Former champ Hare pensive over future by Paul Concannon Jan 26th 2007

Britishboxing.net met up with former Commonwealth and WBF welterweight champion James Hare this week. James, a pro since 1996, is coming off a disappointing November loss to Robert Lloyd Taylor; we caught up to discuss how that loss affects his standing, and more broadly, to talk about where he sees his future after almost 22 years in the game. BB.Net: Hi James, thanks for meeting with BritishBoxing.net, how are things with you at the moment? JH: My last fight in November was a loss to Robert Lloyd Taylor in London; that's the first time I have been beaten below championship level, so obviously I'm really disappointed. Since the David Barnes fight (a 2004 stoppage defeat for the British title) I stuck it out and trained, ticking over with a few sharp performances until that defeat in November, which brings me to where I am now. I am not one for talking myself up, but I think I have still have some credibility, I think I have proved that, but I have to be realistic and say, honestly, I'm nearing the end. It all depends on the opportunities of course. Take that last fight it was a was a poor performance, and in boxing you are only as good as your last fight, it's not like in football; you can't just go on the pitch the next week and put it all right. BB.Net: The Robert Lloyd Taylor bout was one you were expected to win, what are your thoughts on that performance and how do you feel it affects your overall standing. JH: The performance was below par. I got caught early on, was rocked and that unsettled me. Whether winning or losing, I always tried to be honest, and I think in that bout, a fair result was a draw. I will say this, over eight rounds it would have been a different story. I'm not a six round fighter, but you go where you need to take the fights that are offered – that's boxing. BB.Net: Would a rematch over eight perhaps clear things up? JH: A rematch? Well it would be nice but I'd be surprised, why go there again? There are other things to overcome, in my mind, and physically, so it's not a burning desire. BB.Net: Tell us a little about yourself – describe a typical day in the life of James Hare.  JH: This last couple of months, I have been working for part of the NHS, doing agency work. At the end of the day, I'm a working class kid and have to keep busy. The thing with the boxing is it does grind you down so I need to look at other options. I'm contracted until mid-February at the moment; I am covering for someone who's had a hernia operation. I am also a qualified personal trainer, so another option might be to see if I'm cut out for that. I have done bits and pieces in that respect, I do some pad work and personal training with a few guys who have been pleased with the results, which actually pays about £25 an hour, which isn't bad money – so I think ultimately, I'm going to give that a go. My girlfriend and I have a roof over our heads as well as another house we rent out, I think the money I have earned out of boxing so far has been pretty wisely invested. BB.Net: James, you started boxing in 1996 and after winning your first 22 bouts, you went in with the tough and dangerous Julian Holland for the Commonwealth welterweight title – winning in ruthless fashion in 6 rounds; tell us a little about you memories of that fight. JH: Prior to that fight I had started with Tommy Gilmour, and been beating some good guys, like John Boy Humphrey in an eliminator for the British title. Sky took an interest around about the time, and I then fought Monney Seka, who was a tall, awkward African guy based in France. That set up the Holland fight. At that point it was all new, new for me and new for Huddersfield. So we put in a lot of work, selling the tickets, but I tried to enjoy it and in the end it was it a fantastic night. I had seen my friend Mark Hobson in the ring and on the deck against Lee Swaby earlier on, but he had got up to scrape through. Holland was a big strong guy, but I kept a cool head, just started catching him, until he got to the point he was ready to go, and I caught him with the right. BB.net: It was a cracking punch that put paid to Holland and you went on to score some explosive stoppages and knockdowns after that – was it a case of ‘speed is power' with the way you were able to put people away? JH: In boxing, there's a saying some guys are naturally heavy handed, I wasn't one of them; if you get the speed and the timing just right, you catch someone, they will go. That reminds me about the SKY commentators, they all have a job to do, but in that last Commonwealth title defence against a Namibian, Frans Hantindi, a right big, strong lump, I remember catching him cold, and instead of giving me credit, they were saying how poor he was – but the fact is, I caught him with a big right hand, and you can only beat what's put in front of you. BB.net: From that point James, you went on a ruthless run of form, stopping five of your next seven including successful Commonwealth defences before picking up the WBF title – in the process dominating the likes of Roman Dzuman and Jan Bergman – this was are a true highpoint in your career – describe that undefeated period over 2002-2003. JH: (Thoughtfully) you roll with punches, if I had my time again, I would not have taken the Rivera fight. I am very realistic, I never considered myself a real world champ, but at the time I was number 15 in the world on the independent rankings. BB.Net: Talk a little about that fight with Cosme Rivera, it was, I believe your fifth scheduled 12 rounder of 2003, and at the time there had been concern you may be burned out; sadly that proved to be the case as you appeared jaded when stopped in the tenth - was it the proverbial bridge too far? JH: Well if you look back, I had something like seven championship fights in 14 months and that included Roman Dzuman in June, then Bergman, then Jozsef Matolcsi. My shoulder was bruised three weeks after that fight, which made hitting the pads difficult, everyone has bad days at work – that was what happened to me. But in fairness, if you look at the Jozsef Matolcsi fight I didn't put a foot wrong for four rounds, then allegedly I was knocked down; it was not a knockdown, more of a push, if I was dropped, I would be the first to admit it. They argued it had been stopped prematurely, but I wasn't arguing, he was a good fighter, he went on to box for the European title and had plenty of good results after our fight. BB.net: So James, you don't feel a slight tinge of disappointment in your management for taking the bout after such a tough schedule? JH: No, I'm not one to say things like that. Some have said, what you have to look at, is that on the one hand boxing is all about making money, lets say for example, I box for Commonwealth title early in my career, working it all out, boxing that's more profitable earlier on in your career, and maybe it was just my time (to lose)? I'm not into conspiracies, I don't say that, and it could be paranoia on there part. When I won that eliminator against Humphrey, I always had that in my favour, and I think that's why Tommy ultimately took me down the route he did. BB.net: You appeared to regain your sharpness in comeback bouts against Jason Williams and Moise Cherni, before your second career setback in a British title fight against Manchester's David Barnes – in a battle of slick counter-punchers, you abandoned your usual style to go after Barnes, and were stopped in the sixth round – looking back, what would you have done differently? JH: To be honest, that night, I got beat at my own game, I knew I was going to have to make the fight, and I knew he was a good fighter. He showed a lot of balls in his title win, whether you think he won that fight or not. What happened was I got caught early on. When the bell rang, I ended up going to a neutral corner. I have never experienced anything like that in a ring; I told my corner it felt like someone else was in the ring. I have spoke to David, about the fight since and we are fine with each other. He stepped up to the plate. The fight actually almost never went on because of some tension in the crowd. There were two separate Manchester camps and some Huddersfield hooligans, to make matters worse. You sensed the vibes but I didn't know exactly what was going on. BB: net: Do you feel the bout came too soon after the defeat to Rivera? JH: No not at all, I'd had a good long rest in 2004 and scored a couple of good wins, then another gap. We were allegedly supposed to box on a Manchester bill, but it all went a bit weird, and we ended up fighting on our own bill in Halifax. The bottom line, he had a good night, I tried to force it but was beaten at my own game – that's boxing. BB.Net: How would you feel about a rematch with Barnes at some point? JH: He's down at light welter now, and making it comfortably, so can't see they're being a lot to gain. In any case it's a question of ifs and buts at this stage. BB.Net: The British welterweight title has been passed between Michael Jennings, Young Muttley and currently Kevin Anderson, how do you feel an in form James Hare matches against the talented Scotsman? JH: Well, like I said, I have never been one to shout the odds, but I have sparred Kevin Anderson and handled both him and Barry Morrison okay back- to-back. Taking nothing away from either of them though – he had a right war with Muttley and came back from behind to get a great win. BB.Net: James, what's the current situation at Chris Aston's camp, after the retirement of Jawid Khaliq and recent defeats for yourself, Dale Robinson and Mark Hobson – describe the mood there for us. JH: Well with Mark that's a strange one they (Enzo Maccarinelli) could fight 100 times and that would never happen again, and it's walked him straight into a British title shot against Buster Keaton, and the same with Dale, the guy who beat him has been matched with him for the vacant British title. The mood is still good; there will always be new guys rising through the ranks in any case. BB.net: So James, what's you desire like at this stage? JH: Questionable, truthfully, I don't know where it's going, I have had recent keyhole surgery on my shoulder, where they burned tendons back on and then pumped my joint full of saline solution. I have also had a hernia op. At the end of day, I'm not shot by any stretch, but I did get caught with two or three in that last fight that James Hare doesn't usually get caught with. When you lose that split second in timing, I need to be a bit tighter with defence, when you consider up until this point I have only ever had about 2-3 stitches (pointing to his right eye) and that was from playing rugby when I was a kid. BB.Net: Lets say, for the sake of argument that 2007, is to be your last year in the sport, walk us through what you feel will be a perfect exit to the sport. JH: I may have to take a leaf out Johnny Nelson's book, what he would do is watch the calendar and look at the title bouts that were coming up in case there was a pullout, because the shows would still need to go on and these are where the chance might arise, I will need to tick over to live that life, pretending that I need to make that weight. BB.Net: James, promotionally you are a free agent now, wouldn't it be preferable to get a promotional deal, with perhaps a few eight-rounders leading up to a title fight of sorts? JH: Ideally, yes. I have had fights on recent Sports Network and Frank Maloney shows, but nothing on paper – at the moment Chris Aston is my manager, that's it. BB.Net: As a relatively recent, still young ex-champion, James, are you content with this situation? JH: Honestly, coming to terms with the present situation, the answer to that is, I don't know. BB.Net: James thanks for your time – and whatever happens next, very best of luck. JH: Thank you, I'll keep you posted! Photos: Caroline Michael

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