Whanganui Chronicle
  • Whanganui Chronicle home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Taranaki
  • National Park
  • Whakapapa
  • Ohakune
  • Raetihi
  • Taihape
  • Marton
  • Feilding
  • Palmerston North

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • New Plymouth
  • Whanganui
  • Palmertson North
  • Levin

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Whanganui Chronicle / Sport

'Butcher' has beef with rival after KO

By Jared Smith
Sports Editor·Whanganui Chronicle·
11 Oct, 2013 08:00 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Robert "The Butcher" Berridge

Robert "The Butcher" Berridge

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Berridge faces Taihia taunts after bombing out opponent

It was just the high-profile knockout win Wanganui-born boxer Robert "The Butcher" Berridge had been looking for but, even in his shining moment, he could not escape the rival who has been snapping at his heels.

The 28-year-old light heavyweight Berridge dropped Argentina's Mariano Jose Riva with a left hook during an exchange in the corner 20 seconds into the third round Auckland's Trusts Arena on Thursday night in the main undercard fight of heavyweight Joseph Parker lifting the NZNBF crown from Afa Tatupu.

Riva was wily and quick, looking to avoid the southpaw Berridge's signature bombs by staying at a distance, at one point even tumbling out of the ring as Berridge looked to connect.

In an attempt to close the distance, in round two Berridge started walking into some of the Argentine's jabs and took a couple of shots as the men grappled and slugged in the ropes.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

But it led to the opening he needed and Berridge caught Riva flush with a left hand and the stunned South American was unable to answer the 10 count.

Berridge's first destination was the corner where his originally scheduled opponent, Adrian Taihia, was sitting.

Things got even more personal as Taihia, the 31-year-old NZPBA super middleweight title holder, entered the ring during Berridge's television interview for a war of words the fighters kept separated by their entourages.

The bad blood between the pair goes back months when Taihia (9-1) accused Berridge (21-1-1) of "running his mouth" about a lack of willing opponents in New Zealand, claiming he had agreed to face him until Berridge's new promoters Duco Events kept changing the money offer and number of rounds for the fight.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Berridge's cousin and Wanganui trainer, Paul Berridge, said the men were finally linked to battle on Thursday night before Taihia withdrew, citing a broken nose in training.

"He pulled out of the fight, Duco Events put the Argentine in front of Rob. I just think he's trying to play some mental game with Rob."

Paul Berridge said Taihia had been "barking" from the corner during the fight, trying to distract "The Butcher", which is what prompted his cousin to respond after the final bell.

"He said, 'that's what you expect', you know, 'if you fight me'.

"Hats off to the way Rob dealt with it when he came in the ring.

"Rob's always class but he's more of a class act than that."

Berridge said in the interview he was looking to get another fight this year, the logical place being the rescheduled David Tua comeback against Alexander Ustinov on November 16. "I think they're looking at Daniel MacKinnon on that Tua card, but that's not confirmed," said Paul Berridge.

The other option would be to arrange the bout with Taihia, although he is listed online as having a match against Timo Masua at Auckland's ABA Stadium on November 30.

Paul Berridge said given the current hype the match might still happen and his cousin would be looking for a quick knockout because of Taihia's trash talk and the way he challenged him. "To do that on that fight and bring it to New Zealand's attention, [Taihia's] going to look silly if he doesn't live up to his word."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Sport

Whanganui Chronicle

Endurance ace ready for 'Wimbledon' of trail running

Sponsored Stories

Rugby: Marist Knights seize senior title

Sponsored Stories

Rugby: One point in it as Taihape edge Kaierau


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Sport

Endurance ace ready for 'Wimbledon' of trail running
Whanganui Chronicle

Endurance ace ready for 'Wimbledon' of trail running

'I’m doing it again to compete in it, rather than just complete it.'

15 Jul 05:00 PM
Rugby: Marist Knights seize senior title
Sponsored Stories

Rugby: Marist Knights seize senior title

14 Jul 05:00 PM
Rugby: One point in it as Taihape edge Kaierau
Sponsored Stories

Rugby: One point in it as Taihape edge Kaierau

14 Jul 05:00 PM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Whanganui Chronicle e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Whanganui Chronicle
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP