JOHNNY A TRUE GREAT
JOHNNY Famechon, one of Australia’s greatest ever boxers, passed away in Melbourne on Wednesday night at the age of 77.
Born in Paris as Jean-Pierre Famechon in March 1945, he was brought to Australia by his parents at the age of five.
He made his pro debut at 16 by drawing with Sammy Lang in June 1961.
Notched
His big chance came in January 1969 in London when he surprised WBC champion Jose Legra and then, in two months, notched up a trio of non-title wins before retaining his title with a narrow win over former flyweight and bantamweight champion Fighting Harada at Sydney Stadium.
After non-title wins over Miguel Herrera and Pete Gonzaled he travelled to Tokyo for a return with Harada and, in what was surely his best ever performance, stopped his challenger in the 14th round. (above inset) opponent Miguel Marriaga
Having seen his WBA featherweight title dream die with just over a minute and a half to go against Leigh Wood at the Nottingham Arena, the 30-year-old Conlan returns to action against Miguel Marriaga in a bout that nobody can call an easy option.
Marriaga, a 35-year-old Colombian with a 30-5 record and all but four of his victories coming inside the distance, is a dangerous opponent in anyone’s book.
Route
Turning pro in June 2009, he won his first 20 bouts via the short route and earned a crack at WBA title holder Nicholas Walters, only to lose a points decision in Madison Square Garden in the summer of 2015.
Almost two years later he got a crack at WBO champion Oscar Valdez but suffered another points defeat, and then was forced to retire after seven rounds against WBO superfeatherweight boss Vasyl Lomachenko.
“I was at the OscarValdez fight in California and what a fight that was,”said Conlan.