Talk about it here.

Tabe sums up why this is here. It's definitely not for the match quality.

 

Wrestler vs Boxer: This is the infamous shoot where Berbick walks out on the match. Berbick has apparently been told you can't kick below the waist, which Takada keeps doing. Berbick pleads to the ref for help, and the ref apparently tells him that he's right, that kicks have to be above the waist. Takada keeps kicking Berbick while he's talking to the ref and then, even after Berbick is told kicks have to be above the waist, continues kicking Berbick's legs. Berbick gets pissed off and walks out! After the match, Berbick is shown in the locker room and he can't even stand from the pain in his legs. Wild stuff!

Not really anything I would add to that.

Takada comes across as an asshole, but we knew that anyway.

 

Berbick comes across as a whining bitch who wants his mamma.

Berbick did come across as somewhat naive that he expected that rules would be followed when fighting a native son in Japan.

 

Honestly, he should have just thrown caution to the wind and let fly on Takada. Even if that means we'd probably be talking about Takada in the past tense.

I wish Berbick had knocked Takada’s head off with a punch. In the end both guys look bad with Berbick’s whining and Takada purposely ignoring the rules set forth.

Twevah Boobikoo! Takada makes no pretense whatsoever of going along with the agreed-upon rules, as the very first thing he does is a kick to Berbick's legs. Crowd things Berbick is a whiner and I wonder if they were hip to the rules, because Takada really comes off as a coward despite the crowd going nuts for him. Berbick eventually bails, cusses out everyone he sees at ringside, takes the countout, and the crowd does a '96 WCW and fills the ring with trash.

 

Supposedly Berbick a.) tried to hold UWFI up for more money right before the show, and b.) dismissed the fight to the media beforehand as an "exhibition" which angered UWFI, who wanted him to play up the fight as a shoot. Takada and the ref changing the rules on the fly is cheap as fuck, but Berbick was always a loonball. Nobody really comes out of this looking good.

 

I'd like to have seen a tag match pitting Takada & Onita against Berbick & Leon Spinks. Maybe add Lawler and Snowman to make it a 6-man.

This was actually pretty fun to watch, because Berbick was so animated as the guy getting double-crossed. I don't agree with those saying he came off as a bitch. Takada was the clear asshole in this scenario. At least his veneer of legit toughness would eventually be shattered.

More info from Tabe, per his history of UWFI on Kevin Wilson's 'Puroresu Central' website.

 

From UWFI Trainer Pat McCarthy: "The Berbick fight? No rules were ever changed -- that guy just never wanted to listen", McCarthy says. "The rules were always going to be UWFI rules --- it was one of our typical mixed bouts."

A company spokesman insists the company didn't screw Berbick over. Well, that settles that

What a complete dick Takada here is and the referee refuses to do anything. I would have reacted the same way Berbick did and don't think he was a bitch at all with this as the agreed upon rules. Interesting to watch.

This kind of made me mad to watch. They completely screwed that guy over. Anybody else catch the referee holding Berbick back on the ropes while Takada starts taking cheap shots? Even if it wasn't a double cross, that was a total coward move on Takada's part. I don't have any respect for that kind of stuff.

I think we can all agree that Takada was a jerk and that Berbick had a right to be mad, and even to walk out if he felt he had to. But why didn't he foul Takada on the way out? Just get underneath somehow and bury his fist right in Takada's crotch? His life might not have been worth a plugged nickel if he had, but he'd have looked better than he did simply taking a walk.

 

In all seriousness, I can't figure out why Berbick stood there with his hands down if he believed he was being screwed. I know this is easier said than done, but he should have found a way to blast Takada, even if it meant taking his gloves off and grabbing a handful of hair to make sure he (Takada) didn't go anywhere. I'm sure he wanted to be paid, and he knew they'd never pay him a dime if he fought back that way against the national hero, but he really did look bad, not just by walking out (which, again, is understandable) but by losing his temper as he was leaving.

 

I didn't understand the postmatch ceremonies at all, but I'll bet they were having a grand old time dismissing Berbick and every one of his fellow boxers as fakes and cowards who couldn't stand up to real men and cried like babies when the going got tough.

 

I thought I understood "Mike Tyson" in there somewhere. Was Takada actually challenging Iron Mike? I know he wasn't feared universally like he was before Buster Douglas got a hold of him, but there's such a thing as pressing your luck. Berbick was thirty-seven and on the downside of his career, while Tyson was just twenty-five and still regarded as a genuine tough guy with both a mean streak and a crazy streak. I don't think any match between the two of them would have ended well for Mr. Takada.

I think we can all agree that Takada was a jerk and that Berbick had a right to be mad, and even to walk out if he felt he had to. But why didn't he foul Takada on the way out? Just get underneath somehow and bury his fist right in Takada's crotch? His life might not have been worth a plugged nickel if he had, but he'd have looked better than he did simply taking a walk.

 

In all seriousness, I can't figure out why Berbick stood there with his hands down if he believed he was being screwed. I know this is easier said than done, but he should have found a way to blast Takada, even if it meant taking his gloves off and grabbing a handful of hair to make sure he (Takada) didn't go anywhere. I'm sure he wanted to be paid, and he knew they'd never pay him a dime if he fought back that way against the national hero, but he really did look bad, not just by walking out (which, again, is understandable) but by losing his temper as he was leaving.

 

I didn't understand the postmatch ceremonies at all, but I'll bet they were having a grand old time dismissing Berbick and every one of his fellow boxers as fakes and cowards who couldn't stand up to real men and cried like babies when the going got tough.

 

I thought I understood "Mike Tyson" in there somewhere. Was Takada actually challenging Iron Mike? I know he wasn't feared universally like he was before Buster Douglas got a hold of him, but there's such a thing as pressing your luck. Berbick was thirty-seven and on the downside of his career, while Tyson was just twenty-five and still regarded as a genuine tough guy with both a mean streak and a crazy streak. I don't think any match between the two of them would have ended well for Mr. Takada.

 

Perhaps they were simply stating that Berbick had fought and lost to Tyson?

Supposedly Berbick a.) tried to hold UWFI up for more money right before the show, and b.) dismissed the fight to the media beforehand as an "exhibition" which angered UWFI, who wanted him to play up the fight as a shoot.

From UWFI Trainer Pat McCarthy: "The Berbick fight? No rules were ever changed -- that guy just never wanted to listen", McCarthy says. "The rules were always going to be UWFI rules --- it was one of our typical mixed bouts."

If any one of the above three things is true, Berbick deserved every single thing he got.

I don't know what to say here. I'll try to put some thoughts down.

 

1. Even IF the rules were put down that no kicks below the waist were legal. IF because why would the UWFI do that? If I'm going up against a Takada who is known primarily for kicks I'm figuring out how to defend the leg. Because I'm going into that guy's backyard with 3 or 4 of my guys to back me up. I'm going to be prepared. Do I think Berbick prepared for ground fighting? Probably not, which is even dumber. Boxing isn't exactly an honest business either and I'm surprised Berbick fell for this bulllshit.

 

2. Takada was kicking Berbick in the knee more than a few times. Not the thigh. The knee. Fucking dick. Boxers put more weight on their front leg than their trailing leg. And you kick him in the knee to prove how tough you are? I'm guessing Berbick signed a waiver and regretted it as soon as this sham started. I hope his knee was okay after the...whatever this was.

 

3. It's pretty clear that the whole point of this was to show that UWFI style was superior to American boxing. And the fans bought it. So I guess hooray for carny shit in Japan. I don't think anyone outside of that fanbase was too impressed.

Pretty hilarious "match" with Takada being a dick with the leg kicks and Berbick complaining to everyone, hanging on the ropes, retreating to the corner, and finally bailing out when he's had enough. Berbick should have done something, ANYTHING, other than just stand there crying and getting repeatedly kicked in the leg.