James Hare takes on the puncher
Posted: 03 Sep 2003, 10:17
Unbeaten James Hare makes the first defence of his WBF welterweight title this Saturday (September 6) against South Africa's Jan Bergman at the Huddersfield Sports Centre near his hometown of Robertown. "The Robertown Rocket" won the vacant WBF title with a sparkling points win over Roman Dzuman in June - a man who had lost only one of his previous 17 contests on a split decision to Hare's stablemate Jawaid Khaliq. Now the former Commonwealth champion takes on another Khaliq victim. Bergman was stopped in seven stormy rounds by Jawaid in South Africa in March.
The 27-year-old Hare really did look a welterweight to be reckoned with against Dzuman. As well as his usual textbook boxing, James had his man on the floor from a left uppercut in the second round and wobbled the Ukrainian in the sixth. Dzuman was counterpunched to a standstill and lost unanimously - and massively - by scores of 120-109, 119-108 and 120-108.
The new champion, who improved his record to 26-0-1 (13), said afterwards: "He had a strong right hand but it was a bit telegraphed so I was always in control.
"I had him down early on and I also know that I hurt him a couple of more times but I'm not worried about not getting the stoppage as it's my first 12-rounder and my lungs felt it a little so the experience will do me good."
Hare definitely seems to be punching harder since a stunning six-round stoppage of Australia's Julian Holland for the Commonwealth welterweight title last year. James made three successful defences of his title - two of them ending in the first round and the other, against Zimbabwe's Farai Musiiwa, in the eighth. Musiiwa was made to look a novice and yet in a return trip to this country rocked Adrian Stone in the early rounds before Stone found a big right to end it in the fourth. Stone of course is a former WBC welterweight title challenger.
Now ranked in the world top 15 by most of the 'big' world governing bodies, Hare has all the defensive, switch-hitting traits of a fighter who trained at Brendan Ingle's Wincobank Gym for much of his early career, but is clearly benefitting from a switch to trainer Chris Aston, who also trains Commonwealth champions Mark Hobson and Dale Robinson at his Linthwaite gym in Huddersfield.
The only blot on Hare's record is an early six-round draw with the vastly more experienced Mark Winters, a former British light-welterweight champion.
His opponent on Saturday, Bergman, is a big puncher with an increasingly brittle-looking chin. The 33-year-old floored Zab Judah in a challenge for the vacant IBF light-welterweight title in 2000, but was floored three times himself and beaten in the fourth. He floored Khaliq twice in their thrilling IBO title encounter earlier this year, but Khaliq went one better with three knockdowns en route to a seventh round stoppage.
More ominously, given Hare's renowned boxing skills, Junior Witter showed Jan can be outsmarted when he scored a shock points win over the South African back in 1998. It was only Witter's 10th pro fight.
There's no doubt Bergman has seen better days as a fighter. His heyday came in the light-welter division where he turned pro in 1990 and won 32 in a row to earn himself a crack at Kostya Tszyu's IBF title in Australia in 1996. He was taken apart and stopped in six. He bounced back with three straight wins, but then came the shock points defeat at the hands of Witter. He was soon back on the winning trail again to secure a second shot at the IBF title - this time against Zab Judah for the vacant title after Terron Millett was stripped for inactvity due to prolonged injury. Bergman gave it a go and floored Judah in the second, but the greater power of the brash New Yorker won out in the fourth.
Jan moved up to welter, where he captured the vacant WBU title in June 2001 with a sixth round stoppage of Colombia's Guillermo Mosquera in South Africa. He floored Derek Roche six times en route to a comprehensive points win in his first defence at York Hall, but was ultimately stripped of the title due to inactvity and the fact his promoters in South Africa switched allegiance to the IBO instead, hence Bergman's abortive challenge to Khaliq in March.
Statistically impressive at 42-4 (31), Bergman undoubtedly poses a threat with his punching power, particularly with the left hook, but so did Dzuman against Hare last time out and he wound up punching air for much of the 12-rounder. Hare has been sparring stablemate Khaliq for this one, who will have passed on plenty of tips.
In front of vocal, partisan support, Hare has to be expected to box his way to a points victory.
The 27-year-old Hare really did look a welterweight to be reckoned with against Dzuman. As well as his usual textbook boxing, James had his man on the floor from a left uppercut in the second round and wobbled the Ukrainian in the sixth. Dzuman was counterpunched to a standstill and lost unanimously - and massively - by scores of 120-109, 119-108 and 120-108.
The new champion, who improved his record to 26-0-1 (13), said afterwards: "He had a strong right hand but it was a bit telegraphed so I was always in control.
"I had him down early on and I also know that I hurt him a couple of more times but I'm not worried about not getting the stoppage as it's my first 12-rounder and my lungs felt it a little so the experience will do me good."
Hare definitely seems to be punching harder since a stunning six-round stoppage of Australia's Julian Holland for the Commonwealth welterweight title last year. James made three successful defences of his title - two of them ending in the first round and the other, against Zimbabwe's Farai Musiiwa, in the eighth. Musiiwa was made to look a novice and yet in a return trip to this country rocked Adrian Stone in the early rounds before Stone found a big right to end it in the fourth. Stone of course is a former WBC welterweight title challenger.
Now ranked in the world top 15 by most of the 'big' world governing bodies, Hare has all the defensive, switch-hitting traits of a fighter who trained at Brendan Ingle's Wincobank Gym for much of his early career, but is clearly benefitting from a switch to trainer Chris Aston, who also trains Commonwealth champions Mark Hobson and Dale Robinson at his Linthwaite gym in Huddersfield.
The only blot on Hare's record is an early six-round draw with the vastly more experienced Mark Winters, a former British light-welterweight champion.
His opponent on Saturday, Bergman, is a big puncher with an increasingly brittle-looking chin. The 33-year-old floored Zab Judah in a challenge for the vacant IBF light-welterweight title in 2000, but was floored three times himself and beaten in the fourth. He floored Khaliq twice in their thrilling IBO title encounter earlier this year, but Khaliq went one better with three knockdowns en route to a seventh round stoppage.
More ominously, given Hare's renowned boxing skills, Junior Witter showed Jan can be outsmarted when he scored a shock points win over the South African back in 1998. It was only Witter's 10th pro fight.
There's no doubt Bergman has seen better days as a fighter. His heyday came in the light-welter division where he turned pro in 1990 and won 32 in a row to earn himself a crack at Kostya Tszyu's IBF title in Australia in 1996. He was taken apart and stopped in six. He bounced back with three straight wins, but then came the shock points defeat at the hands of Witter. He was soon back on the winning trail again to secure a second shot at the IBF title - this time against Zab Judah for the vacant title after Terron Millett was stripped for inactvity due to prolonged injury. Bergman gave it a go and floored Judah in the second, but the greater power of the brash New Yorker won out in the fourth.
Jan moved up to welter, where he captured the vacant WBU title in June 2001 with a sixth round stoppage of Colombia's Guillermo Mosquera in South Africa. He floored Derek Roche six times en route to a comprehensive points win in his first defence at York Hall, but was ultimately stripped of the title due to inactvity and the fact his promoters in South Africa switched allegiance to the IBO instead, hence Bergman's abortive challenge to Khaliq in March.
Statistically impressive at 42-4 (31), Bergman undoubtedly poses a threat with his punching power, particularly with the left hook, but so did Dzuman against Hare last time out and he wound up punching air for much of the 12-rounder. Hare has been sparring stablemate Khaliq for this one, who will have passed on plenty of tips.
In front of vocal, partisan support, Hare has to be expected to box his way to a points victory.
