Francesca Hennessy wants to become the youngest undisputed world champion

By Daniele D’Alessio


FRANCESCA Hennessy hasnโ€™t had five professional fights yet, but the 19-year-old has already set her sights on becoming the youngest undisputed world champion ever.ย 

Confident, charming, and extremely talented, Hennessy represents a new generation of boxers who are inspired by current champions to build their own legacy.

โ€œI would love to become the youngest undisputed world champion because the youngest at the moment is 23,โ€ Hennessy told Boxing News.ย 

โ€œIโ€™ve still got three more years to do that and I really believe I can achieve that. I believe I can if I take the right fights at the right time. Iโ€™m still young. Thatโ€™s my ultimate goal and thatโ€™s what Iโ€™m aiming for.โ€

Labelled the female version of Vasyl Lomachenko by Gareth A Davies, Hennessyโ€™s introduction to boxing was inevitable. The daughter of legendary promoter Mick Hennessy and the sister of Michael Hennessy Jr, there was no escaping the sweet science that flowed through Francescaโ€™s household when she was just a child.

gettyimages 1975153121
LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 31: Francesca Hennessy has her gloves adjusted by Brother, Michael Hennessy Jr, during a Media Workout ahead of the Bantamweight fight between Francesca Hennessy and Laura Belen Valdebenito at Camden Boxing Club on January 31, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images)

Hennessy continued: โ€œMy brother would be training in the hallway and Iโ€™d be sitting in the hall for hours just watching him. This was before I was even boxing. I just enjoyed watching him and practicing those things myself.

โ€œSo to start off, my biggest inspiration was actually my brother because he also wanted me to box. Heโ€™d be in the hallway holding pads for me and showing me things. Then weโ€™d spar and he would be on his knees and Iโ€™d be giving it to him in the hall.โ€

She was also inspired by Savannah Marshall, one of the first female boxers in the UK who received major recognition and showed what she could achieve. The popularity of womenโ€™s boxing has continued to increase in recent years and Hennessy wants to follow in Marshallโ€™s footsteps by becoming a role model for the next generation.

โ€œI think I first met Savannah when I was about twelve years old,โ€ Hennessy said. She took me around sparring and showed me all these things. As a young girl who wanted to be a boxer, it kind of opened my eyes up.

โ€œLike wow, I really can do this. I saw the way my dad and Peter Fury were looking after Savannah as well and how much womenโ€™s boxing has come on.ย 

โ€œNot even just as a boxer but as a person I looked up to Savannah because she was so sweet and nice outside the ring. But once she gets in there, sheโ€™s a killer and knocking people out.ย 

โ€œI just love that contrast. I love how you can be so nice outside the ring but when you get in there youโ€™ve got bad intentions. Iโ€™ve always looked up to Savannah in that sense.โ€

But like all athletes who have dreams of becoming elite, making sacrifices is the norm. Especially in boxing, where training camps are strictly regimented and weekends spent partying in nightclubs donโ€™t (or shouldnโ€™t) exist. Yet when you’re still a teenager, those temptations are difficult to resist.

โ€œWhen I first started, it was hard. But now itโ€™s just my life. Iโ€™m so grateful to be doing what I love every day because a lot of people canโ€™t do that. Iโ€™m not fussed when I see everyone going out and partying while Iโ€™m indoors.

โ€œIt was hard at the start when you see all your friends going out and you canโ€™t go with them. But now itโ€™s just a lifestyle for me. Itโ€™s not my type of vibe anymore.โ€

Furthermore, boxing requires a different level of stoicism. A mindset not affected by losses in your personal life. Instead, the ability to focus on the task at hand while blocking out all distractions. Before the fourth fight of her pro career, Hennessy had to practice this virtue first-hand like an aeroplane going through turbulence after takeoff.ย 

โ€œMy nan passed away a few weeks before my fight. My nan was like my best friend. I was always around my nanโ€™s, especially in camp when you canโ€™t go out with your friends and can’t socialise.

โ€œMy nanโ€™s is the place Iโ€™d go and have a cup of tea. Weโ€™d have a laugh and it was always the place where Iโ€™d be. So it was a really hard time.ย 

โ€œBut I just believe when things like that happen you can either sit and not push on with it. Or you can get up, push on, make them proud, and make their name live on in memory.

โ€œI believed by dedicating my fight to her, I could make her proud. I knew she would be looking down on me that day. Even though it was hard, Iโ€™m happy I went through with the fight.โ€

Hennessy emerged victorious against Dorota Norek on June 15 via points on the undercard of the Chris Billam-Smith vs Richard Riakporhe rematch. The referee scored the bout 77-75 in Hennessyโ€™s favour and it was the toughest fight of her young career so far. No prospect is expected to lose in their first few fights, yet many do. Norek was an unexpected acid test and Hennessy passed.

โ€œI was happy with my performance because a few things went wrong in the build-up. I had a lot going on in my personal life. Dorota is a very tough woman. She came to win.ย 

โ€œMy last few opponents have been on the back foot and they didnโ€™t really want to engage. So it was nice to have someone who was actually coming to win and to have a fight.

โ€œIt was also good to be in that atmosphere of not having it all my own way and having to dig deep a little bit.

โ€œI was really happy with the fight and Iโ€™m really happy with how much Iโ€™ve learned from it, which is the most important thing.โ€

Now 4-0 with one knockout, Hennessy wants to return to the ring as soon as possible. A crack at an undisputed championship might have to wait for now, although โ€˜The Billion Dollar Babyโ€™ isnโ€™t ruling out fighting for other goldwear before the end of the year.

โ€œI just want to keep active,โ€ she said. โ€œIโ€™m still only young, so I just want to keep it up and keep the ball rolling. Even since my last fight, a couple of weeks after Iโ€™m training and I can feel how much Iโ€™ve learned from it and what Iโ€™ve picked up.

โ€œIโ€™ve looked back at my fight and Iโ€™m like โ€˜I can do this in my next fight, I can do that.โ€™ It kind of made me even more excited for my next fight after having that fight. Thereโ€™s still so much that I havenโ€™t shown.

โ€œThereโ€™s so much more of Fran Hennessy that people havenโ€™t seen. So in my next fight I do want to show a lot more of my style.

โ€œI would like to get a couple more fights in and Iโ€™d like a title towards the end of the year. Iโ€™m not sure what type of title but some sort of title towards the end of 2024.โ€

Share Page