Boxing: Bergman exposed by Hare's ruthlessness

Many boxing victories are hollow but they invariably lead to better things and that is the case with James Hare's win against Jan Bergman at the Huddersfield Leisure Centre.

Bergman entered the ring as a faded, vulnerable and potentially difficult opponent with a good record and pedigree but that was ruthlessly exposed in seconds and after four knock downs the fight ended after 55 seconds of round two. Hare retained his World Boxing Federation Welterweight title but Saturday night's brief fistic excursion was more about Hare's future than the present.

Hare easily proved that he is good, really good.

"I had seen tapes of Bergman from when he was a world champion and he was impressive back then,"' he admitted. "I did exactly what I needed to do to show that I'm ready to move on." Hare is part of a quartet of British welterweights that will hopefully not avoid each other during the next 12 months, but putting them together on paper is far easier than persuading them and their respective promoters to gather them in the same ring for an elimination tournament.

Joining Hare is Nottingham's Jarwaid Khaliq, the International Boxing Organisation champion, Manchester's David Barnes, the British champion, and Belfast's Neil Sinclair, the veteran of the bunch who relinquished the British title to pursue a world championship.

All four could continue fighting defending titles and winning titles and missing each other easily during the next year but it would be a disappointment if none fought each other. Right now Hare looks to have the edge but the truth is that nobody is that much better than any of the others.