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Inside UWF-Bushido!

Ted Pelc
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First my congratulations and thanks to Jake Shannon for his role in bringing BUSHIDO to a North American audience after so many years.

I'm delighted that these great matches can be seen and enjoyed by so many people and I appreciate the chance to comment on this memorable occasion of Show Ten in the series. It was from this moment that the UWFI grew out of it's starting roots and became the huge force in wrestling history that it is.

Speaking as someone intimately connected to these matches I'm going to say something that a lot of people will be surprised at. I think the match between the young wrestler, Billy Scott and the boxing/kick-boxing champion, James Warring is the best mixed match between boxer and wrestler in the many years I've been associated with ring sports. A technically perfect match between the pure wrestler and the pure striker.

To many casual onlookers, it was a boring match with not enough action, but to me it was all there. Warring throwing punches without respect in the opening round until Scott catches him with an ankle lock and then the boxer becoming the evader. Most mixed matches like this simply don't work because the styles don't mix. This one worked because James Warring was not only an IBF Boxing champion, but a holder of four kick-boxing titles including the WKA.

Yes, Billy Scott should have been more aggressive, but remember that at the time he was a young, green wrestler appearing before the biggest crowd in his life. OK, no high spots, but to me the technically best mixed match I've ever seen, and I've seen many.

There is little to say about the Trevor Berbick fight. If I followed the golden rule that one should not say bad things about the deceased, I'd stop right now, but I do want to set the record straight on this fight.

Trevor Berbick knew all the rules far before coming to Japan. We went to New York and presented him with a contract which set out all the rules. This was publicly explained at a press conference at Mickey Mantle's sports restaurant. When he came to Tokyo I was with him at a training gym where the rules were explained. I was at public exhibitions at which Trevor was present and he saw all the techniques of our sport explained and physically demonstrated; take downs, low kicks, submissions, etc.

I have footage of him being asked about how he would handle low kicks (seen on an American show by announcer Jim Daugherty) and he replied that when Takada would try and kick him, he would destroy Takada. He would bring World War Three down on him.

Look at the match itself and you'll see that his legs have supporters from ankle to above the knee. A boxer never does that. He had leg protection against the low kick. Listen closely when Trevor is outside the ring and you can hear his trainer say, "I told him the rules".

It's history now, but I appreciate the chance to comment on these shows again. I hope you enjoy seeing these matches as much as I did when they happened. One lesson I learned from BUSHIDO is, it's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog!

Respectfully,

Ted Pelc