Jean-François Bergeron (born July 26, 1973) is a Canadian former

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...

. As an amateur, he represented his native country at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Amateur career

He won the Canadian championship five time and won gold in 4 international championships, beating the likes of Paolo Vidoz and Michael Sprott. Southpaw Bergeron won the silver medal at the

1995 Pan American Games The 1995 Pan American Games, officially known as the XII Pan American Games () and commonly known as Mar del Plata 1995, were held in Mar del Plata, Argentina, from 12 to 26 March 1995. After 44 years, this was the Pan American Games' first retur ...

. He competed in Atlanta at the Olympics but was knocked out by

Attila Levin Attila Levin (born November 8, 1976) is a Sweden, Swedish professional boxing, boxer. Amateur career Levin had a decent amateur career prior to turning professional. *In 1996 Levin competed at the European Championships in Vejle, Denmark as a S ...

. Bergeron wrapped up his amateur career with a record of 70 wins, 15 defeats.

Professional career

Bergeron fought his first pro bout on April 3, 1998, at age 24. In 2001 he beat undefeated American amateur champ Willie Palms. In 2003 he beat Darroll Wilson (who holds a knockout win over Shannon Briggs). Bergeron was injured at the time and fought only with his right arm from the second round, but still managed to win the fight by a unanimous decision. In 2006 he bested Steve Panell (who had knocked down Wladimir Klitschko when they fought).

Fight against Valuev

Bergeron faced former WBA heavyweight champion

Nikolai Valuev Nikolai Sergeyevich Valuev ( rus, Никола́й Серге́евич Валу́ев, p=vɐˈlujɪf; born 21 August 1973) is a Russian politician and former professional boxer. He competed in boxing from 1993 to 2009, and held the World Boxing ...

on Sept 29th 2007 in Germany. He lost by unanimous decision. After his fight with Valuev he fought Dominick Guinn losing by second-round knockout on October 24, 2008.

Professional boxing record

, +27 Wins (19 knockouts, 8 decisions), 2 Losses (1 knockout, 1 decision)
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Nikolay Valuev Nikolai Sergeyevich Valuev ( rus, Никола́й Серге́евич Валу́ев, p=vɐˈlujɪf; born 21 August 1973) is a Russian politician and former professional boxer. He competed in boxing from 1993 to 2009, and held the World Boxing ...

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Outside the ring

Bergeron is often asked to take on the analyst role in boxing matches, appearing on local Québec channel TVA and Québec radio stations. He offered his expertise on radio on

Lucian Bute Lucian Bute (born February 28, 1980) is a Romanian-Canadian former professional boxer who competed from 2003 to 2017. He held the IBF super-middleweight title from 2007 to 2012. Personal life Lucian Bute was born on February 28, 1980, in Peche ...

's championship fight at the Bell Centre in Montréal on October 19, 2007. He also served as a sparring partner to Vitali Klitchko in preparation for his fight against

Corrie Sanders Cornelius Johannes Sanders (7 January 1966 – 23 September 2012) was a South African professional boxer who competed from 1989 to 2008. He won the WBO heavyweight title in 2003 after knocking out Wladimir Klitschko in two rounds, which was ...

for the WBC world heavyweight championship in April 2004. He has also successfully completed his firefighter training and is currently working as a firefighter at the St-Jérôme fire station.

External links

*
Canadian Olympic Committee

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bergeron, Jean-Francois 1973 births Boxers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Heavyweight boxers Living people Olympic boxers for Canada Sportspeople from Saint-Jérôme Boxing people from Quebec Boxers at the 1995 Pan American Games Canadian male boxers Pan American Games silver medalists for Canada Pan American Games silver medalists in boxing Medalists at the 1995 Pan American Games