I wouldn't call that accidental rip off since the shuffle became an incorporated technique in boxing.
One thing that bothers me is the fact that he used "ape" as a reference, "bee" would've been much better.
It wasn't a reference to the move, nor was it ape in the original Japanese text (I think it was raccoon?). Itagaki was recalling the game him and Shinoda played during the break and in that way trying to loosen up and enjoy himself (and most importantly to stop over-thinking).