‘Big rocks’ – Mike Tyson’s former coach reveals another heavyweight he trained hit way harder

Mike Tyson possessed earth-shattering power in his heyday, but he wasn’t the biggest puncher that Jeff Fenech trained.

The three-weight world champion turned coach guided Tyson through the twilight of his career, taking the helm for his ill-fated professional outing against Kevin McBride in 2005 and his exhibition bout with Roy Jones Jr. in 2020.

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While Fenech admits that ‘Iron Mike’ had plenty of pop to his shots, the Aussie icon claims Lucas Browne packed an even bigger punch.

Speaking to Boxing News, he said: “I trained Mike Tyson, and I know it’s hard to make comparisons, but holding the pads for Lucas hurt more than Tyson did.

“Tyson was sharp and a great puncher. Lucas is really heavy-handed, and if he uses that power with combinations, then he’ll win by knockout in the first few rounds.”

In another interview with the Courier Mail, Fenech expanded on the differences between the two men’s punches.

“Tyson was a devastating puncher, and his punches were fast and snappy,” he said.

“Lucas has a different sort of power. It’s heavy and thudding.

“His punches are like big rocks landing on your head.”

Who is Lucas Browne?

Browne trained with Fenech for just over a year before switching to the dynamic duo of Nigel Benn and Rodney Williams ahead of his WBA ‘regular’ heavyweight title fight with Ruslan Chagaev in March 2016.

‘Big Daddy’ opened up as a sizeable underdog, and everything looked to be trending towards a likely defeat through ten rounds.

That is when Browne turned the fight on its head with a right hand from the Gods.

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The shot sent Chagaev tumbling to the canvas, and although the Uzbek was able to regain his footing, he was blasted away against the ropes.

Ecstasy quickly gave way to anguish when Browne was stripped of the black and gold strap for failing a pre-fight drug test.

He was subsequently cleared, but failed a second test in the space of eight months, thus preventing him from regaining his belt.

Over the following years, Browne traded wins and losses with varying levels of opposition before turning his hand to bare-knuckle boxing under the BKB promotional banner.

The 46-year-old won his company debut in September by dispatching Corey Harrison in two rounds.

However, he was knocked out earlier this month by BKB heavyweight champion Gustavo Trujillo.