Australian Penthouse

World Champion boxer Jeff Fenech reveals his thoughts on the Azumah Nelson decision, why he fought for Australia, and his latest passion: pokerSome Aussie sporting memories stay with you forever: the 1983 Americas Cup victory; Pat Cash climbing through the stands after winning Wimbledon in 1987; and Cathy Freeman surging down the home straight at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Another involves a 1991 Las Vegas boxing match between Jeff Fenech and Azumah Nelson, and the silence that followed the fight being declared a draw. Fenech circled the ring in a daze. In the wash-up, experts declared that ‘The Marrickville Mauler’ won nine of the 12 rounds.

Last year, during the World Series Of Poker, I attended the ritzy 888poker.com party at the Lamborghini Showroom in Las Vegas. I had the pleasure of meeting Shane Warne and even Mike Tyson, but it was Fenech who left me speechless. I just stood there and looked at him, dumbstruck, and he looked at me like I was some sort of moronic fan worshipper. I don’t usually bother too much with trying to meet celebrities, but I felt like I had to pay my respects to Jeff.

Fenech came from the rough streets of Sydney’s inner-west, a young kid with Maltese heritage who had a big punch, a killer instinct, and a love of his country and its people. He will always be remembered as one of our greatest-ever boxers, and the words “I love youse all” are entrenched in Australian folk law.

Now, ‘The Marrickville Mauler’ has turned his attention to professional poker, and it will be very interesting to see how he fares…

I was with about 500 other outraged fans when that infamous decision was made in 1991. What was going through your mind?

At the time, I was ropable. It was as if something was promised to me, and it was just taken away. I knew I won the fight and was robbed of what should have been the biggest moment of my career. In hindsight, though, it taught me that life is not always about getting treated fairly.

You enjoyed a lot of support from Australians throughout your career. How important was that to you?

I always did it for you guys in the pubs. If I didn’t think I had Aussies cheering for me, I don’t know if I would have seen the point. The supporters are 100 per cent important. If 5000 people wanted an autograph, I would stand there until three o’clock in the morning and sign them all. You can’t say that about most of the other boxers who have come after me.

You always looked like you were in control, but did you ever feel fear?

At the end the day, the only person you should fear is the person looking back at you in the mirror. My preparation was second to none. As long as I was ready, I had nothing to be afraid of. In my early fights, I had never been hurt. Sure enough, the odd punch stunned me a little, but nothing really hurt. Later in my career, as my body started to feel the effects of the years of punishment, things got a little different.

How did you handle the pain?

Pain was something I had to get used to, especially when my hands deteriorated into a broken mess. Smart guys win fights, not tough guys, and smart guys don’t show their opponents when they are hurting. No-one ever knew how bad it got towards the end of my career.

You’ve certainly had some major ups and downs, both in and out of the ring. How did you cope?

Well, that’s really what life is all about. You have to enjoy the good times and get through the bad. It took me a few years to work out that life was never going to go my way all the time. I’ve had some challenges placed in front of me, but I kept working and moving forward—that’s all you can do. I’m pretty happy that I’ve learned from my mistakes and moved on.

What really pisses you off?

The worst disease in the world today is jealousy. There are too many people concerned about what others have. The other thing I hate is when people take advantage of their position. I see lots of celebrities and sportsmen who treat their fans with disrespect and, worst of all, try to make money out of them.

Now that your fighting days are over, what’s most important to you?

My kids mean the world to me. By far the most important thing is that my kids grow up to be good people, show respect to their elders, and try hard at everything they do. I’m not going to be one of those dickhead dads who sits on the sideline pushing them and making everyone feel bad. I just want them to try their best and enjoy doing what they choose to do. I used to live by the motto: ‘winning is everything’, but I now see the world differently.

Like boxing, tournament poker is not a game for the faint-hearted. Are there similarities between your approach to boxing and your approach to poker?

There is a part of me that wants to show people that I can compete against the best. I want to prove to myself how good I can be at everything that I do. I want to show that I can get better and play with the big boys.

You’re sponsored by 888poker and will be competing in some of the biggest events in the world. How do you feel about going up against the legends of the game?

They won’t be pushing me around on a poker table…and the best thing of all is that it doesn’t even hurt when you knock someone out of a poker tournament!

By James Potter

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