Absolutely thrilled to officially welcome Masa Yamaguchi as the Fight Choreographer on FENECH – The Jeff Fenech Story.

Masa is not only joining us on screen as Shingaki, but also stepping into one of the most important creative roles on the entire film. When you are making a boxing movie of this scale, fight choreography is not just about punches looking good. It is about truth. It is about rhythm, timing, pain, pressure, character, emotion, and storytelling. Every movement has to feel real. Every exchange has to carry drama. Every round has to reveal something about the fighter, the stakes, and the moment.

That is why bringing in the right fight choreographer is absolutely critical.

Masa has the kind of experience that makes him the perfect fit for this film. His screen work includes major productions such as Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, The Wolverine, Hacksaw Ridge, Ghost in the Shell, and Land of Bad, along with action and fight coordination credits on projects including The Narrow Road to the Deep North, Beast of War, Mercy of Others, Steel Mother, and The Spy Who Never Dies.

That kind of background matters.

To be a great fight choreographer, you need far more than technical skill. You need to understand camera. You need to know how to design movement for story, not just spectacle. You need to be able to protect actors and fighters while still making every sequence feel dangerous, raw and alive. You need patience, discipline, adaptability, and the ability to work closely with the director so that the action is not separate from the film, but part of its emotional heartbeat.

That is exactly what Masa brings.

What makes this even more exciting for me personally is that Masa and I have worked together before. As a director, that means a lot. On a film like Fenech, communication is everything. The fight scenes in this story are not filler. They are some of the most powerful dramatic moments in the entire film. I need somebody beside me who understands what I want, who I can communicate with clearly, and who knows how to translate that vision into something authentic, cinematic and emotionally powerful.

Masa is that person.

He understands performance. He understands action. He understands the balance between realism and cinema. And because he is also playing Shingaki, he brings an even deeper connection to the physical world of the film. He is not just designing the fights from the outside. He is living inside them.

For a film about one of Australia’s greatest fighters, that authenticity matters to us more than anything.

We have always said that Fenech will be different. We are not interested in fake action. We are not interested in generic movie fights. We are building something grounded, visceral and real. Something that honours Jeff Fenech’s world, his opponents, his courage, and the brutal beauty of the sport itself. To do that, you need people at the top of their game.

Masa Yamaguchi is one of those people.

Welcome to the team, Masa. We could not be prouder to have you with us both in front of the camera and behind it. This is a huge addition to FENECH, and I have no doubt your work will help make these fight scenes something truly special.