Fran Hennessy: "I want to be the undisputed champion of the world. If I didn't believe I could do that, then I wouldn't be in the sport."
By Garry White
Carrying a big recognisable surname can be a blessing and a curse. In the boxing world, just think of a younger Eubank or a Benn, or if we are being brutal a Frazier. Names carry weight, they open doors, but they also carry expectations, and sometimes resentment from those who don't own one. The public are also not immune from taking dark satisfaction from a career that seems mapped out suddenly hitting the skids.
But in the case of nineteen-year-old Fran Hennessy, such bitter jealousy would not be deserved. Her father may not be a known face between the ropes, but his name certainly reverberates beyond them. Mick Hennessy has been a fixture on the British boxing scene over many years, managing and promoting some of the sport's biggest names, including the likes of Tyson Fury and Carl 'The Cobra' Froch. But behind the teenager's recognisable surname, there hides an impressive amateur pedigree. Hennessy has already won two national championships, the Winter Box Cup and Sweden's Golden Girls Box Cup, before turning pro shortly before her last birthday. In a fledgling ten-month pro career, she has so far fought four times, including high-profile outings at Wembley Arena and most recently at Crystal Palace's, Selhurst Park, on the undercard of Chris Billam-Smith's WBO cruiserweight title defence against Richard Riakporhe.
"I want to do my name proud. My dad has built a great name for us all, and I definitely want to do both him and my mum proud by building further on that name," says Hennessy, when asked if she feels any additional pressure. "But at the same time, I want people to know me for who I am. I want to build my own identity [in boxing].
"But of course, I also really want to make my parents proud because they've created such a nice life for me. I am really blessed to have them both and for all they've done for me over the years. I'd love one day to bring a world title back to them and win it for the Hennessy name."
For Hennessy, a childhood in leafy Sevenoaks, attending the local Sevenoaks ABC and making her junior amateur debut in the spacious hall of a nearby private school, may seem a world away from the usual urban decay that binds the pages of most boxers' back stories. "My mum and dad tried to keep me away from boxing as much as they could," admits Hennessy with a smile. "Obviously, my dad has been in the sport for years and knows how tough it is. But he kept leaving boxing gloves hanging around the house, and I'd just pick them up. Later, I would sit on the stairs and watch my brother [middleweight contender Michael Jr] training in the hall. I'd sit there for one or two hours watching like a hawk. I have always had that passion for it. I just love it!" she says, with an even wider smile.
A childhood of rubbing shoulders with some of the biggest names in the sport has also played its part. Of all the top-level boxers in Hennessy's adolescent orbit, it was the sometimes-diffident Savannah Marshall that left the biggest mark. "I remember begging my dad to go on a work trip with him because I knew Savannah would be there," she recalls. "I remember Savannah sparring with me and showing me some moves. As a young girl, it was such an amazing experience. To this day, I get really excited when I see her. I know I sound like a fan girl! But I've always looked up to Savannah as a boxer and a person. She's also really a great person outside of the ring. That's really something I would like to be to other young girls as well," adds Hennessy.
Marshall, despite winning multiple world championship belts and prior to her huge fight night with Claressa Shields, had made a career out of shunning the limelight. Her decisive and often devastating finishing in the ring contrasted greatly with her shyness outside of it in press conferences and beyond. However, Hennessy, with her burgeoning social media profile, is in no doubt that she is in boxing to entertain and plans to fully embrace these showbiz aspects of it. "I really like all the cameras and stuff. I thrive under the pressure," she reveals. "I know it's all added pressure, but it gets me excited. This is what I wished for when I was younger. Nowadays, boxing is an entertainment business, and I believe you need both ability and entertainment factor. My style is definitely a bit of flair and razzamatazz, but I do have a 'dog' side to me as well. I can bite down on my gumshield and 'have it' as well."
At the same time, Hennessy recognises that she is still a teenager and a four-fight novice in the pro ranks, who still has plenty of room for development. "I've so much to learn," she says. "I am nowhere near where I want to be yet. But that's what keeps me working. I am very grateful for this position. I work very hard for it, and I won't be giving it up easily."
Women's boxing continues to grow in stature and profile on both the domestic and world stage. Fighters like Katie Taylor and Claressa Shields possess huge and enviable profiles. Britain, itself, also seems to be in the vanguard of this development with diverse and recognisable champions across the weight divisions. The evolution of title belts at Commonwealth and, more recently, the British level has also created further opportunities for female fighters to compete for titles below world level. It would be an embarrassing understatement to suggest that women's boxing has come a long way since the barriers and indignation endured by the likes of Jane Couch or Christy Martin. For Hennessy, these pioneers continue to be a source of inspiration. "We've really got to thank them and the big names that have followed for opening up the sport for us and giving us a platform," she says. "Without them, women's boxing wouldn't be nearly as big or have come so far. The fact that we now also have British and Commonwealth titles as well. It's great that there have been some brilliant fights for them that have created a great showpiece for women's boxing. As a woman, I have loved watching these great historic moments."
It would be easy to look at Hennessy's age and question her decision to turn pro so early. The unimaginative might suggest that she is still growing and that there was a surfeit of knowledge still to be wrung from the unpaid business of amateur contests. Yet, at the same time, there is the feeling that she had outgrown appearing in beige sports halls and that the often methodical nature of amateur contests had stifled her personality. "The pro game just provides more entertainment from start to finish. It's just like you're putting on a show as well as fighting. I just love the entertainment side of it," affirms Hennessy. "Also, there hadn't really been an 18-year-old female that had turned pro. So, it just felt like the perfect time for me, what with women's boxing being on the up as well."
Hennessy sailed through her opening three contests as a newly minted pro. Her debut opponent, the normally resilient Sonia Klos, failed to make it to the final bell for the first time in her career, as Hennessy bagged a fifth-round stoppage win. Just one round was dropped in her following two fights as she collected wide points decisions in six-rounders against durable international opposition. Making the step up to eight rounds in her last encounter, beamed out live on SKY Sports, Poland's uncompromising Dorota Norek provided her with her toughest test to date. The experienced 35-year-old who had previously been in with former WBA 118 lbs belt-holder, Shannon Courtenay, made Hennessy work hard for a deserved points victory.
"It felt like a proper fight," says the Sevenoaks resident excitedly. "She [Norek] had a winning record and came to win. She gave it her all, whereas my previous opponents didn't want to engage. It felt more realistic, like a proper fight! I really enjoyed every second of it. I just remember sitting in the corner between rounds, taking it all in. It was just a great experience."
However, it wasn't just the boxing that provided Hennessy with fond memories of her evening at Selhurst Park. "When I came out for my ring walk, the rain was pouring on me. I felt like I was in some kind of music video. Boxing outside felt mad as well," she recalls of her first stadium experience.
"There were just all these people everywhere. As I was standing waiting to walk out, I just thought this was what I dreamed about as a little girl. It just felt so surreal."
And that's really the essence of Fran Hennessy. When you join all the pieces together, she is really just a teenager living out her dreams. That she gets to do so on a big stage in front of television cameras just adds further to the buzz. It makes for an ebullient and almost infectious personality and provides a refreshing counterbalance to boxing's often jaundiced and heavily ladled cynicism. But the flashbulbs, the faux glitz of television press conferences, and the music video walk-ins are just the visual endgame to all the unglamorous and unseen work that takes place behind closed doors.
Trained by former British and Commonwealth champion, Bradley Skeete, Hennessey knows that she still has a long way to go, but at nineteen, has a long time in which to get there. For now, it is all about continuing to develop. That rote learning in the gym, the endless focus on small percentage improvements. There is no glamour in this world that only comes later once the silent hard work is done, and then only fleetingly enjoyed until moving swiftly on to the next battle. It is now all about getting fights under her metaphoric belt but with the determination that Hennessey might win a literal belt of her own soon. "I just want to stay active and pick up as much experience as I can. I need more fights like the one with Dorota [Norek], where I don't just have it all my own way. But I'd love to get a chance to fight for some kind of title before the end of the year," she says.
And then what? "Well, I want to be the undisputed champion of the world," says Hennessey, her voice straining somewhere between matter-of-fact self-confidence and wide-eyed excitement, as she pictures the scene in her head. "If I didn't believe I could do that, then I wouldn't be in the sport. It's too hard a sport to do it for anything less.
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