Mike Bernardo

Michael Shawn Bernardo (28 July 1969 – 14 February 2012) was a South African kickboxer and boxer from Cape Town. He was known as Beru-chan in Japan, where he took part in K-1 World GPs starting in 1994. He held 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.

Biography 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."

Being a keen all-round sportsman, 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.

Kickboxing career It was under the guidance of former boxing champion Steve Kalakoda that 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. Most of bouts (8) were held in South Africa, twice he fight in USA, once in Hungary, Mexico and Japan.

Marriage Bernardo was married to singer Beshara Ornellas. They were married on 5 April 1999 and the marriage lasted only 10 months; Ornellas left on 14 February 2000.

Religion 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."

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

Titles and accomplishments Professional kickboxing World Olympic Kickboxing Super Heavyweight winner 2004 World Kickboxing Association Muay Thai Super Heavyweight World champion 1998 W.A.K.O. Pro Muay Thai Super Heavyweight World champion 1996 World Kickboxing Association Muay Thai Super Heavyweight World champion K-1 2001 K-1 World Grand Prix in Nagoya 3rd place 2000 K-1 World Grand Prix in Fukuoka winner 1998 K-1 World Grand Prix 3rd place 1996 K-1 World Grand Prix runner up 1995 K-1 World Grand Prix 3rd place Professional boxing W.B.F. World Heavyweight champion

Kickboxing record

Boxing record

Mixed martial arts record Draw

Nobuhiko Takada Draw Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2001 - K-1 vs. Inoki

Saitama, Japan