...

in Melbourne, and in 1995, he beat Tialano Tovar, by a knockout in eight in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

Lightweight title challenge

In 1996, in what was thought to have been his last fight (he fought Nelson a third time 12 years later), he lost to IBF

lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing. Notable lightweight boxe ...

champion Phillip Holiday of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

by a knockout in the second round. He retired after the bout. Fenech retired with a record of 28 wins, 3 losses and 1 draw, with 21 wins by knockout.

Post-retirement career

Fenech was inducted into the

Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and Dawn Fraser t ...

in 1986. In retirement, Fenech has kept busy, and now he is the owner of a sports clothing brand that carries his name in Australia. In addition, he was inducted in 2002 into the

Canastota, New York Canastota is a village located inside the Town of Lenox in Madison County, New York, United States. The population was 4,804 at the 2010 census. The village of Canastota is in the southern part of the Town of Lenox. Canastota High School is loc ...

. Fenech has become a trainer training fighters such as Danny Green,

Nedal Hussein Nedal "Skinny" Hussein (born 1 December 1977) is an Australian professional boxer who competed from 1997 to 2007. Hussein won several titles, including: the Australian super bantamweight title, Australian bantamweight title, International Boxin ...

Hussein Hussein Hussein ("Hussy") Hussein (born 29 September 1975) is an Australian former professional boxer who competed from 1998 to 2008. He challenged for the WBC flyweight title in 2003 and the interim WBC flyweight title in 2005. As an amateur, he repre ...

Sakio Bika Sakio Bika (born 18 April 1979) is a Cameroonian-born Australian professional boxer. He held the WBC super-middleweight title from 2013 to 2014, and previously the IBO super-middleweight title from 2008 to 2010. In 2015 he challenged once for ...

, and former IBF flyweight champion

Vic Darchinyan Vakhtang "Vic" Darchinyan ( hy, Վախթանգ Դարչինյան; born 7 January 1976) is an Armenian former professional boxer who competed from 2000 to 2017. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the IBF flyw ...

. On 5 January 2004, Fenech was attacked and stabbed by four men in Sydney, receiving facial cuts that required plastic surgery. In June of the same year, the Fenech family home was attacked by shooters; seven bullets were recovered but no one was injured. Australian police believed the two attacks against Fenech are connected, ranging from a bar fight that Fenech had with a gang-member in 2003. ''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...

'' newspaper quoted someone related to a Lebanese gang stating that "they will get him", but Fenech does not believe that the violent events are related. In March 2005, Fenech became the trainer for former heavyweight champion

, in an effort to relaunch Tyson's career. During the year 2020, Fenech trained Mike Tyson once again in preparation for Tyson's exhibition bout against Roy Jones Jr. Despite repeated denials made in the popular press and on his website, Fenech pleaded guilty to his role in the 2005 theft of 3 gold watches worth a total of $327 from a

Gold Coast, Queensland The Gold Coast is a coastal city in the state of Queensland, Australia, approximately south-southeast of the centre of the state capital Brisbane. With a population over 600,000, the Gold Coast is the sixth-largest city in Australia, the na ...

boutique store. There was clear evidence of his involvement from in-store security cameras, revealing that Fenech actively participated in the incident.

Boxing comeback against Nelson

In March 2008, Fenech – at age 43 – announced a comeback to professional boxing and lost 22 kilos in preparation for the fight. He was to fight

(who was 49 years old by this time) in what was later built up as the grudge match of the century. The two were to do battle on 24 June 2008 in Melbourne, Australia. A reality series/documentary on Fenech's life aired on Channel 9 and Fox Sports in the weeks leading up to the fight. On 24 June 2008, Fenech won the grudge match against Azumah Nelson by a majority decision, one judge scoring the fight a draw and the last two judges scoring it in favour of Fenech. In June 2008, Fenech won the

Shane Warne Shane Keith Warne (13 September 1969 – 4 March 2022) was an Australian international cricketer, whose career ran from 1991 to 2007. Warne played as a right-arm leg spin bowler and a right-handed batsman for Victoria, Hampshire and Australi ...

888 Poker World Series of Poker Celebrity Bounty Event at Crown Casino. Fenech now appears at poker events around the world including the

Aussie Millions The Australian Poker Championship, commonly known as Aussie Millions, is a series of poker tournaments held at the Crown Casino, in Melbourne, Australia. The Main Event of the series is the Southern Hemisphere's richest poker tournament with a ...

and the

World Series of Poker The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Paradise, Nevada and, since 2004, sponsored by Caesars Entertainment. It dates its origins to 1970, when Benny Binion invited seven of the best-known poker pl ...

Amateur career

*1983 Oceanic Flyweight champion *1983 3rd place at Flyweight in World Championships in Rome, Italy. Results were: **Defeated Marcelino Diaz (Colombia) points **Lost to Huh Yong-Mo (South Korea) points *1983 3rd place as a Flyweight at Commonwealth Titles in Belfast, Northern Ireland. *1984 Oceanic Flyweight champion *1984 represented Australia as a Flyweight at Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Results were **Round of 32: Defeated Rene Centellas (Bolivia) KO 3 **Round of 16: Defeated David Mwaba (Tanzania) points **Quarterfinal: Lost to Redzep Redzepovski (Yugoslavia) points

Professional boxing record

References

*
Fenech, the official biography
' / Grantlee Kieza and Peter Muszkat (1988, ) *
Jeff Fenech: I love youse all
' / with Terry Smith (1993, )
Caricature portrait of Jeff Fenech
1988 / Spooner
Jeff Fenech during a training session
1991 / David Mahony
Jeff Fenech in tears ...
1984 / Bruce Howard

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fenech, Jeff 1964 births Australian people of Maltese descent People from Marrickville Sportsmen from New South Wales Boxers from Sydney Boxers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Olympic boxers of Australia Bantamweight boxers World Boxing Council champions International Boxing Federation champions International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees Australian male boxers The Apprentice Australia candidates Living people