ROSE, LIONEL & JOHNNY FAMECHON SIGNED BOXING GLOVE

HISTORY: Lionel Edmund Rose MBE (21 June 1948 – 8 May 2011) was an Australian bantamweight boxer, the first Indigenous Australian to win a world title. After missing selection for the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Rose began his professional boxing career on 9 September 1964, outpointing Mario Magriss over eight rounds. This fight was in Warragul, but the majority of Rose's fights were held in Melbourne. Along the way he was helped by Jack and Shirley Rennie, in whose Melbourne home he stayed, training every day in their backyard gym. After five wins in a row, on 23 July 1965, Rose was rematched with Singtong Por Tor, whom he had beaten in a 12-round decision. Por Tor inflicted Rose's first defeat, beating him on points in six rounds. On 14 October of the same year, he had his first fight abroad, beating Laurie Ny by a decision in 10 rounds at Christchurch, New Zealand. Over his next nine fights, Rose had a record of eight wins and one loss, with one knockout. The lone loss in those nine fights was to Ray Perez, against whom Rose split a pair of bouts. Then, on 28 October 1966, he met Noel Kunde at Melbourne for the Australian bantamweight title. He won the title by defeating Kunde in a 15-round decision. Rose won one more belt in 1966 and eight in 1967 (including a thirteenth round knockout win against Rocky Gattellari to defend his Australian championship) before challenging Fighting Harada for the world bantamweight title on 26 February 1968 in Tokyo. Rose made history by becoming the first Aboriginal Australian to be a world champion boxer when he defeated Harada in a 15-round decision.[5]. This win made Rose an instant national hero in Australia and an icon among Aboriginal Australians. A public reception at Melbourne Town Hall was witnessed by a crowd of more than 100,000. On 2 July of that year, he returned to Tokyo to retain his title with a 15 round decision win over Takao Sakurai. Then, on 6 December, he met Chucho Castillo at the Inglewood Forum in Inglewood, California. Rose beat Castillo by decision, but the points verdict in favour of him infuriated many in the pro-Castillo crowd and a riot began: 14 fans and fight referee Dick Young were hospitalised for injuries received. On 8 March 1969, Rose retained the title with a 15-round decision over Alan Rudkin, but five months later he returned to Inglewood, where he faced Rubén Olivares on 22 August. Rose lost the world bantamweight title to Olivares via a fifth-round knockout. Rose continued boxing after his defeat against Olivares, but, after defeats against practically unknown fighters, many believed he was done as a prime fighter. However, he was far from finished: he upset future world lightweight champion Itshimatsu Suzuki on 10 October 1970 in a 10-round decision, and once again, he positioned himself as a world title challenger, albeit in the lightweight division, 17 pounds over the division where he crowned himself world champion. Despite having lost to Jeff White for the Australian lightweight title, Rose got another world title try when he faced WBC world junior lightweight champion Yoshiaki Numata, on 30 May 1971 at Hiroshima. Numata beat Rose by a fifteen round decision, and Rose announced his retirement soon after. In 1975, he came back, but after losing four of his next six bouts, including one against Rafael Limón, Rose decided to retire for good. Rose compiled a record of 42 wins and 11 losses as a professional boxer, with 12 wins by knockout. In 2007, Rose suffered a stroke that left him with speech and movement difficulties. Rose died on 8 May 2011 after an illness which lasted for several months. 

Johnny Famechon (born Jean-Pierre Famechon 28 March 1945 in Paris, France) is a former Australian featherweight boxer. Johnny was the 2003 Inductee for the Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame Moderns category and was the 3rd to be elevated to Legend status in 2012. Famechon and his mother, father and younger brother moved from Paris, France, to Ferntree Gully, Australia, in 1950 at the age of five. The family then moved to Middle Park. His mother Antoinette and younger brother Christian moved back to Paris a couple of years later; John and his father Andre then moved to Richmond. Famechon went to Essendon Technical School, where he met lifelong friend John Johnson and became part of the family when he moved into their home in Aspendale. He met his wife Elise (née Alves), and they married at St Brigid's Church in Mordiallic in 1970. They moved to Frankston and had their first child Paul in 1972, and then daughter Danielle in 1974. Over his twenty-year career he developed a reputation for being a beautifully skilled boxer whose strength was his defense. His career record of 56 wins (20 by KO), 6 draws and 5 losses. His first major win was over Les Dunn to become Victorian Featherweight champion in 1964, then he was Commonwealth featherweight champion in 1967 after defeating the Scot John O'Brien. He became Lineal and WBC featherweight champion on 21 January 1969 after he defeated the Cuban José Legrá on points at the Albert Hall in London. He defended his WBC featherweight title against Fighting Harada of Japan and won in a controversial points decision. In the rematch for the world title, against Harada in Japan six months later, Famechon decisively won by knocking Harada out in the fourteenth round. He defended his WBC title on 9 May 1970 in Rome to Mexican Vicente Saldivar and after losing the fight in a close points decision, he retired soon afterwards. He was trained by Ambrose Palmer throughout his professional career and never fought as an amateur. Famechon received the Keys To The City in 1969 on his return to Australia after his World Title win against Jose Legra in London. Famechon was the first Melburnian to become King of Moomba in 1970 when appointed by the Moomba festival committee. In 1971, he and long time friend Frank Quill, wrote his autobiography, Fammo. Famechon was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985. He was inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame in Los Angeles in 1997. In 1991 he was badly injured when hit by a car outside Sydney's Warwick Farm racecourse, which resulted in horrific injuries and sustained Acquired Brain Injury and a stroke. In December 1993 John commenced a new complex brain-based multi-movement therapy rehabilitation program that resulted in John returning to a near normal life some 10–12 weeks after the therapy began. Famechon now has a bronze statue in his home town of Frankston and is only the third Australian boxer to be honoured in this way after Les Darcy and then Lionel Rose.

Offered here is a rare boxing glove signed by Australian greats Johnny Famechon and the late Lionel Rose.

FULL DESCRIPTION: This is an original white leather, right hand boxing glove. Signed in blue marker on the backhand, "Lionel Rose" and "Johnny Famechon." Glove has some spotting which does not detract and does not affect the signatures. 12" long.