Remus
12-13-2003, 02:06 AM
Jeff Fenech, triple world champion, top bloke and rat bag.
not too long ago i got a phonecall from lil pete mitrevski saying that jeff gave me and my wife 2 tix to his FNF. at the fights yesterday i sat down and had a long talk with Jeff about many things. it'd been a long while since we caught up and perhaps a little bad blood between us over the last few months. talking to jeff again had me thinking about jeff the man and what a dichotomous individual he is.
Part 1: The ratbag.
It is well known that jeff was a thug in his younger days and a rebel in many ways until Johnny Lewis gave him a shot at boxing and eventual greatness.
after boxing jeff bought into "gentlemens clubs" ie: brothels, he bought into lots of resteraunts and is making a shitload of money. all the while the development of his fighters has been mediocre to say the least. the skeptics will say that jeff padded records protecting fighters from getting beaten to keep the cashflow coming in. there is an element of truth to this.
there are also many claims from former fenech stablemates, (and rumblings from current ones), that jeff does a hard number on his fighters financially...precisely what he and many other fighters scream about when they were being managed.
then there are the outrageous fenech fight nights where his fighters are virtually unbeatable on the cards. some of the decisions are just so ridiculous that they are an embarrassment to not only the man but to the sport.
it is in fact quite ironic that the man who habitually complains about fighters being ripped off, (himself being one of course), but more recently his claims about green against Beyer can have the audacity to open his trap when his fight nights are so rigged it's sickening.
recently Gary St claire, who was originally trained by johnny lewis, did a dirty deed with his sponsor. he signed a new deal and johnny said to him that he had to repay the money to the old sponsor since he moved to a new one. in johnny's words..."it's just the right thing to do mate." gary didn't pay them back a cent and doesn't intend to so johnny dumped gary saying no one wanted anything to do with him cos they would be tarred by the same brush. the next day fenech took gary in knowing full well what he did.
now in isolation it is bad form and johnny was furious but the bigger picture is even more daunting. boxing sponsorshp at that level is hard to come by and hard earned corporate dollars are invaluable. gary's old sponsor is one that i doubt will ever become involved with boxing or boxers again. bad for the sport. very bad.
part 2: the top bloke.
jeff and his relationship with his handicapped mate con is widely known. this kid can do nothing for jeff. there is no finacial or any ther advantage in having him as a mate and where many superstars wouldn't remember old handicapped mates from school days jeff treats the kid like a brother and spoils him rotten.
every time jeff ever travelled with us on the zoo tours and betted big he normally won. and when jeff wins everyone wins. his generosity in this regard is baffling at times.
then there's the "kids club" that jeff runs. jeff helps struggling kids by giving them a gym and boxing tuition free of charge to get them off the streets and on the right track. he talks to them, motivates them and tries to give them the same chance that johnny gave him.
there was a phonecall one day from a distraught father...someone jeff barely knew...who said his kid had been kicked out of school for being a scumbag. jeff made two phonecalls. one to the school principal asking that the kid be let back into school under jeff's recommendation on the proviso that jeff turn the kid around, and the second a phonecall to the kid to get him to the gym and learn some discipline and respect and to take his mind off the streets. the kid graduated from school 2 years later.
last night is the clincher. a young mum wrote to him asking for him to donate something to a fundraiser she was holding for her young son who had cerebal palsy. she needed to buy a bigger car to accomodate the kid and his equipment. her husband and his family deserted her and her family is nowhere to be found.
jeff rang her and made appearances at a shopping centre with danny green to raise money. raise money they did but it wasn't enuf so he donated more. he invited her to the fight night, got the kid up on stage and pleaded with everyone to help this family out. they raised a shitload of money from fenech memorabilia and people were giving this lady cash all night to help her out. on top of it all, jeff donated another $10G to her.
he didn;t know her from a bar of soap. seeing him hold the little fella with sincere love and empathy was special. seeing how much he wanted to help these people was touching.
why does he do this ? how can a man with such a mean streak, with such cagey and dodgy activities be such a sweet, big hearted man at the same time. who knows ?
what i do know is that jeff is a one and only. he is truly a riddle wrapped in an enigma. long live jeff fenech. graemlins/beer.gif
not too long ago i got a phonecall from lil pete mitrevski saying that jeff gave me and my wife 2 tix to his FNF. at the fights yesterday i sat down and had a long talk with Jeff about many things. it'd been a long while since we caught up and perhaps a little bad blood between us over the last few months. talking to jeff again had me thinking about jeff the man and what a dichotomous individual he is.
Part 1: The ratbag.
It is well known that jeff was a thug in his younger days and a rebel in many ways until Johnny Lewis gave him a shot at boxing and eventual greatness.
after boxing jeff bought into "gentlemens clubs" ie: brothels, he bought into lots of resteraunts and is making a shitload of money. all the while the development of his fighters has been mediocre to say the least. the skeptics will say that jeff padded records protecting fighters from getting beaten to keep the cashflow coming in. there is an element of truth to this.
there are also many claims from former fenech stablemates, (and rumblings from current ones), that jeff does a hard number on his fighters financially...precisely what he and many other fighters scream about when they were being managed.
then there are the outrageous fenech fight nights where his fighters are virtually unbeatable on the cards. some of the decisions are just so ridiculous that they are an embarrassment to not only the man but to the sport.
it is in fact quite ironic that the man who habitually complains about fighters being ripped off, (himself being one of course), but more recently his claims about green against Beyer can have the audacity to open his trap when his fight nights are so rigged it's sickening.
recently Gary St claire, who was originally trained by johnny lewis, did a dirty deed with his sponsor. he signed a new deal and johnny said to him that he had to repay the money to the old sponsor since he moved to a new one. in johnny's words..."it's just the right thing to do mate." gary didn't pay them back a cent and doesn't intend to so johnny dumped gary saying no one wanted anything to do with him cos they would be tarred by the same brush. the next day fenech took gary in knowing full well what he did.
now in isolation it is bad form and johnny was furious but the bigger picture is even more daunting. boxing sponsorshp at that level is hard to come by and hard earned corporate dollars are invaluable. gary's old sponsor is one that i doubt will ever become involved with boxing or boxers again. bad for the sport. very bad.
part 2: the top bloke.
jeff and his relationship with his handicapped mate con is widely known. this kid can do nothing for jeff. there is no finacial or any ther advantage in having him as a mate and where many superstars wouldn't remember old handicapped mates from school days jeff treats the kid like a brother and spoils him rotten.
every time jeff ever travelled with us on the zoo tours and betted big he normally won. and when jeff wins everyone wins. his generosity in this regard is baffling at times.
then there's the "kids club" that jeff runs. jeff helps struggling kids by giving them a gym and boxing tuition free of charge to get them off the streets and on the right track. he talks to them, motivates them and tries to give them the same chance that johnny gave him.
there was a phonecall one day from a distraught father...someone jeff barely knew...who said his kid had been kicked out of school for being a scumbag. jeff made two phonecalls. one to the school principal asking that the kid be let back into school under jeff's recommendation on the proviso that jeff turn the kid around, and the second a phonecall to the kid to get him to the gym and learn some discipline and respect and to take his mind off the streets. the kid graduated from school 2 years later.
last night is the clincher. a young mum wrote to him asking for him to donate something to a fundraiser she was holding for her young son who had cerebal palsy. she needed to buy a bigger car to accomodate the kid and his equipment. her husband and his family deserted her and her family is nowhere to be found.
jeff rang her and made appearances at a shopping centre with danny green to raise money. raise money they did but it wasn't enuf so he donated more. he invited her to the fight night, got the kid up on stage and pleaded with everyone to help this family out. they raised a shitload of money from fenech memorabilia and people were giving this lady cash all night to help her out. on top of it all, jeff donated another $10G to her.
he didn;t know her from a bar of soap. seeing him hold the little fella with sincere love and empathy was special. seeing how much he wanted to help these people was touching.
why does he do this ? how can a man with such a mean streak, with such cagey and dodgy activities be such a sweet, big hearted man at the same time. who knows ?
what i do know is that jeff is a one and only. he is truly a riddle wrapped in an enigma. long live jeff fenech. graemlins/beer.gif