Jean-François Bergeron

Bergeron, a Québécois, won five Canadian national amateur championships and a silver medal in the super-heavyweight division at the 1995 Pan-American Games in Argentina. His Olympic campaign was destined to last less than a minute as he lost to Sweden’s Attila Levin via stoppage. Bergeron turned professional in 1998 and, despite a disjointed career with long absences from the ring, won his first twenty-six fights and in the process became North American Boxing Association heavyweight champion. In 2007 he lost his perfect record when clearly outpointed by Russia’s Nikolai Valuev and a comeback in 2008 ended in a devastating defeat to American Dominic Guinn. Bergeron, who has worked as a colour commentator for Canadian TV, is a qualified fire-fighter.