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Jean-Pierre Famechon AM (28 March 1945 – 4 August 2022) was an Australian featherweight boxer.
Johnny Famechon AM | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jean-Pierre Famechon 28 March 1945 Paris, France |
| Died | 4 August 2022 (aged 77) Melbourne, Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Statistics | |
| Weight(s) | Featherweight |
| Height | 5 ft 5 in (165 cm) |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Boxing record | |
| Total fights | 67 |
| Wins | 56 |
| Wins by KO | 20 |
| Losses | 5 |
| Draws | 6 |
Famechon was the 2003 Inductee for the Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame Moderns category and was the third to be elevated to Legend status in 2012.
Early life and boxing career
editFamechon was born in Paris, France. He and his mother, father and younger brother moved from Paris to Ferntree Gully, Victoria, Australia a suburb of Melbourne, in 1950 when he was five. The family then moved to Middle Park another suburb of Melbourne. His mother Antoinette and younger brother Christian moved to Paris a couple of years later; John and his father Andre then moved to Richmond.
Famechon attended Salesian College (Rupertswood) and later Essendon Technical School. He met his wife Elise (née Alves), and they married at St Brigid's Church in Mordialloc in 1970. They moved to Aspendale and later Frankston and had their first child Paul in 1972, and daughter Danielle in 1974.
Over his twenty-year career Famechon developed a reputation for being a skilled boxer whose strength was his defence. His career record was 56 wins (20 by KO), 6 draws and 5 losses.
His first major win was over Les Dunn to become Victorian Featherweight champion in 1964, then he was Commonwealth featherweight champion in 1967 after defeating the Scot John O'Brien. He became Lineal and WBC featherweight champion on 21 January 1969 after he defeated the Cuban José Legrá on points at the Albert Hall in London.
Famechon defended his WBC featherweight title against Fighting Harada of Japan and won in a controversial points decision. In the rematch for the world title, against Harada in Japan six months later, Famechon decisively won by knocking out Harada in the fourteenth round.
He defended his WBC title on 9 May 1970 in Rome to Mexican Vicente Saldivar and after losing the fight in a close points decision, he retired soon afterwards.
He was trained by Ambrose Palmer throughout his professional career and never fought as an amateur.
Later life
editFamechon received the Keys To The City in 1969 on his return to Australia after his World Title win against Jose Legra in London.
Famechon was the first Melburnian to become King of Moomba in 1970 when appointed by the Moomba Festival festival committee.[1]
In 1971, he and long time friend Frank Quill, wrote his autobiography, Fammo.[2]
Famechon was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985.[3] He was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in Los Angeles in 1997. He also was inducted to the Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame in 2003 and to the Frankston Hall of Fame in 2008. In 2013 the Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame elevated him to Legend status.[4]
In 1991 he was badly injured when hit by a car outside Sydney's Warwick Farm racecourse, which resulted in horrific injuries and sustained an acquired brain injury and a stroke. In December 1993 Famechon commenced a new complex brain-based multi-movement therapy rehabilitation program that resulted in his return to a near normal life some 10–12 weeks after the therapy began.
Famechon now has a bronze statue in his home town of Frankston[4] and is only the third Australian boxer to be honoured in this way after Les Darcy and Lionel Rose.
He was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours for significant service to boxing at the elite level.[5]
Famechon died in Melbourne on 4 August 2022 at the age of 77.[6][7][8]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Craig Bellamy, Gordon Chisholm, Hilary Eriksen, (17 February 2006) Moomba: A festival for the people.: "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 August 2006. Retrieved 25 March 2011.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) PDF p 22 - ^ Famechon, Johnny (1971). Fammo. Additional material by Frank Quill. Melbourne: Sun Books. ISBN 0-7251-0121-0. OCLC 199575.
- ^ "John Famechon". Sport Australia Hall of Fame. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
- ^ a b Lead, Sub (19 February 2018). "Former world champion Johnny Famechon to be honored with statue". Max Boxing. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
- ^ "Mr Jean-Pierre Famechon AM". Australian Honours. Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Australia). Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- ^ "FAMECHON AM, John Peter | Death Notices | Melbourne". Geelong Advertiser. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
- ^ "Former world featherweight boxing legend Jean-Pierre 'Johnny' Famechon dies, aged 77". ABC News (Australia). 3 August 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
- ^ "Johnny Famechon, Australian boxing world champion, dies aged 77". The Guardian. Australian Associated Press. 4 August 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
External links
edit- Boxing record for Johnny Famechon from BoxRec (registration required)
- "Johnny Famechon: A boxer's story" from All in the Mind (ABC Radio)
- Talk to Johnny Famechon / Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame