Johnny Famechon
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Johnny Famechon (born March 28, 1945) is an Australian featherweight boxer, who was born as Jean-Pierre Famechon in France. He moved to Australia in 1950 aged five. Over his twenty-year career he became known as a tough fighter, a career record of 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, Johnny O'Brien. He became WBC featherweight champion on January 21, 1969 after he defeated the Cuban Jose Legra on points at the Albert Hall in London.
He defended his crown against Fighting Harada of Japan and won in a controversial decision; he won against Harada in Japan six months later, knocking him out in the fourteenth round. He lost a close bout in Rome to Mexican Vicente Saldivar on 9 May 1970, retiring afterwards.
He was trained by Ambrose Palmer throughout his professional career and never fought as an amateur. He lives in Melbourne, Australia - part of the time in the suburb of Aspendale. He is the only World featherweight champion never to have been knocked out.
Reach: 66
Height: 5' 5½" (166cm)
In 1971, he wrote an autobiography called Fammo.
He was badly injured when hit by a car whilst jogging outside Sydney's Warwick Farm racecourse in 1991, and after being in a coma for ten days, has been making a slow recovery since. For three years he could not move from a wheelchair. Now he uses a walking stick instead and his speech and memory have improved.
He married Glenys Bussey in June 1997, having met her in 1990. He was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in Los Angeles in 1997.
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