"Ultimately that was not the result we wanted, did not go the way we planned.
"He is one tough bastard, hardest hitter, fastest puncher I've come across. He's definitely going to go on and win a world title.
"The team - Cleve [Langdon], Vasco [Kovacevic] - we done everything we could to prep for that fight. Everyone behind us."
Berridge had no answer for the skilled Bivol, who right from round 1 was able to move in and out of Berridge's range and snap off a stinging left hand to the gut or through the gloves to the temple.
By the second round, the Kiwi was circling back and away whereas Bivol would following him and wait for his opportunity, and by the final moments was unloading with some vicious combinations.
Berridge raised hopes early in the third round when he connected with a left hook that momentarily staggered Bivol, but the home town fighter swiftly regathered himself, whereas a tiring Berridge was getting his head low to find a body shot, but to no avail.
Bivol swooped down and nailed him with a series of hooks from each hand, with Berridge crumbling to a knee for the first standing eight count.
Berridge bravely tried to fight back and turn the bout into a brawl, trying to tie them up, but Bivol had his timing and pushed Berridge back, hitting the retreating Kiwi from every angle to put him back on his knee at the end of the round.
Amped up, Bivol stayed on the balls of his feet to work Berridge into the corners, counter-punching right onto the widening cut every time Berridge tried to get off his his hooks, and after putting him down again in the corner, the blood was running in rivets.
Padilla escorted the dazed Berridge to a neutral corner and the doctor felt the wound could not be closed, signalling the bout's conclusion.