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As the iron-willed, yet fading UFC legend Ken Shamrock (Pictures) prepares to make his long-awaited debut Saturday in the United Kingdom at Cage Rage 25, menacing Sunderland fighter Robert "Buzz" Berry (Pictures) can't wait for the opportunity to make his mark on "The World's Most Dangerous Man."
"I keep pinching myself to make sure it's real," Berry said. "It's out of this world to get matched up with Ken. Watching him fight in this country is a big thing anyway, but being able to fight him myself is really fantastic, really huge."
After more than a year out of competition and four straight stoppage defeats since Shamrock's last victory in 2004, many observers have labeled him a former star whose career is in terminal decline. Those same critics have also suggested that the tattooed Sunderland knockout artist is a handpicked opponent -- someone to give Shamrock his best possible chance of securing a win and maintaining his position as a major draw in the sport.
After a moment's examination, this appears to be quite a strange accusation. Frankly, if you're looking to boost up a fighter by feeding him a "gimme" opponent, you could do a great deal better than to pick someone of Berry's incredible strength and punching power.
The British fighter represents a higher hurdle than most at such a late stage in Shamrock's career. Though on the losing end of things in his last outing, "Buzz" thoroughly dominated South African man-mountain Neil Grove (Pictures) in the opening round before being forced to withdraw from the fight in need of urgent medical treatment.
"Before the fight, I was starting to get a head cold," Berry explained. "Obviously, I still wanted to fight, but after the first round I couldn't fight on. I got took into the hospital, and they said the head cold had attacked my heart. What they said in the hospital was, if I had continued into the second round, it could have killed us."
Berry was released from the hospital the following day and has since been through rigorous medical tests to ensure that the effects of the illness were purely short term.
"I've got the all-clear from the cardiologist," Berry said. "I've been for some more tests on my heart, and they've put it down to the head cold, which did attack my heart."
With these sincere health concerns out of the way, Berry is clearly looking forward to the fight.
"Ken still is a good fighter, and with his experience, he'll never lose that," he said. "But obviously, he's getting older now and it happens to every fighter. As they get older, they lose that spark; they lose the fire in their belly. All the younger fighters are still up-and-coming, and they still want to do it. The older guys, they've had their day. They've had their fire in the belly. Now that flame's going out a bit."
"I think Ken's got his skills in every department," Berry continued. "He's finished a lot of fights with chokes, leglocks, heel hooks, kneebars -- but it depends where the fight goes. I think he'll be looking for a submission."
In preparation for a full-on attack from Shamrock's extensive submission arsenal, Berry has been training with one of Britain's most underrated trainers, Ian Freeman (Pictures). A fighter also under contract with Cage Rage, Freeman shot to worldwide fame by savaging current UFC contender Frank Mir (Pictures) at the first UFC show in the United Kingdom back in 2002.
On that memorable night, Freeman punched his way out of numerous leglock attempts from the crafty American. Then he raised the roof of the Royal Albert Hall by battering the somewhat overconfident Mir into a bloody mess.
In a few short weeks, will Freeman have been able to pass on the value of this experience to his muscle-bound protégé? Or will Shamrock's undeniable skills and tenacity be too much for Berry?
One thing is for sure: If the fight hits the ground, Berry will need every trick he has learned from his mentor. However, as "Buzz" points out, the aging legend has every reason to be concerned should the fight remain upright.
"Obviously, I could knock Ken out.
"I keep pinching myself to make sure it's real," Berry said. "It's out of this world to get matched up with Ken. Watching him fight in this country is a big thing anyway, but being able to fight him myself is really fantastic, really huge."
After more than a year out of competition and four straight stoppage defeats since Shamrock's last victory in 2004, many observers have labeled him a former star whose career is in terminal decline. Those same critics have also suggested that the tattooed Sunderland knockout artist is a handpicked opponent -- someone to give Shamrock his best possible chance of securing a win and maintaining his position as a major draw in the sport.
After a moment's examination, this appears to be quite a strange accusation. Frankly, if you're looking to boost up a fighter by feeding him a "gimme" opponent, you could do a great deal better than to pick someone of Berry's incredible strength and punching power.
The British fighter represents a higher hurdle than most at such a late stage in Shamrock's career. Though on the losing end of things in his last outing, "Buzz" thoroughly dominated South African man-mountain Neil Grove (Pictures) in the opening round before being forced to withdraw from the fight in need of urgent medical treatment.
"Before the fight, I was starting to get a head cold," Berry explained. "Obviously, I still wanted to fight, but after the first round I couldn't fight on. I got took into the hospital, and they said the head cold had attacked my heart. What they said in the hospital was, if I had continued into the second round, it could have killed us."
Berry was released from the hospital the following day and has since been through rigorous medical tests to ensure that the effects of the illness were purely short term.
"I've got the all-clear from the cardiologist," Berry said. "I've been for some more tests on my heart, and they've put it down to the head cold, which did attack my heart."
With these sincere health concerns out of the way, Berry is clearly looking forward to the fight.
"Ken still is a good fighter, and with his experience, he'll never lose that," he said. "But obviously, he's getting older now and it happens to every fighter. As they get older, they lose that spark; they lose the fire in their belly. All the younger fighters are still up-and-coming, and they still want to do it. The older guys, they've had their day. They've had their fire in the belly. Now that flame's going out a bit."
"I think Ken's got his skills in every department," Berry continued. "He's finished a lot of fights with chokes, leglocks, heel hooks, kneebars -- but it depends where the fight goes. I think he'll be looking for a submission."
In preparation for a full-on attack from Shamrock's extensive submission arsenal, Berry has been training with one of Britain's most underrated trainers, Ian Freeman (Pictures). A fighter also under contract with Cage Rage, Freeman shot to worldwide fame by savaging current UFC contender Frank Mir (Pictures) at the first UFC show in the United Kingdom back in 2002.
On that memorable night, Freeman punched his way out of numerous leglock attempts from the crafty American. Then he raised the roof of the Royal Albert Hall by battering the somewhat overconfident Mir into a bloody mess.
In a few short weeks, will Freeman have been able to pass on the value of this experience to his muscle-bound protégé? Or will Shamrock's undeniable skills and tenacity be too much for Berry?
One thing is for sure: If the fight hits the ground, Berry will need every trick he has learned from his mentor. However, as "Buzz" points out, the aging legend has every reason to be concerned should the fight remain upright.
"Obviously, I could knock Ken out.
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