Sherman Bergman - Kickboxing Career

Kickboxing Career

Bergman fought primarily in the Southern Independent Circuit. He was trained by his father Hyman Hank Bergman.

In 1979, Bergman fought Jean-Claude Van Damme in Florida in a sanctioned full-contact match. Bergman knocked Van Damme down moments into their match, but Van Damme arose to knockout Bergman with an axe-kick at 56 seconds of the 1st round.

Next year, Bergman lost a match to future PKA World Lightheavyweight Champion Gary Daniels.

Bergman racked up an impressive string of knockout victories over mostly local club-fighters. In 1981, Bergman knocked out Wilver "Rio" Johnson in 18 seconds. Famed boxing trainer Angelo Dundee said, "If a guy knocks out 13 straight grandmothers, you still have to respect his punch."

Bergman's knockout streak caught the attention of Official Karate Magazine staff writer, Barry Harrell. In the November 1984 issue of Official Karate Magazine, in his column "Southern Exposure", Harrell called Sherman Bergman "One of the best new prospects on his way to the top. "

Exactly a year later in the November 1985 issue of Official Karate Magazine, Bergman's 23-second knockout over Thailand's Morsak Muangsu was highlighted in Barry Harrell's column.

The STAR System World Kickboxing Ratings for professional kickboxing, listed Bergman briefly as a designated contender (ranked from 11th to 20th in the world) in the World SuperWelterweight Rankings.

However, Bergman's vocation was education. He began working as a full-time teacher for Miami-Dade County Public Schools in 1981. Kickboxing was his avocation. Thus, even though he had the opportunity to seek a world ranking, he just lingered on the minor league circuit.

Bergman's biggest career victory was a 1988 1st round knockout over undefeated Brazilian Alejandro DasCola,. However, Bergman's prospects were derailed when he was knocked out in 2 rounds by Carlos Andino.

Bergman went on to defeat Andino in a rematch, but was knocked out by club-fighter Mario Wilfredos a year later.

In 1996, Bergman scored a knockout over Bernardo Jua.

Bergman used his fight career as an inspiration to his student population, as well as a springboard to help various community organizations in his hometown. Bergman was active with the Ronald McDonald House of Miami, the Salvation Army's canned food drive, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, The United Way, the Blood Bank, and the Cultural Arts Society of Dade County.

In 2009, Bergman officially announced his retirement and his record was listed as 56 wins and 8 defeats. A year later in March 2010, Bergman returned for a one fight comeback, which resulted in a 3-round draw with Igor "The Refrigerator" Romanov.