My mate Bajey and me out with the lads during the mid-eighties, at the Power House in Hurst Street.
Flexing to impress the ladies.
Bodybuilding made me look good for the martial arts – as well as teaching me how to look after my body.
Mr Birmingham 1988.
My first K-1 fight victory against Shaun Johnson in 2000 at Aston Villa leisure centre.
In 1995 I was crowned W.A.K.O. British Champion – for the fifth year in a row.
Working my hands on a punch bag, which I also use to practise my kick.
I couldn’t walk down the road without the locals asking for autographs or a photo.
As you can see, I was in great shape here – photographed with my trainer and manager, Dev, plus one of the locals.
At Waikiki Beach, all I could see was my picture and my name in lights on those big billboards: ‘Dennis Alexio vs. Barrington Patterson for the IKF World Heavyweight Championship’.
Andre and I with the ‘Voice of the Octagon’, Bruce Buffer.
At the 1995 kickboxing world championships final in Ukraine, I was fighting some guy called Wladimir Klitschko; we know him today as one of the heavyweight boxing world champion brothers.
In Brazil, I fought former world champion Paulo Zorello on national television – and beat him.
Vrij was fighting in memory of his dad who died from cancer; I was fighting just because it was a fight.
Dick Vrij was a hard bastard to fight, a real lunatic.
The Coventry posse all came over to Holland in support of me.
After defeating Big Mo T, the referee put my hand in the air and said, ‘The winner, Barrington “Zulu” Patterson!’
Joop Kasteel: ‘Kasteel’ means ‘castle’ and he is built like a castle.
Action in the ring: giving the audience a real show for their money, fighting against a Dutch kickboxer for an IKKC title.
Andre has been in my corner at most of my fights and he pushes me hard. He’ll say, ‘Come on Baz, come on Baz, you gotta do it!’
I’ve always walked out to the same song playing – ‘Walk like a Champion’ by Buju Banton – throughout my whole career.
Cage Warriors asked me if I wanted to fight in Coventry. I thought, Well it’s my own manor, so yeah.
My dad, Karl, at the only fight he attended.
What was going through my mind was: I’ve lost the fight and all I can do is pick myself up. It’s back to the drawing board again.
All the Zulus smashed the place up! The riot police came in and then ran out again.
I’d fought the promoter Henk Kuipers twice, the first time at kyokushin karate; he later offered me my dream fight against Bob Schreiber.
For my final fight, I agreed to be filmed for the TV series Danny Dyer’s Deadliest Men.
I was fighting Dutch legend Bob Schreiber for the world title – billed as ‘King of the Ring’.
‘YES!’ I’d finally done it; I’d got my belt and I couldn’t wait to put it around my waist when they announced me as World Champion.
Leeds at home; West Ham at home; Millwall away; Villa always: the Zulus have a firm to reckon with.
Terry, Rupert, Todd and me (left to right): very close friends for life.
Dynamo Zagreb’s firm, the Bad Blue Boys, invited us to watch a game on their turf.
A firm of us flew to Croatia for the Maribor (Slovenia) v Birmingham City game.
Rupert, me, Todd, Andre and Eves (left to right); Adam and Jeff (foreground).
Author Cass Pennant and I meeting my old friends Kam and Witty, in Handsworth.
Buster’s arm, Sharkey, Lewis, Bajey and Curly – Original Tiger Posse (left to right).
In 2012 I asked my Tracey to marry me. To my surprise, she said YES.
I look ahead but I don’t plan things – I just live from day to day.
About the Author
Barrington Renford Patterson is a former kickboxer and Mixed Martial Arts fighter. The champion ‘King of the Ring’ is well-known to cage-fighting devotees and is notorious as one of Britain’s ‘Hard Men’ – as testified by a full episode of the TV series Danny Dyer’s Deadliest Men. The former football hooligan from the Birmingham Zulus firm also cuts a powerful figure in clubland, with a hard-earned reputation gained by running some of the roughest doors in the Midlands.
Cass Pennant is the author of eight books on football hooliganism, five of which have been UK Top 10 best-sellers. His bestselling autobiography (Cass) was published by John Blake and made into a critically acclaimed feature film. As an authority on hooligan and gang culture, he has advised on TV and film projects including Guy Ritchie’s Snatch, Alan Clarke’s The Firm, Lexi Alexander’s Green Street, ITV’s Bouncers series and Bravo’s The Real Football Factories – where he was introduced to Barrington.
Copyright
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ePub ISBN 978 1 78219 378 4
Mobi ISBN 978 1 78219 397 5
PDF ISBN 978 1 78219 415 6
First published in paperback in 2013
ISBN: 978 1 84358 811 5
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