Jean-Pierre Famechon was an Australian featherweight boxer.
18 Facts About Johnny Famechon
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Johnny 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.
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Johnny Famechon's mother Antoinette and younger brother Christian moved to Paris a couple of years later; John and his father Andre then moved to Richmond.
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Johnny Famechon attended Salesian College and later Essendon Technical School.
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Johnny Famechon met his wife Elise, and they married at St Brigid's Church in Mordialloc in 1970.
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Over his twenty-year career Johnny Famechon developed a reputation for being a skilled boxer whose strength was his defence.
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Johnny Famechon became Lineal and WBC featherweight champion on 21 January 1969 after he defeated the Cuban Jose Legra on points at the Albert Hall in London.
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Johnny Famechon defended his WBC featherweight title against Fighting Harada of Japan and won in a controversial points decision.
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Johnny Famechon 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.
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Johnny Famechon was trained by Ambrose Palmer throughout his professional career and never fought as an amateur.
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Johnny Famechon received the Keys To The City in 1969 on his return to Australia after his World Title win against Jose Legra in London.
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Johnny Famechon was the first Melburnian to become King of Moomba in 1970 when appointed by the Moomba Festival festival committee.
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Johnny Famechon was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985.
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Johnny Famechon was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in Los Angeles in 1997.
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Johnny Famechon was inducted to the Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame in 2003 and to the Frankston Hall of Fame in 2008.
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Johnny Famechon now has a bronze statue in his home town of Frankston and is only the third Australian boxer to be honoured in this way after Les Darcy and Lionel Rose.
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Johnny Famechon was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours for significant service to boxing at the elite level.
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Johnny Famechon died in Melbourne on 4 August 2022 at the age of 77.