Tim Tszyu v Brian Mendoza: Undercard fight turns ugly amid Jeff Fenech-Ben Savva feud

Fight night on the Tim Tszyu undercard threatens to explode, with a long-simmering Jeff Fenech feud boiling over after a pre-fight snubbing.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – DECEMBER 20: Jeff Fenech speaks during the Xmas Footy Bash Fight Card Press Conference at The Star on December 20, 2021 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

Tension threatens to boil over on the Tim Tszyu undercard due to a long-simmering feud between Jeff Fenech and trainer Ben Savva.

The Fenech-trained Hass Hamdan fights Savva’s Danvers Cuschieri on Sunday on the undercard of Tszyu’s WBO world title defence against Brian Mendoza.

Their ongoing rivalry exploded on Monday when Fenech and Hamdan didn’t appear at a press conference, and Savva accused the Hall of Famer of receiving preferential treatment.

“Jeff Fenech is above the law,” Savva said.

“In Australia, Jeff can do whatever he wants when it comes to referees and judges. He’s above the law when it comes to them.

“We know that if it’s a remotely close fight, we’re not going to get any favours.”

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Ben Savva (L) and Danvers Cuschieri (R) put the finishing touches on fight prep on Monday morning. Pictures: No Limit Boxing/Gregg Porteous

Savva’s incendiary comments come after the controversial stoppage to Hamdan’s win over Justin Frost in June.

Hamdan dominated the early rounds, before sustaining a cut on his eye due to a head clash in the fourth. With Hamdan bleeding heavily, the ringside doctor wanted to stop the fight, which would have resulted in a no-contest.

Fenech successfully petitioned the referee to let the fight continue and Hamdan finished the round, before the fight was finally waved off. Because the bout had lasted four full rounds, instead of a no-contest, it went to the judges’ scorecards, and Hamdan was awarded a unanimous decision victory.

The fight, which saw Hamdan crowned the Australian super-lightweight champion, resulted in claims of “Fenech privilege” from some sections of the boxing community.

“Everyone’s in awe of Jeff Fenech, and fair enough, he was a great fighter,” Savva said.

“He’s the only man I’ve ever seen able to overturn a referee’s decision in my life, but whatever.”

Hamdan looks to his corner as the ringside doctor said he’d stop his fight with Justin Frost. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

Fenech hit back hard at Savva’s comments.

“What I did for Hass wasn’t privilege, it was called being a smart trainer,” Fenech told this masthead. “I’ve always thought he’s a dumb bastard and nothing has changed.

“He’s dumb.

“Hass had won every round (against Frost), and we would have stopped him in another three or four rounds. It would’ve been a no-decision, so I did what any smart trainer would do.”

Asked about his and Hamdan’s no-show at Monday’s presser, Fenech said they already had prior commitments before the press conference was added to their schedule.

“We had sparring planned, and my priorities are with getting Hass ready for the fight,” he said. “We sparred this morning, then myself and Nader Hamdan went to Punchbowl High School and talked to kids.

Fenech denies claims of privilege. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

Savva in action in 2019. Picture: Jason McCawley/Getty Images

“If they’d told us about the press conference earlier, we could have worked around it, but that’s where we were.

“Once Hass finished sparring, I went with Nader to the school and spoke to the year eights, nines and 10s.

“That’s where I was, doing something for the community.

“We were out there talking to the kids, trying to make them not end up like Ben Savva.

Cuschieri remained diplomatic when asked whether he felt “Fenech privilege” could work against him on Sunday.

“He’s a special guy, and with Jeff, you’re going to have those privileges,” he told this masthead. “He’s one of the best this country’s ever seen, but it won’t matter on Saturday.

“If I perform my best, it’ll be a blow out either way – I’ll knock him out or win on points.

“I hope he rocks up on fight night, because he needs to be there. Apparently he was struggling to make weight – that’s what I heard anyway.”

Fenech hosed down any concerns about Hamdan’s weight.

“We’re fine. I’d rather he was fighting Ben Savva, but we’ll be there on fight night,” he said. “Every time I hear him (Savva) it’s more and more crap, he’s an idiot.”

Originally published as Tim Tszyu v Brian Mendoza: Undercard fight turns ugly amid Jeff Fenech-Ben Savva feud