Jeff fenech, your opinion about this guy

Very good fighter but a little overhyped at the time.was expected to destroy Nelson in the rematch but got taken apart in front of a silent home crowd.I won good money off that.jeff was never the same after that.

 

the best version of him troubles anyone at 120/126. bad hands.

 

A volume puncher who had a great work rate ,a bit overated imo.

 

I agree. Nicely put. In the rematch, Azumah nearly tore his head off.

 

Overrated but fun action fighter while his short prime lasted. A healthy (non malarial) Nelson takes him apart any day, any time.

I remember KO and Ring really hyping him after Nelson I. I think the boxing world was desperate for white stars.

 

Tough strong fighter, beat really good guys in his first fights, also won the title in only a few months after turning pro, with really fragile hands, he was a pressure fighter, really fun to watch, and draw to azumah controversially only to never been the same fighter again getting a beating in the rematch.

 

A Rolls Royce body with VW hands

 

Yeah, in the same bag as Calzaghe and Mayweather.

 

And Tunney to an extent.

Anyone who has boxed over a couple years know your mitts have problems. Unless you are some freak of nature with shovels for hands.

 

Fenech had a fine career already behind him by the time he fought Nelson, it was just that he hadn't been fighting and subsequently noticed in America. He didn't just suddenly arrive on the scene, he had been hammering very good opponents for years. He had about a 5-6yr prime.

Whether Nelson truly had malaria (or flu, or illness) is debatable tho it was a far different fight in the rematch. Some claimed the rip off in Vegas took away a lot of Jeff's desire, but he was a pretty tough vengeful sort of cookie.

He was a hugely controversial loser in the quarters of the 84 games.

He won a low level world title in his 7th pro bout.

Had a couple of low level fights, then a rematch, then another low level fight.

Jerome Coffee 26-0 was flown out and was a massive favorite to take Fenech's title. Fenech outfought him comfortably.

Zaragoza was then whipped easily in a non title bout, after this he went on to win world titles and become quite a noted fighter.

Steve McCrory then came out and i think he may yhave been somehow favoured to win as well. Fenech was leading big when he stopped him late.

Gerg Richardson was then stopped for Fenech's second world title, at Super Bantam.

Carlos Zarate had come back and beaten a dozen or so opponents with only the last couple being any good at all so his shell was next.

Then we come to what may have been his second best hour, against Victor Callejas. Both were Super Bantam champs and both were moving up to fight for the Featherweight title. Callejas was really starting to get noticed and Fenech out mauled him in a brutal encounter for his third world title. It was no holds barred and a great fight.

He defended against Marcos Villasana, an excellent fighter who was coming off a draw with the highly regarded Antonio Esparragoza. He had also run Nelson close in their first encounter. Fenech beat him easily over 12 rounds. Marcos went straight on to win Fenech's vacant title and defended 4 times.

Next up we had an easy decision over Mario Martinez, an excellent fighter. Despite a flash KD Fenech beat him easily by decision.

After that we have the Nelson affairs - then basically career done. He never fought a decent fight after the first Nelson bout.

He was a world champ in 3 separate divisions and it should have been 4.

Fenech was sort of ahead of his time, weigh in wise. Back under the old rule he seemed to be able to regain more weight than anyone pre fight.

His strength in the ring was phenomenal, he used to throw guys around like rag dolls at times. He was tough as nails and i really should have put him forward in the Foul thread, because he was a street fighter in there.

His endurance and stamina were awesome and he had great heart. He would trade in there all night, overhwelming foes wth ferocity, workrate and raw old fashioned desire.

His skills were average to good, not much better. Skills were not what he based his game on mostly however, and few could handle his intensity.

He reminded me a bit of a lower skilled less powerful but more aggressive Duran.

Until the Nelson loss his cin always held up admirably.

I've always maintained he would be a great chance even against a Gomez at Jr Feather. He would smother him right from the start, taking away his punching room and roughing him up like crazy. Gomez always had his own way, but he wouldn't be the boss against Fenech. Fenech was quite brutal inside, legally or other.

From Bantam to Feather Fenech would be hell for almost anyone and there is certainly ATG's he'd roll.

Fenech often dealt with broken hands, they were extremely brittle and he had a career of trouble with them. I would not be suprised if they hindered his power in quite a few bouts.

Three fights that showcase his abilities very well are Nelson, Villasana and Callejas.

 

JohnThomas... I know all the above and understand.

Sorry if my earlier post was a bit dismissive in tone. I wasn't intended to be.

I do believe that Nelson was sick for their first fight. The second fight proved the gulf in talent and ability.

He was a really good, really game and exciting fighter. He just wasn't the master that Nelson was. He was an action guy.

 

Hey no worries, it gave me the chance to expand on Fenech for all to see.

I don't doubt Nelson was sick. I don't believe we saw the very best of Fenech in the second either. Nelson was a great fighter tho, especially when he was "on". He could be inconsistent. He was tough in rematches tho, and has a history of going much much better in them.

What we have to remember too is Nelson was the bigger man, he was a Featherweight right at the start of his pro career and went from there. Fenech won a bantam title and defended it a couple of times before moving up. 130 may well have been a step too far tho he did beat Martinez well up in weight.

No shame in losing to Nelson, he's great. He came up years ago in here and i remember rating him a bit higher than most. He probably just needed 2 or 3 more fights to come together at the right time for him and the sky may have been the limit.

His one problem was inconsistency, which should have cost him vs Fenech and run him closer than he should have been in a couple of other bouts. I can't remember the fight now but he was flatter than a pancake in one bout and they had to insult him and slap him around a bit in the corner to get him going.

 

Overated?? haha gotta love the vocal minority opinions on this forum.

Weigh in anywhere from 118-126 and Jeff would give you anyone as much as they could handle.

 

Jeff's didnt have a high workrate - he had an insane workrate, he was known in Australia for his intense workouts. Running the streets of Marrickville very early in the morning and sparring middleweights. The man shrunk down 3 weight divisions to get to 118. His inside and clinch guy are among the strongest we have ever seen.

I train with a few guys who were his sparring partners.