Tell me about Jeff Fenech......

At his peak he was a ferocious juggernaut with enormous strength for a lower weight fighter,tremendous conditioning,decent power and a work ethic second to none.Fenech never entered a ring undertrained that's for sure.

He had a nice jab which he used to get in behind and set up his assaults with.He was no defensive genius but at his best his opponents were too busy covering up with Jeff on their chest to launch any really effective attacks on him.

The McCrory fight was Jeff's toughest defense at Bantam especially as he had enormous difficulties making weight.From what I remember of it Fenech got off to a fast start winning all of the early rounds but tired and had to soak up some punishment from McCrory in the middle rounds.Fenech rallied late in the fight and bulled a totally spent McCrory around the ring until the fight was stopped.

 

his first fight with nelson was one of the biggest robberys iv ever seen.......he pumelled azumah in a thrilling affair, got jobbed, got a rematch.....and got stopped in his own country in the rematch by a much fitter more focussed nelson....a great fighter to watch, buzzsaw agression with superb conditioning, one of my favourite all time fighters....almost like a lightweight dempsey!!

 

Rolls Royce Body.
VW hands.

 

i remeber that quote, fantastic....also remember that jeff apparently added a coupla ko's to his record before the nelson fight.....outside the ring by all acounts...poor doorman didnt know what hit him!!

 

Ah, you read the same magazine article I did in the 1990's. Fenech was a great fighter.

 

My former roommate Georgie “Go Go” Navarro went to Melborne Australia in 1988 to fight Fenech for his WBC Feather title. Fenech never gave Georgie a chance to breath. Everything he tried Fenech shut down, and Georgie was known for his movement. Fenech was thumping hard shots the entire 5 rds, as Georgie’s friend it seemed longer then that. Jeff Fenech was a Beast.

 

Excellent comments above, I agree with just about all of them, Fenech was also one of my Favorite fighters, i could not believe the Nelson fight being stolen from him, I read in an interview he said it really affected him for a long time after that, especially after he lost the 2nd time to him. He came from street gangs where he learned to fight and gain his toughness. Fenech Gomez I would love to have seen.

 

Nelson was suffering from malaria in the first fight. He showed his true strength and mettle going Down Under for the rematch and completely dismantling Fenech on his own turf.

Fenech was as strong as a bull and one of the fittest fighters ever (an attribute many tend not to appreciate). He maximized his abilities for sure and achieved everything within his grasp, but I don’t tend to think of him as an upper-tier guy when compared to true greats.

EDIT: For a good look at a more contained, less of a whirling dervish Fenech, I suggest his excellent points win over Jerome Coffee, a smooth and crafty boxer earlier in his title days.

 

Overrated action slapper who compiled good numbers in the depleted lighter classes before meeting a malaria suffering Nelson, who I still had winning their first fight. The truth was settled in the return match.

 

One of my favorite fighters
Had a motor second to none
Could cut off the ring as good as anyone I've ever seen
Tremendous amount of pressure. Second to nobody in that dept.
Tough hard as nails fighter.
His downside was brittle misshapen fists that always broke which at times forced him to switch his game plan.
Got old overnight after the Nelson fight. Beat the crap out of him in my book.
If you want to believe the malaria story...well that's a matter of opinion. I personally loved watching the man at work.

 

High motor come forward body puncher. Excellent combo puncher. Very intense guy to watch. I wrote an article on his fight with Samart Payakroon. Bad Motha shut your mouth. https://imgur.com/gallery/MDg2p78

 

I'm a Fenech fan so might be open to charges of impartiality, but I think he's pretty underrated these days. Had the judges done their job against Nelson he'd have been the first man in history to win titles in four weight classes without having ever tasted defeat. Yes, he did that in the era of three belts per division, but a pretty impressive fact nonetheless.

I appreciate that he was trounced in the rematch, and that Nelson was the better man and fighter overall, but I think if Fenech had got that deserved win over Zoomy first time out people would have a generally higher appreciation of his career. Easy to forget he'd already taken a short retirement from the sport for corrective surgery on his chronic hands before he fought Nelson and had been in some absolute wars.

A few of Fenech's wins which looked unremarkable at the time appear better in hindsight. Zaragoza's three WBC reigns at 122 lb and wins over guys like McCullough, Ayala and Banke were still to come when Fenech beat him - but it's worth noting that Jeff totally outclassed Zaragoza. Richardson and Villasana also became titlists after Fenech beat them. Fenech, after being shaken up early on, totally took Callejas apart, and Fenech is the only guy who ever beat him inside-schedule.

At his best, Fenech was an amazingly effective inside fighter with underrated skills. The sharpness and unpredictability of his movements weaving his way in were world class and he had a great variety of punches, wasting a lot less of them than some would have you believe. And as others have said, incredibly tough (could be rocked early, but seemed to become immovable as the fight wore on) and one of the fittest and best-conditioned fighters ever during his prime. He never let up. That war with Villasana was incredible. The sheer ferocity and pace which was sustained for the full duration can only very rarely have been matched, ever.

I think the injustice of the first Nelson fight, the wear and tear from such an all-action and intense style and his continuous hand injuries all took a very quick toll on him, which is why he suddenly grew old and looked finished by the age of 28. But if Donaire gets great status, then I'm a little confused as to why Fenech isn't at least seen as a potential candidate for it.

 

I have serious doubts Nelson was suffering from Malaria if he truly was then I hope the doctor who cleared him to fight was banned and his cornermen were disgraceful too for letting their fighter fight with such a condition.

 

You had Nelson winning the first fight???? LOL I've heard everything now.