By Terry Dooley
Photo Courtesy of britishboxing.net
As hard-knock lives go you would go some way to matching the hardships and tribulations faced by soon-to-be British Super-featherweight title challenger Femi ‘Fire’ Fehintola.
In the ring Femi has breezed through his apprenticeship whilst amassing a 14-0 (1) record yet faces his toughest in-ring task yet when he meets Carl Johanneson for the British Super-Featherweight title in Barnsley on November the 3rd.
Carl looked a thoroughbred when beating Billy Corcoran in four one-sided rounds to win the title. Carl’s compact style plus unyielding punches make him a great challenge for any fighter as well as presenting Femi with an in-ring nightmare.
I stress that it is an in-ring nightmare due to the fact that Femi’s out of the ring life-story is enough to make you wake in the night with a cold sweat.
Reading about Femi’s Dickensian upbringing is enough to reduce most broadsheet readers to tears, they would then, one presumes, proceed to lament the Dickensian upbringing the young fighter came through whilst failing to grasp that their arch-enemy, boxing, has helped Femi overcome this upbringing in a positive manner.
Femi grew up in an area of Bradford known portentously as ‘the Bronx’. It is called ‘the Bronx’ because it is reminiscent of that American template of inner-city decay, a place grim enough to make Marvin Gaye holler and lament.
If you are one of those who see bombed-out areas of Iraq on TV and exclaim “that is similar to my estate” then you will recognise the kind of problems Femi faced during his upbringing. Femi has to rest his head in an area infested with drugs and the secondary crimes they breed.
Due to his mixed-race background Femi is at an even greater disadvantage, his mix of white-black is not in keeping with the predominantly Asian character of the area.
Further difficulties were heaped upon Femi when he witnessed his own father taking hard-drugs on a TV documentary as well as discovering that his uncle and his brother also had drug problems.
When one considers that a boxer drinking too much, hitting civilians then claiming depression has sparked a veil of sympathy and tears recently Femi’s story is sobering as well as inspiring.
Femi preferred not to go down the excuse-laded road of addiction laid out for him by his peers instead opting to enter into the world of boxing. His chosen road sees him about to go into a fight that many would flippantly describe as a boxers biggest clash – his first title tilt – yet after coming through a fair few fights outside the ropes Femi is looking forward to the chance to give his career the lift-off he always felt it was destined for.
I caught up with Femi recently and due to the fact his past is well documented – in fact it is behind him now, like a true fighter he has tunnel-vision set upon his immediate horizon – I decided to focus not on the negatives of the past but the positives Femi hopes the future will hold. We took the conversation from the streets and into the gym as we discussed the fight with Johanneson.
Firstly he must have seen the fight with Corcoran in which Carl looked destructive?
“Yeah he looked class didn’t he against Corcoran. He looked solid and sharp, it was the best I’ve seen him but I have been up against Carl in sparring so I know him well. I knew he could do that.”
Femi is a big underdog; his relative inexperience coupled with a lack of punching power seems to weigh heavily against him when this fight is put on the analytical scales.
“I know I haven’t had to show all my talent in my fourteen fights. In this one I’m going to have to do a lot but I know I can do it and I can beat him. I just know it.”
Is that bravado talking or do you have the key to unlocking this fight and pick-pocketing the title from the Champion?
“Definitely, no doubt about it, I can win. I wouldn’t get in the ring if I thought I couldn’t (win) and the more people back me to lose the better it is for me.”
Taking a fight like this so early must be a great risk for you Femi, was there any hesitation when the call came?
“No (hesitation). I wanted it, I spoke with my team before the fight even came up and we knew that at some point down the line I would fight Carl.”
“Ideally I would have wanted a few more fights but it is not an ideal world. You don’t turn a British title fight down, especially when you feel you can beat him (the Champion). I know he has a lot more experience than me and he is strong and tough and fit but I have got a lot more skill, I have a lot more about me and I want it more.”
What did you learn sparring with Carl? His punching looks so heavy from outside the ring.
“Every spar was a 50-50 spar apart from out last one when I took him to school really.”
“Carl is one of the biggest punchers I’ve sparred with, he can really whack but he comes out for the first (round) the same as he comes out for the last (round). He always does the same thing and doesn’t know anything different, he is really predictable and like I said I wouldn’t be getting in there if I didn’t think I could do it.”
Does he hurt you with every shot?
“Not every shot but he does come back with a left hook after every shot and you can feel it, he is really strong but I’ve got a good chin – I’m not looking at getting it tested though.”
“I am expecting the hardest fight I’m ever going to have. I even expect I might have to get off the floor a few times but I will do whatever it takes to win and be British Champion. I will be British Champion.”
Would you say that in many ways this is a classic boxer-puncher match-up?
“Yes definitely, Carl knows what I am about and I will not run from anyone but I can out-box him. I will box but I can also stand and fight with anyone. He knows what I bring and I know what he brings so it will be a good fight and a good fight for the fans.”
“We both know what we are about so it is a question of getting in there and doing it. It will come down to who is stronger and who wants it more and that will be me.”
In terms of your progression is this fight arriving on schedule?
“If you had asked me before turning pro what I would be doing after three years as a pro I’d have said I’d be fighting for the British title so here I am. I haven’t shown what I am capable of yet but this fight will get me back on schedule and where I should have been from the start.”
“If I were to pick a winner on the outside looking in I’d say Carl Johanneson but I am ready for him and to show the potential I’ve had since day one.”
A problem for you is that you are most definitely not the puncher in this fight, how can you hold Carl off with your own shots?
“It is a lot about confidence as well as power, speak to my sparring partners and they will tell you that I hurt them so I just have to bring that into the ring. Come fight night with Carl and I’ve got no choice, I have to hurt him and if you ask Carl he would tell you himself that my punching power is underrated. I am getting speed and power now.”
Richard Poxon is doing good work with you and Clinton Woods plus you often watch Ricky Hatton training, is that a help?
“Yes definitely. We have a good set-up. We have a good team and I can see World Champions training when I watch Ricky and Clinton.”
Is that a big incentive for a young pro?
“It gives you confidence and shows you what you have to do to get there (the top) and it makes you want to train even harder to get to that level.”
“That is what is going to help me when I have to dig deep in that last round with Carl and it is all on the last minute. I will come through.”
So you go into this fight an underdog, you are the non-puncher fighting the big hitter, what is the outcome of this fight?
“It will be my hand getting raised at the end.”
You are certainly confident Femi; many people disagree with that assessment.
“The papers might not think I can win but I can tell you this will be a fight and a half, definitely.”
What is your plan for the fight?
“Do what I do best; show what I bring in sparring. It will be a good fight and I can’t give too much away on tape but there will be a tear-up along the way.”
Afterwards Femi told me what he is going to do in this fight to disprove the theories that say he is too green and does not hit hard enough to win. Certainly if he can see his game plan through he could finish the fight as a most deserving winner who is an example to us all – inside and outside the ring.
