Hall of Famer Jeff Fenech Wraps Up Successful Heart Surgery!
On October 6 3KingsBoxing learned some troubling news. Former three-division world champion and boxing Hall of Fame inductee Jeff Fenech would undergo emergency heart surgery at a Bangkok, Thailand hospital for an infected heart valve.
For those who do not know, Fenech’s career spanned 24 years in which he had 33 bouts. During that time, he became a three division champion; holding the IBF title at bantamweight and the WBC at super bantamweight and featherweight.
When he defeated Victor Callejas in March of 1988 by tenth round stoppage, he became the fastest three division champion in boxing history (20 fights). The record has since been broken by unified lightweight champion Vasiliy Lomachenko and WBO flyweight champion Kosei Tanaka (12 fights).
Fenech, age 55, transitioned from a successful boxer into a successful boxing trainer. He was recently in Thailand with a group of ten Australians for a special training camp. While there, he started dealing with sickness and symptoms of pneumonia.
After initially telling his team he would be fine, his symptoms became worse which turned into vomiting blood. At that point, his team would ignore Fenech’s insistence that he would be okay and rush him to the hospital.
SURROUNDED BY FAMILY
According to Australia’s Nine News Gold Coast, Fenech’s surgery took almost five hours to replace the infected heart valve. Doctors also drained fluid from his lungs. To reduce further infection, Fenech, still dealing with pneumonia symptoms, had his heart surgery performed sitting up rather than lying down.
In a touching moment the retired fighter’s daughters Jess and Kayla were able to make it to Thailand to comfort their father speaking to him fifteen minutes before he was taken into surgery. Fenech’s wife Suzzy is also in Thailand with her husband.
“We landed and literally rushed to the hospital and got there. Thank God he was feeling okay. I guess he was scared. It was good to speak to him and give him a hug before he went in.”
Jess speaking to Nine News
Doctors will continue to closely monitor Fenech’s condition, as there’s a lingering infection that remains in his lungs. He will remain hospitalized and according to doctors, the recovery time will take six weeks. Forever the valiant warrior, he vowed he will be up and walking within 24-hours.
We at 3KingsBoxing share our excitement over Fenech’s successful surgery and hope for a full and speedy recovery.
By: Michael Wilson Jr.
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