[ad_1]
He was only 1.65 meters tall and was still the tallest boxer the country has ever had. Fritz Chervet († 77), Bern’s “fly”, multiple European champion, fought twice for the world flyweight title in the 1970s. The former world-class fighter died on Saturday.
A sad day for Swiss sports. Much sadder for those who were close to him. “It’s difficult”, says his nephew Alain Chervet (30), who fought his 20th and last professional fight (16 wins, 2 draws, 2 losses) in December 2019. “At first I couldn’t believe it when I found out. I wanted to visit you again this week. So you ask yourself: Why didn’t I stop by a little earlier?
Influence on the nephew
As a boxer, Fritz Chervet inspired an entire nation, but he probably had the greatest sporting influence on his nephew. “He was the reason I started boxing seriously,” says Alain Chervet.
Uncle Fritz, who later worked as a clerk in the parliament building, did not say much about the past. He never wanted to hang it up. His great feats in the ring back then weren’t that important to him, he never wanted to be in the spotlight.
“And so it was Alain Chervet’s father and his uncle Ernst who told him about the countless hours of training and fights of the man who was popularly called ‘Fritzli’. “We have several Super 8 photo albums and movies that we watched over and over again.” But remember an image that has absolutely nothing to do with sport. “When I was a child, I was often with my grandmother in her apartment on Viktoriastrasse. Fritz would stop by often after work at the Bundeshaus, we would talk about all kinds of things. Rarely about boxing. “
A legend without wanting to be
The man who did not spit loud noises in public did not do the same in his family. He had unwittingly become a legend of his sport. “That’s why he was rarely present in my fights. Because he always had the feeling that in this environment everyone wanted to talk about their exploits in the past. That was uncomfortable for him. “
But when he won the IBF World Junior Championship in Visp in 2016, his uncle was there. “That’s when I realized how happy I was.” However, Fritzli’s nephew was always clear: “I won’t be able to achieve as much as he can. But I never saw that as a burden. The name represented something. That’s why I always wanted to box well, technically clean, as he did back then. “
Above all, there is one thing that Alain Chervet will remember when he thinks of his uncle Fritz: “His modesty. He was a kind man, very reserved. I have a feeling that a lot of people have this image of him. I hope you still remember it that way. “
