16 years ago, Franck Patte became champion of France at the end of an incredible evening

DEvenings like this one, the Berckois public, known for their passion for the Noble Art, want more. Eleven years earlier, on June 26, 1993, the double coronation acquired by Stéphane Herouard and Gino Lelong had literally melted the Sports Palace. 2000 people, in jubilation, had thus celebrated the titles of champion of France of the two boxers of Berckois.

Those who were lucky enough to experience this wonderful evening still remember Hérouard’s rage to win and Lelong’s punch. A formidable epic of Berck boxing which is still in all memories and which we will come back to very soon. But it is a step backwards of 16 years that we are offering you this week.

We are on Tuesday November 30, 2004. Another glorious page of the BCB where the Berckois public also vibrated. At the end of an epic meeting against the reigning lightweight champion Abdel Jebahi, Franck Patte, simply had an appointment with his destiny. The gala evening got off to a great start for the Berckois camp led by its president Jean-Pierre Becquelin with the first victory of the new BCB recruit Marvin Aza in front of nearly 2000 people. The public was heated to white and in the stands of the Palace the pressure was mounting to see the new darling of the BCB, Franck Patte. While the emblematic coach of the Berckois club prepares with the precision of a watchmaker, in the Jacques Anthime room, the bandages of his pupil under the eyes of the faithful Gino Lelong, it is the tragedy. Marcel Lefebvre collapses, victim of a heart attack …

We were in full preparation. The boxing hall is located just below the stands so I can tell you that I could hear the Palais des Sports vibrate. We hear the announcement of my fight by the announcer. We look at each other with Marcel and suddenly suddenly changed. He fell in the back, I don’t remember who held him back. At the same time there is TV coming in because the fight was broadcast live on Eurosport. We are quickly told it is live we must go. I had a few seconds of absence. I said to Gino put the gloves on me and we went out in the ring a bit. I lived through seconds that lasted for hours. I have known events in my life but this one I will never forget. Getting into the ring was not the most difficult. It was above all to remain standing during the Marseillaise. It was an honor to fight for a French championship but I still had the image of Marcel that I had seen lying on the ground. All these hours of preparation, of complicity with my trainer and suddenly everything changes. I was afraid for his health.

Gino was with me in the corner and from the first blow of the gong we bumped into it with my opponent (editor’s note Abdel Jebahi). There was no observation round. I had only one thing in mind was to hold on. The emotion was in me, the stress, I was in survival mode during the first rounds. In the fourth round, there was a little spark when I opened my opponent’s arcade. At that moment I thought to myself that maybe it was possible. I transcended myself from there. The stress dropped and my strength increased tenfold with all the adrenaline I had stored up. There I was on another planet. I remember in the seventh or eighth round I didn’t even want to go around. The public supported me, I faced events and a more than tough opponent.

Yes exactly and besides I like to make this small parallel. I experienced that a bit but in real life and it was not a movie. Fortunately in the end Marcel is alive and well. The next day I went to see him at the hospital with the French champion belt.

It is neatly stored in my house. She may not be worth gold for me though. It’s a lot of work to get that belt. It was a goal I had set for myself. World champion I never thought about it but winning the title of champion of France I dreamed of it. Given the circumstances and Marcel’s unease, it was the victory of the rage to win, of the heart and of sacrifices.

Boxing is a beautiful school of life. You have to know that the opponent we have in front, we respect him before, during and after the fight, but we fight more against oneself. We push back the limits, we face fear. It’s like looking at yourself in a mirror. What matters to me today is to pass the baton. I know what the boxing world has given me but I also know what it cost me. Even if the young people who choose to practice boxing will not all become champions, it will necessarily bring them something in their everyday life. There are a lot of values ​​that boxing develops like self-confidence. What matters to me is to see young people flourish in life through boxing. This is also the reward of a trainer.

Franck Patte, it’s 27 pro victories including 8 by KO

Born May 22, 1978 in Amiens, Franck Patte began boxing as a teenager. As an amateur, he totaled 58 fights (15 defeats, 2 draws for 31 victories, including 10 before the limit). He won the regional champion title from 93 to 99. He is also semi-finalist of the French junior championship, French junior champion (96), senior semi-finalist (99), winner four times in inter country, a medal of gold at an international tournament (2000), two bronze medals and the quarter-finals of the world games. As a pro, Franck Patte can boast of a great career with a total of 36 fights (27 wins including 8 before the limit, 8 defeats including 2 before the limit and a draw). Franck Patte will become French champion in the lightweight category on November 30, 2004 in Berck against Abdel Jebahi. A belt that he lost on April 23, 2005 in Orleans against Jean-Nicolas Weigel, not without having played a European Championship in the form of revenge against Jebahi on May 19, 2005 in Saint-Romain-en-Gal.

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