The Boxing History Blog

Jeff Fenech Jeff Fenech was born on 28th May 1964 in St Peters, New South Wales, Australia, and was the sixth child of Maltese immigrants. He was a delinquent tearaway but channelled his aggression into boxing. A zest for learning and hard work were his keys to success, plus trainer Johnny Lewis, polished his boxing style and channelled all that determination. Fenech represented his country in the 1984 LA Olympics. After getting robbed in the quarter-finals he turned professional on 12th October 1984. He stopped Bobby Williams in the second round in his hometown of Marrickville, New South Wales, and the rise of the 'Marrickville Mauler' was launched. In his third bout, he knocked out Junior Thompson to win the vacant super-flyweight Australian title, at the end of November 1984. Two contests later he took on Wayne Mulholland for the New South Wales State and the vacant South Pacific & South Seas bantamweight championships. Mulholland's corner threw in the t...

Since it's re-introduction in 1986, the British super-featherweight title was a difficult championship to keep hold of. It took fourteen champions and eight years for one to make a first successful defence. Here is a list of the British super-featherweight champions:- John Doherty - 16th January to 17th April 1986   Doherty didn't have the greatest start to his professional career, losing his debut to Taffy Mills in the first round on 26th May 1982. The Bradford-born Doherty then got back on track by winning his next eight and getting back-to-back draws against Ray Plant and Steve Enwright in 1983. He then lost his next bout to Anthony Brown over a six-round points decision. After two wins he ended 1983 with a seventh-round TKO defeat to Stuart Carmichael. He drew his first contest of 1984 against Les Walsh over eight rounds, then went on a winning streak of ten victories over two years, including a win over Les Walsh in a rematch. On 16th January 1986 he ...

Azumah Nelson Azumah Nelson was born in Accra, Ghana on 19th July 1958. He had an amateur record of 50-2 and picked up the featherweight gold medal at the Edmonton Commonwealth Games in Canada. He turned professional on 01st December 1979, beating fellow countryman and debutant Billy Kwame, winning a ten-round points decision.  As a professional he had a meteoric rise, winning the Ghanaian featherweight title in only his third contest, beating Henry Saddler with a ninth-round knockout. In his sixth fight, he was African champion, winning by a tenth-round TKO over Joe Skipper. He beat Australian Brian Roberts for the vacant Commonwealth featherweight crown with a fifth-round TKO in bout number ten. On 21st July 1982 at the Mecca of boxing, Madison Square Graden, New York, Nelson, in his fourteenth contest, came in as a late substitute and challenged Mexican great Salvador Sanchez for the WBC featherweight crown. Sanchez, hailing from Tianguistenco, Mexico ...