Johnny Lewis (boxing trainer)

Billy Dib would win his first world title, the IBO Super-featherweight championship in 2008 against Zolani Marali after switching trainers to have Lewis in his corner. Whilst a brief training partnership, Dib became Johnny Lewis’ sixth World Title holder.

Lewis’ career spans from training amateur boxers on the local Sydney circuit to working with Australian boxing champions and rugby league international representatives. The philosophies and coaching career of Lewis merited him many accolades including an Order of Australia medal and an induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame, both of which were achieved in 2006. Due to these accolades, Johnny Lewis has been asserted as one of Australia's most acclaimed boxing coaches.

In 2006, Lewis was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia and inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame.

In April 1999, a hailstorm caused damage to the roof of the Newtown Police Boys Club with repairs costing an approximate one million dollars, the Inner West Council put the building up for sale. At age 61, the gym closure forced Lewis to train fighters at PCYC institutes in Woolloomooloo, South Sydney and Marrickville as well as the HK Ward University of Sydney boxing gym.

Tszyu would capture the IBF light-welterweight title in January 1995 against Jake Rodriguez. In 2001, Tszyu would defeat Zab Judah to become the WBC, WBA and IBF champion. Revealed in his biography by Paul Kent, Lewis would feel a rift with Tszyu after allegedly being underpaid. Further revelations involved the attempts of Lewis to depart as head coach, feeling as if he was not needed in the Tszyu camp.

American Virgil Hill moved to Australia to train at Newtown in an attempt to regain his world light-heavyweight title. In 1992 was Hill's third fight under Lewis, in which he won a unanimous decision against Frank Tate to gain the vacant WBA light heavyweight title. This was a short-term partnership however as Hill returned to the United States after the victory.

Following the 1992 Olympics, Justin Roswell, a promising Australian amateur turned professional under Lewis, winning the WBO intercontinental lightweight championship. Rowsell had a more acclaimed amateur career however, with a bronze medal at the 1991 Amateur Boxing World Championships, a gold medal at the Canada Cup and a Commonwealth games silver medal.

In December 1989, Johnny Lewis was named Coach of the Year at the Sport Australia Awards. At the time, Lewis had two concurrent champions in his gym and held a record of 13–0 in title fights.

In 1989, through rugby league international player, coach and personal friend Bob Fulton, Lewis became a trainer of the Australian Kangaroos 1990 Tour of Great Britain and France.

In November 1988, Lewis was appointed head trainer for the Australian Amateur Boxing Team for the Seoul Olympics.

Peter Mitrevski won the vacant Australian flyweight title against Charlie Brown in 1988 under the training of Lewis. Lewis stated Mitrevski may not go any further in the sport of boxing, suggesting his retirement. Mitrevski was upset by this statement however stayed with Lewis due to his friendship with Jeff Fenech.

In January 1986, Lewis took several of his fighters including Jeff Fenech to Parklea Prison to spar inmates in makeshift rings, the point of which was to demonstrate the outcomes of poor behaviour for his fighters and an appropriate outlet of aggression for the prisoners.

In 1986, Joe Bugner came out of retirement for one last campaign, aiming to fight heavyweight champion Mike Tyson. In moving to Australia, Bugner went on a three-fight win streak before stopped in the eighth round by Frank Bruno. Bugner had domestic success after his partnership with Lewis, winning the Australian Heavyweight title.

Jeff Harding was introduced to Lewis at the 1984 Olympics. Lewis moved Harding up to Light Heavyweight permanently after his New South Wales Cruiserweight title victory in 1988.

Lewis met Jeff Fenech in 1981, when Fenech came in to the Newtown boxing gym for Rugby League fitness. Fenech was cornered by Lewis since his professional debut at Blacktown Police Boys Club, with a win over Craig Easey. Lewis was unimpressed by Fenech's fighting style in the early years and tried to implement discipline in Fenech's life in and out of the ring. By this time, Lewis was 37 years-old and had over 20 years of experience training boxers. After winning a bronze medal at the 1983 Rome World Cup and captaining the Australian amateur team in the 1984 Olympics Fenech would turn professional under Lewis the following year. Fenech stopped Junior Thompson in the fourth round to win the Australian super-fliyweight title in his third fight. With struggles to cut down to the 115-pound junior bantamweight division, Lewis moved Fenech up to bantamweight. Lewis aimed to match Fenech up against different styles to concentrate on one aspect of the sport at a time. This was evidenced by Fenech's matchup against Rolly Navarro, a southpaw. Despite dominating the fight, Lewis ordered Fenech to keep the fight going for his experience.

In 1978, Phil McElwaine won a gold medal in the middleweight division at the Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, Canada with Lewis in his corner.

Lewis had been on the Newtown Jets Rugby League Club committee since 1973, when Jack Gibson was appointed coach. Newtown's captain, Tommy Raudonikis trained with Lewis for extra fitness sessions.

In 1966 Lewis moved to the Botany Street gym in partnership with Mick Fernandez, where Fernandez would train professional fighters and Lewis would train the amateur fighters.

Lewis’ introduction to coaching came by coincidence - at age 17 as his coach Ken Shorter, assigned Johnny to corner six amateur boxers at a tournament in Parramatta, all of which won their respective bouts. In 1961 Johnny took over the Newtown PCYC boxing club as its head trainer. A year later Snowy McFaden would re-enter the gym, training alongside Lewis for 3 years.

In 1957, a thirteen-year-old Lewis began training under coaches Snowy MacFadyen and Jack Blom at the Newtown Police Boys Club, travelling to Cowra, Orange, Griffith and Singleton in regional New South Wales for amateur boxing competitions. As a physically disadvantaged boxer Lewis trained under Dick O’Connor until he was 17, without losing a fight under his guidance. Lewis models much of his coaching style on O’Connor's.

John Alfred “Johnny” Lewis OAM (born 18 March 1944) is an Australian boxing trainer and the head coach of six world champions, most notably Jeff Fenech, Jeff Harding, Gairy St. Clair and Kostya Tszyu.

Johnny Lewis was born on 18 March 1944 at Bankstown hospital to father Alfred and mother Marge. His family lived in Wallangarra at the time, before moving into a housing commission flat in Erskineville, in Sydney's inner-west.