May 14, 2015 3 min read

His training wasn’t exactly like that of Rocky Balboa in Rocky IV, but after spending the past month in Russia, Washington’s Jason Bergman feels more than ready for his WBA/NABA title fight Saturday night at The Meadows.

Bergman, a left-handed heavyweight, traveled to the Russian Olympic Training Center an hour outside of Moscow to work as a sparring partner with top-rated heavyweight Alexander Povetkin.

He returned to Washington Sunday to begin final preparations for his fight Saturday night as part of the card for “Mayhem at The Meadows” against Devin Vargas (18-4). Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the first bout will begin at 7 p.m.

“It was a great experience,” the 30-year-old Bergman said of his trip to Russia to train with Povetkin, who is ranked No. 2 in the world. “I learned a lot about what it takes to get to that level.”

He hopes that will help give him the edge to defeat Vargas for a second time in his career. Bergman (24-11) knocked Vargas out in Weirton, W.Va. in 2014 in his first defense of the WBA/NABA Heavyweight title. He lost the belt later that year to Akhor Muralimov, who has since vacated the title.

The trip to Russia was Bergman’s second trip outside the country in the past year to serve as a sparring partner with a high-profile fighter. Last fall, he traveled to Poland to work with former IBF heavyweight and cruiserweight champion Tomasz Adamek.

Bergman feels the trip to Russia helped him get in the best shape of his life.

“It helped in every way,” he said. “My confidence is high, my all-around conditioning is great. In the sparring sessions, I was right there with (Povetkin). He’s a seasoned fighter. I couldn’t have gotten a better sparring partner to work with had I stayed here.”

With his fight so close to his return to the United States, Bergman tried to stay on a sleep schedule similar to home. Moscow is seven hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time.

He would get up early in the morning to run before breakfast after staying up late. After breakfast, he would go back to bed for a short nap before getting up again to resume his training, which consisted of more running, sparring and some weight training.

There was an added benefit as well.

“It was like a college there, with four or five dorms and classes,” Bergman said. “I got to meet a bunch of new people. I think because of the environment we were in, because we were all trying to become the best that we could be, everybody was great.

“At the end of the day, I would sit in on classes on powerlifting and nutrition. I always had something to do.”

Next up on his to-do list is dispatching Vargas.

“I expect Vargas to come out and try to box me,” said Bergman, a graduate of Albert Gallatin High School. “I know I’m going right at him hard and fast. I’m going to try to get him out of there in two or three rounds.”

Also on the card will be a WBA/NABA US Super Featherweight title fight between Noel Echevarria and Pittsburgh’s Rod Salka, and a WBA/NABA US Light Heavyweight title fight between champion Tommy Karpency of Adah and Rayco Saunders of Pittsburgh.