Azumah Nelson says there is “no sense” in the decision to overturn his controversial draw with Jeff Fenech more than three decades after the event, but feels the ruling hasn’t diminished his standing in the sport.
Fenech was this week retroactively awarded a fourth world title after the World Boxing Council (WBC) overturned the verdict from their first fight in Las Vegas in 1991. The Australian, already widely considered one of the greatest boxers the nation has produced, learnt of the determination at the WBC convention in Acapulco, Mexico.
Nelson is a hero in his homeland of Ghana, a two-weight world champion who knocked out Fenech in the eighth round of their rematch in Melbourne a year later. The pair engaged in third and final bout when they were well past their best in 2008 – which Fenech won – although neither man believes it should have any real bearing on their professional records.
Speaking for the first time about the WBC’s decision to overturn the 1991 draw, Nelson said it could start a dangerous precedent.
“If Jeff Fenech won the fight, give Jeff Fenech money, pay him for [not] losing the fight, if they say it’s not a draw. Give him money, don’t give him the belt,” Nelson told the Herald and The Age from Ghana.
“I don’t understand what they did. They are not doing anything to me. I am still Azumah Nelson.
Jeff Fenech (right) taking on Azumah Nelson in Las Vegas in 1991.Credit:YouTube
“It doesn’t add anything to my career or take anything from my career. I don’t know who gave them the idea to do what they did. So, the people who fought 15 years, 10 years ago and the fight was a draw – [do] they say ‘No, no, no.’?
“Should they go back and change the fight and say who won?
“I don’t want to say things that will offend somebody, to say something about the WBC. There is a lot I could say but I don’t want to say it to them … all they are talking is foolish.
“It doesn’t take anything from my career. Do they say I am no more a champion? They are not taking anything from me. I finished well, I am happy.
‘They are not doing anything to me. I am still Azumah Nelson.’
Ghanaian great Azumah Nelson on the decision reversal
“Whatever someone wants to say, they can say whatever they want to say. Maybe it’s because I’m an African.
“I don’t think there is sense in what they did. … They can do whatever they do to make them happy. I’m here, I’m happy, I want everyone to be happy.”
Nelson, whose ring moniker was “The Professor”, made the claim that he had malaria the first time he fought Fenech.
“I was down with malaria. I couldn’t do anything,” he said.
A furious Jeff Fenech after the decision was read out in Las Vegas.Credit:AP
“I told people I was sick, but they didn’t believe me.”
The original draw ruling is considered one of the great sporting injustices. The WBC, using the original fight footage, belatedly reviewed the fight and adjudicated that Fenech was the true victor.
“You see, Jeff Fenech threw a lot of punches. But [when] somebody is throwing punches, he’s supposed to punch you in the face and body, but not your hands,” Nelson said. “A lot of punches, I catch in my hands.”
Fenech is still buzzing from this week’s unexpected revision. The “Marrickville Mauler” continues to celebrate in Mexico with family and friends and maintains the rematch loss was the best thing that ever happened to him, teaching him humility after “getting a big head” during his undefeated streak.
Jeff Fenech and Azumah Nelson in their final clash in 2008 when both were past their best.Credit:The Age
The 58-year-old had only positive things to say about Nelson, although he was sceptical about the malaria excuse.
“If the doctors and trainers let him fight with malaria, they can never been allowed to participate in the sport again,” Fenech said.
“Who would let somebody fight with malaria? I never made an excuse. [Nelson] fairly and squarely beat the man in the ring in the second fight.
“But what you have to know is that in the first fight I won 10 rounds to two. For him to come back and beat me the way he did [in the second fight] was an amazing feat.
“I don’t worry about what WBC people did because I don’t think there is sense in what they did.”
Azumah Nelson
“But when I won the first fight – and I did win it – I didn’t have to fight him again. There was no rematch clause, I wouldn’t have fought him again. It was over. I was moving straight up to fight Pernell Whitaker, there wouldn’t have been a second fight
“[Nelson] never fought the same guy he fought in the first fight. This is about one fight.
“I’m more than happy to have [the victory] 31 years later because I wouldn’t be here talking to you [if it happened on the day].”
Both men are philosophical about the original decision and the subsequent correction.
“I’m happy,” Fenech said. “More than happy that I never won the fight in 1991, for many reasons.
“I would have been the first guy to win four titles in the quickest period ever.
“I was already a prima donna, a big-headed guy. If I had won that fight back then, I wouldn’t have been married today to my wife. God doesn’t always give you what you want, he gives you what you need.”
Asked if he had a final message to Fenech, Nelson said: “I’m happy with my career here in Ghana.
“Everybody, the people respect me and love me, the African people respect me.”
“I’m enjoying the rest of my life and I wish him the same. If this will make him happy, I wish him all the best. I am happy too.”
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