Wikipedia

Mike Bernardo

Not to be confused with Michael Bernardo.

Michael Shawn Bernardo (28 July 1969 – 14 February 2012) was a South African kickboxer and boxer from Cape Town. Bernardo was known as Beru-chan in Japan, where he has taken part in K-1 World GPs since 1994.[1] He holds notable wins over Mirko Cro Cop, Andy Hug (2×), Francisco Filho, Branko Cikatic, Stan Longinidis, Gary Goodridge and three consecutive wins over K-1 legend Peter Aerts.

Mike Bernardo
BornMichael Shawn Barnardo
(1969-07-28)28 July 1969
Fishhoek, Cape Town, South Africa
Died14 February 2012(2012-02-14) (aged 42)
Muizenberg, Cape Town, South Africa
Other namesBeru-chan
NationalitySouth African
Height1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Weight110 kg (243 lb; 17 st 5 lb)
DivisionHeavyweight
StyleBoxing, Kickboxing, Kyokushin
StanceOrthodox
Fighting out ofWynberg, South Africa
TeamSteve's Gym
TrainerSteve Kalakoda
Years active1990–2004
Professional boxing record
Total13
Wins11
By knockout9
Losses1
By knockout1
Draws1
Kickboxing record
Total77
Wins54
By knockout42
Losses18
By knockout12
Draws3
No contests2
Other information
Boxing record from BoxRec
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Biography

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Mike Bernardo was of Italian and English heritage and was born in Fishhoek near Cape Town on 28 July 1969. His surname was actually Barnardo, but most people knew him as Bernardo. When he was younger, bullies often picked on him and beat him up. Bernardo started with Kyokushin to deal with his bullies: "I started Karate when I was, 12, 13 years old. The reason why I started was, because as a youngster I was quite tall but not strong. A lot of children at school were in gangs and they would always pick on me and beat me up because I was a big guy so they could prove their friends they were stronger. I took up martial arts lessons and went back to school and when they started to pick on me again and try to beat me up, I beat them all up."[2]

Being a keen all-round sportsman, Mike Bernardo tried to do as many sports as he could. Besides karate, he started surfing when he was six, played numerous other sports but the one that he liked to play the most was rugby. After he kept getting sent off for fighting, Bernardo knew he had to make the transition from rugby to fighting sports.[3]

Kickboxing career

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It was under the guidance of former boxing champion Steve Kalakoda where Mike Bernardo received his kickboxing training. He met Kalakoda during his compulsory military service where the latter worked as a physical training instructor in the navy. Bernardo quickly established a fearsome reputation as a heavy-hitting knockout fighter. After fights in South Africa, Italy and Russia Bernardo got invited through one of England's promoters to fight in K-1. He made his debut in the K-1 World Grand Prix 1995 against Andy Hug. Bernardo pulled off the shocking win via third round stoppage.[3]

One of his biggest successes came early in his career. In 1996, just one year into his K-1 run, Mike Bernardo competed in the K-1 World Grand Prix for the second time. Bernardo faced a tough task as he would meet Peter Aerts in the first round of the tournament. Just as he did against Hug one year before, Bernardo scored a big upset with a huge right cross that knocked the former K-1 World Grand Prix champion out. Bernardo made it to the finals that year, ultimately losing to Andy Hug in a great fight. Bernardo's other major success took place in 2000 when he won the K-1 World Grand Prix in Fukuoka, beating Jörgen Kruth, Andrew Thompson and then Mirko Cro Cop in the final. He won all three fights that night by KO.[citation needed]

Though he never did win the K-1 World Grand Prix crown, Bernardo proved he could hang with the very best fighters. In his career he faced all of the K-1's best - including Jerome Le Banner, Andy Hug, Peter Aerts, Ernesto Hoost and Francisco Filho - and at some point in their career, nearly all of them found themselves on the receiving end of a KO. On New Year's Eve of 2004, Bernardo was going to face Nigerian fighter Bobby Ologun in "K1-Dynamite!", but couldn't take part in the event due to a neck injury and retired from K-1.

Boxing career

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In addition to his K-1 career, Mike Bernardo made his professional boxing debut on 28 February 1993, against Delius Musemwa. Mike was able to knock out Delius in the third round. In the second bout he lost by TKO for the first round against little lighter opponent Anton Nel on 7 April 1993. After a string of victories he won the vacant WBF title against Dan Jerling by defeating the Czechoslovakian fighter in the sixth round by KO. The bout took place in May 2000. In 2001, on 8 June, Mike Bernardo defended his WBF title against Peter McNeeley in Cape Town and knocked McNeely out in just 41 seconds. In May 2002, due to being inactive for long, Bernardo was stripped of the belt.[4] Most of bouts (8) were held in South Africa, twice he fight in USA, once in Hungary, Mexico and Japan.[5]

Marriage

Mike Bernardo was married to singer Beshara Ornellas. They were married on 5 April 1999 and the marriage lasted a brief 10 months when Beshara left on 14 February 2000.[citation needed]

Religion

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Mike Bernardo was a deeply religious man. His belief in God played an important role in his fighting career and life: "Before the fight I say a prayer that God keep us both safe. And his will be done. In my heart there's no vengeance, I don't wanna inflict pain just because I want to inflict pain, but because I want to compete against the person that I am competing with. We're both competitors in the same line of work and we're just putting our skills together to see who's better than the other one on the day. My message is that there is hope for all of us, there's hope for every single one. Jesus is the saviour, and he's the way to offer hope, love, and also hope in healing as well. And with him with us we can achieve anything we want to achieve. That is my message."[6]

Death

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Bernardo died on February 14, 2012, at the age of 42. According to News24, the cause of death was unknown.[7] Mike is survived by his long-term partner Claire Oschmann and their two children, Kai Oschmann-Barnardo and Sascha Oschmann-Barnardo.

Titles and accomplishments

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Kickboxing record

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Kickboxing record (Incomplete)
54 Wins (42 (T)KO's, 12 decisions), 18 Losses (12 (T)KO's), 3 Draws, 2 No Contests
Date Result Opponent Event Location Method Round Time
2004-11-06 Draw   Kaoklai Kaennorsing Titans 1st Kitakyushu, Japan Draw 3 3:00
2004-09-18 Win   Petar Majstorovic K-1 W.K.A. Championships Basel, Switzerland Decision 5 3:00
Wins vacant title of W.K.A. Muay Thai World Super Heavyweight(+95kg/+210lbs) title.
2004-06-26 Loss   Tatsufumi Tomihira K-1 Beast 2004 in Shizuoka quarter-finals Shizuoka, Japan KO 1 1:09
2004-03-27 Loss   Jan Nortje K-1 World Grand Prix 2004 in Saitama Saitama, Japan TKO (punch rush/3 knockdowns) 1 2:32
2003-10-31 Win   Sergei Gur K-1 Final Fight Stars War in Zagreb Zagreb, Croatia TKO (referee stoppage) 2 N/A
2003-10-11 Loss   Alexey Ignashov K-1 World Grand Prix 2003 Final Elimination Osaka, Japan KO (right punch and right low kick) 2 2:21
Fails to qualify for the K-1 World Grand Prix '03 final.
2003-05-30 Loss   Stefan Leko K-1 World Grand Prix 2003 in Basel Basel, Switzerland Decision (Unanimous) 3 3:00
2003-04-06 Win   Eric Esch K-1 Survival 2003 Japan Grand Prix Final Yokohama, Japan KO (right head kick) 2 1:10
2003-07-13 Draw   Francisco Filho K-1 World Grand Prix 2003 in Fukuoka Fukuoka, Japan Draw 5 3:00
2003-04-06 Win   Tsuyoshi Nakasako K-1 Beast 2003 Yamagata, Japan TKO 2 1:02
2002-12-31 Win   Gary Goodridge Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2002 Saitama, Japan KO (right hook) 1 2:12
2002-10-05 Loss   Mark Hunt K-1 World Grand Prix 2002 Final Elimination Saitama, Japan Ext.R decision (unanimous) 4 3:00
Fails to qualify for the K-1 World Grand Prix '02 final.
2002-09-22 Win   Tom Erikson K-1 Andy Spirits Japan GP 2002 Final Osaka, Japan KO (right hook) 1 2:30
2002-08-17 Loss   Gary Goodridge K-1 World Grand Prix 2002 in Las Vegas Las Vegas, Nevada, USA KO (punches) 1 1:38
Despite loss qualifies for K-1 World Grand Prix 2002 Final Elimination as invitee.
2002-03-03 Loss   Ray Sefo K-1 World Grand Prix 2002 in Nagoya Nagoya, Japan Decision (unanimous) 5 3:00
2001-12-08 Win   Adam Watt K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 Final Tokyo, Japan Decision (unanimous) 3 3:00
2001-10-08 Loss   Adam Watt K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 in Fukuoka quarter-finals Fukuoka, Japan TKO (right punch/2 knockdowns) 1 2:27
2001-07-20 Win   Lloyd van Dams K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 in Nagoya semi-finals Nagoya, Japan Ext.R decision (majority) 4 3:00
Despite winning Bernardo was unable to participate in final due to injury.
2001-07-20 Win   Takeru K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 in Nagoya quarter-finals Nagoya, Japan TKO (corner stoppage) 2 1:40
2001-03-17 NC   Jérôme Le Banner K-1 Gladiators 2001 Yokohama, Japan NC 1 3:00
2001-01-30 Win   Hiromi Amada K-1 Rising 2001 Matsuyama, Japan TKO (corner stoppage) 4 1:32
2000-10-09 Win   Mirko Cro Cop K-1 World Grand Prix 2000 in Fukuoka Final Fukuoka, Japan TKO (corner stoppage) 1 1:07
Wins K-1 World Grand Prix 2000 in Fukuoka.
2000-10-09 Win   Andrew Thomson K-1 World Grand Prix 2000 in Fukuoka semi-finals Fukuoka, Japan TKO (doctor stoppage) 1 0:34
2000-10-09 Win   Jörgen Kruth K-1 World Grand Prix 2000 in Fukuoka quarter-finals Fukuoka, Japan KO (right hook) 1 2:24
2000-09-03 Win   Sergio Espedito K-1 Africa Grand Prix 2000 Cape Town, South Africa KO (Straight Right Punch) 1 N/A
1999-10-03 Loss   Mirko Cro Cop K-1 World Grand Prix '99 opening round Osaka, Japan TKO (3 knockdowns) 1 1:20
Fails to qualify for K-1 World Grand Prix '99 final.
1999-08-22 Win   Rony Sefo K-1 Spirits '99 Tokyo, Japan KO (left hook) 4 1:24
1999-06-20 Loss   Sam Greco K-1 Braves '99 Fukuoka, Japan Decision (unanimous) 5 3:00
Losses W.A.K.O. Pro Muay Thai World Super Heavyweight(+94.1 kg) title.
1999-04-25 Win   Masaaki Satake K-1 Revenge '99 Yokohama, Japan Decision (unanimous) 5 3:00
1998-12-13 Loss   Peter Aerts K-1 Grand Prix '98 Final Round semi-finals Tokyo, Japan TKO (referee Stoppage/2 Knockdowns) 1 2:53
1998-12-13 Win   Francisco Filho K-1 Grand Prix '98 Final Round quarter-finals Tokyo, Japan KO (right Overhand) 3 1:35
1998-10-28 Win   Sadau Kiatsongrit K-1 Japan '98 Kamikaze Tokyo, Japan TKO (corner stoppage) 2 2:00
1998-09-27 Win   Maurice Smith K-1 World Grand Prix '98 opening round Osaka, Japan Decision (unanimous) 5 3:00
Qualifies for K-1 World Grand Prix '98 final.
1998-08-28 Win   Andrew Thomson K-1 Japan Grand Prix '98 Tokyo, Japan TKO (referee Stoppage/Right Straight) 1 3:03
1998-04-09 Win   Glaube Feitosa K-1 Dream '98 Nagoya, Japan TKO (3 knockdowns) 1 1:42
1998-04-09 Win   Gordon Minors K-1 Kings '98 Yokohama, Japan KO (Punch) 2 2:05
Wins Minors' WAKO Muay Thai World Super Heavyweight title.
1997-11-09 Loss   Peter Aerts K-1 Grand Prix '97 Final quarter-finals Tokyo, Japan TKO (high Kick and Straight to the Body) 3 1:17
1997-09-07 Win   Branko Cikatić K-1 Grand Prix '97 1st round Osaka, Japan TKO (doctor stoppage) 1 0:38
Qualifies for K-1 World Grand Prix '97 final.
1997-07 Win   Mike Vieira Cape Town, South Africa KO (right high kick) 3 1:33
1997-06-07 Loss   Andy Hug K-1 Fight Night '97 Zurich, Switzerland Decision (unanimous) 5 3:00
Fight was for Andy's W.K.A. World Muay Thai Super Heavyweight title.
1997-04-29 Loss   Ernesto Hoost K-1 Braves '97 Fukuoka, Japan TKO (referee Stoppage/Right Hook) 4 1:03
1997-03-16 Win   Masaaki Satake K-1 Kings '97 Yokohama, Japan KO (right uppercut) 2 1:24
1996-12-08 Draw   Stan Longinidis K-1 Hercules '96 Nagoya, Japan Draw 5 3:00
1996-10-18 Win   Peter Aerts K-1 Star Wars '96 Yokohama, Japan KO (right hook) 3 2:37
1996-09-01 Win   Peter Aerts K-1 Revenge '96 Osaka, Japan DQ (Groin Kick) 1 1:21
1996-05-06 Loss   Andy Hug K-1 Grand Prix '96 Final Yokohama, Japan KO (left spinning low kick) 2 1:18
Fight was for K-1 World Grand Prix '96.
1996-05-06 Win   Musashi K-1 Grand Prix '96 semi-finals Yokohama, Japan Decision (unanimous) 3 3:00
1996-05-06 Win   Peter Aerts K-1 Grand Prix '96 quarter-finals Yokohama, Japan KO (left hook) 3 0:13
1996-03-10 Win   Jeff Roufus K-1 Grand Prix '96 Opening Battle Yokohama, Japan TKO 2 1:37
Qualifies for K-1 World Grand Prix '96 final.
1995-12-09 Loss   Peter Aerts K-1 Hercules Nagoya, Japan KO (right hook) 1 0:40
1995-09-03 Win   Andy Hug K-1 Revenge II Yokohama, Japan KO (Punch) 2 2:43
1995-05-04 Loss   Jérôme Le Banner K-1 Grand Prix '95 semi-finals Tokyo, Japan KO (right low kick) 2 3:05
1995-05-04 Win   Stan Longinidis K-1 Grand Prix '95 quarter-finals Tokyo, Japan KO (right high kick) 3 1:42
1995-03-03 Win   Andy Hug K-1 Grand Prix '95 Opening Battle Tokyo, Japan TKO (corner stoppage) 3 2:39
Qualifies for K-1 World Grand Prix '95 final.
1994-00-00 Loss   Jérôme Le Banner I.S.K.A. Intercontinental Championship Cape Town, South Africa Decision (unanimous) 10 2:00
Fight was for I.S.K.A. Intercontinental title.
Boxing record
11 Wins (9 (T)KO's, 2 decisions), 1 Loss (1 (T)KO), 1 Draw
Date Result Opponent Event Location Method Round Time Record
2001-06-08 Win   Peter McNeeley K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 Preliminary South Africa Cape Town, South Africa TKO 1 0:41 11–1–1
Wins World Boxing Foundation (W.B.F.) World Heavyweight Title.
2000-07-30 Draw   Justin Fortune N/A Nagoya, Japan TD 1 N/A 10–1–1
2000-05-12 Win   Daniel Jerling N/A Szekszárd, Hungary TKO 6 N/A 10–1
2000-01-21 Win   Scott Conner N/A Chicago, Illinois, USA TKO 2 N/A 9–1
1996-03-31 Win   Juan Quintana N/A Portland, Maine, USA PTS 6 N/A 8–1
1995-12-02 Win   Alberto Toribio Coman N/A Cape Town, South Africa TKO 4 N/A 7–1
1995-09-10 Win   Hector Fernandez N/A Tijuana, Mexico KO 1 N/A 6–1
1994-11-27 Win   Themba Msweli N/A Cape Town, South Africa KO 3 N/A 5–1
1994-05-18 Win   Nzuzu Manyube N/A Cape Town, South Africa TKO 1 N/A 4–1
1993-11-06 Win   Matthews Zulu N/A Sun City, South Africa PTS 4 N/A 3–1
1993-07-25 Win   Graham Makazi N/A Cape Town, South Africa KO 1 N/A 2–1
1993-04-06 Loss   Anton Nel N/A Temba, South Africa TKO 1 N/A 1–1
1993-02-28 Win   Delias Musemwa N/A Cape Town, South Africa KO 3 N/A 1–0
MMA record
1 Draw
Date Result Opponent Event Location Method Round Time Record
2001-12-31 Draw   Nobuhiko Takada Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2001 Saitama, Japan Draw 3 3:00 0–0–1
Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw/No contest   Notes

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "K-1 fighter profile".[permanent dead link‍]
  2. ^ K-1 Superfighter: This is Mike Bernardo
  3. ^ a b "kakutougi.info". kakutougi.info.
  4. ^ "Ex-champ Bernardo dies at 44 - SuperSport - Boxing". Archived from the original on 7 January 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
  5. ^ "BoxRec: Mike Bernardo". boxrec.com.
  6. ^ Kampfsportler, Vereinigung Christlicher. "Vereinigung Christlicher Kampfsportler Mike Bernardo En". www.vck-web.org.
  7. ^ "Former SA fighter dies". News24. 14 February 2012. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
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