Heartbreaking same-sex law halts Olympic dream for Australia’s most feared boxer Fred Zziwa

Fred Zziwa is the most feared boxer in Australia, to the point where he can’t find opponents. He could be representing Australia in Paris this year, too – if not for a heartbreaking court ruling.

Were it not for South Australia’s laws against same-sex couples adopting children before 2017, Fred Zziwa would have been representing Australia at the Paris Olympics in July.

Instead, he has become the country’s most feared fighter, with a growing list of boxers turning down professional bouts against the power-punching lightweight.

Zziwa’s unique journey began in his native Uganda, when Australian volunteer Melinda Mayne first met him and his classmates.

“She had a My Talking Tom video game, I had never seen such a thing, I played with that day and night,” Zziwa said.

Boxer Fred Zziwa with his adoptive mother Melinda Mayne.

After a while, Mayne and Zziwa began to grow closer, and the young boy asked Mayne to take him back to Australia for a brighter future.

“From a young age, I always believed I was going to be something, I actually thought I would be a movie star, I turned to my mum and said: ‘You have five other children, please let me go’,” Zziwa said.

Mayne remembers it well.

“He said to me he always knew he was going to be special, he just had that sense of himself and I’ve said to him many times since, ‘How can a 12-year-old kid know that?’ It’s a huge thing for a 12-year-old to have,” Mayne said.

“Fred lived in a home with dirt floors, no windows or doors, he was severely malnourished, he would have a cup of tea for breakfast.

“I spoke to Fred’s father, who is an educated man, and as far as Fred is aware he has 24 children, six with Fred’s mum and about 24 in total, and he was supportive of Fred coming with me to Australia.”

And so it was agreed in 2014.

A young Fred Zziwa as a schoolboy in Uganda.

However, Mayne – a lesbian – was unable to adopt Zziwa because South Australian legislation prevented same sex couples from doing so.

Zziwa instead visited Australia for three months on a visitor’s visa, living with Mayne in the coastal town of Victor Harbour, 80km south of Adelaide. He was forced back and forth from Uganda.

“We have about 15 different visa applications,” Mayne said.

“All those temporary visas, what that does to you psychologically is huge, you have no idea if you can live in one place, and at any given moment you can be told you need to leave Australia within 28 days.”

Only when South Australia changed their laws in 2017 was Mayne allowed to legally adopt Zziwa.

Fast forward seven years, 26-year-old Zziwa is now one of Australia’s best boxers. But because of the delay in legal adoption, he has been unable to gain his citizenship and therefore does not qualify for the 2024 Olympics.

So he’s turned professional, and now has designs to become a world champion.

One leading Australian trainer, who wanted to remain anonymous, said: “I’ve never said ‘No’ quicker to a fight offer than when we were offered a fight against Fred.

“He is a beast. I just knew my guy wasn’t ready for him.

“The problem Fred is going to have is not getting big fights, it’s getting any fights. And his progress could really struggle because no one will fight him.”

Zziwa built an outstanding amateur record of 46 wins and nine defeats, with 14 knockouts. The 14 knockouts is what really stands out, given there are very few in the amateurs, particularly in the lighter weight divisions where they wear 12 ounce gloves and fights are just three rounds.

Zziwa has built an outstanding amateur record. Picture: Supplied

Zziwa’s amateur coach, Mark Nethercott, said: “He clearly has more power than anyone in the division in the country. That’s why everyone is avoiding him.

“He also has a high boxing IQ, able to make adjustments quickly in order to figure his opponents out.”

Nethercott played a crucial role in that ring intelligence.

Zziwa, who was a keen soccer player as a teenager, grew frustrated with the lack of opportunities he was getting in Adelaide, and so was taken to a boxing gym by his adoptive grandfather Alan.

“My pop took me to the gym when I was 17, but for me it was just a way to keep fit until I could find another sport to play,” Zziwa said.

Fred Zziwa with his adoptive grandfather Alan, who first took him to a boxing gym.

“My coach Mark, we trained for about a week and then he put me in the ring for sparring. When he sparred me I was scared. The thing is, he beat me, not getting punched with heavy shots, but just scoring.

“I was quick, but you could see the difference. I was just showing hands, he was giving me a lesson in boxing. Since then, I changed, I told myself I want to be so good that I can beat my own coach, and everyone else in the gym, no matter how big.

“So my mum used to drop me at the bus station for school, she’d drive away, and I’d walk to the gym, I had a spare key.

“I would train in the gym from 8am to 4pm, then there’s a boxing class after that. I’d do that one too, then change back into my school uniform and go home.”

Rising boxing star Fred Zziwa in action during an amateur fight.

Before long, Zziwa was thrust into the fight game and won eight of his first nine bouts.

He began climbing up multiple weight divisions and took on all-comers, defeating the likes of Olympian Charlie Senior and losing a split decision to Callum Peters at 69kg. At one stage Zziwa had beaten the active Australian champions across four weight divisions (57kg, 60kg, 63.5kg, 67kg), an achievement unlikely to be achieved again.

“That is the tragedy for him and for Australia, he’s been robbed of going to the Olympics,” Mayne said.

“Had the same-sex adoption laws been amended even a year earlier, I would have adopted Fred and he would have had his citizenship and he would have been going to Paris.

“But I am just so proud of what he’s been able to achieve despite the challenges; the nutritional challenges he had as a child, the educational battles, and the mental hurdles he had to overcome when we were fighting for visas.”

Zziwa will now focus his attention on the 61kg lightweight division in the pros, and has so far had two knockout wins to begin his career.

Australia’s most feared boxer: Fred Zziwa. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

But with the lack of opportunity in South Australia, Zziwa recently relocated to NSW’s Central Coast, where he is trained by renowned coach Joel Keegan in a stable that included world No. 1 ranked super bantamweight Sam Goodman and Olympian Kaye Scott.

“I left behind my two-year-old son Joe, I left behind my girlfriend [Ellen Kambanaros], I have made these sacrifices so I can do great things in this sport,” Zziwa said.

However, the lack of willing dance partners in the ring has forced Zziwa to test his love for the sport even further.

“I’ve had to set up my own promotional company, we promote my fights, by the time I pay everyone I am losing money or breaking even,” Zziwa said.

Zziwa is working as a chef – but wants a boxing career to be what pays his bills.

“So right now, I am fighting for free.

“On the weekends, I work as a chef so I can pay the bills.

“But I told my family, I have to do this now so I can create the opportunities to get me bigger fights in the future.

“Right now I don’t have the platform. I just have to get to a position where people can’t say no to me, they have to fight me to get to a title.”

Zziwa is planning his third fight for June.

“I have a dream to be world champion, and I won’t stop until I am there,” he said.

“And one day, there will be a statue of me in Victor Harbour. I have already spoken to the council about this, you will see that statue of me.”

Originally published as Heartbreaking same-sex law halts Olympic dream for Australia’s most feared boxer Fred Zziwa