Trevor Berbick

Trevor Berbick
Statistics
Rated at	Heavyweight
Height	6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Reach	78 in (198 cm)
Nationality	Jamaican
Born	(1954-08-01)August 1, 1954 Norwich, Port Antonio, Jamaica
Died	October 28, 2006(2006-10-28) (aged 52) Norwich, Port Antonio, Jamaica
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	61
Wins	49
Wins by KO	29
Losses	11
Draws	1
Medal record Men's amateur boxing Representing  Jamaica Pan American Games 1975 Mexico City Heavyweight

Trevor Berbick (August 1, 1954 – October 28, 2006) was a Jamaican Canadian professional boxer who competed from 1976 to 2000. He won the WBC heavyweight title in 1986 by defeating Pinklon Thomas, but lost it in his first defence to Mike Tyson, who was then undefeated at 20 years old. Berbick was also the last boxer to fight Muhammad Ali, defeating him in 1981.

As an amateur, Berbick won a bronze medal in the heavyweight division at the 1975 Pan American Games. In both his early and late professional career he held the Canadian heavyweight title twice, from 1979 to 1986 and 1999 to 2001.

Biography

Early life

He was born on August 1, 1954 in Norwich, Port Antonio, Jamaica.

Amateur career

At 21, Berbick represented his native Jamaica in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada as a heavyweight boxer, despite having had only 11 prior amateur bouts. His lack of experience was evident as he lost to the eventual silver medalist, Mircea Şimon of Romania. However, he still displayed a lot of promise as a young heavyweight boxer. The previous year, Berbick lost a decision to future heavyweight champion Michael Dokes in the Pan American Games semifinals, winning a bronze medal.

Professional career

Berbick left Jamaica after the Olympics. He opted to settle in Montreal and fight professionally out of Halifax. He won his first 11 fights (10 by knockout) before suffering his first pro loss to another rising contender, Bernardo Mercado, on April 3, 1979. As an amateur, Berbick had soundly beaten Mercado. However, with 10 seconds remaining in the first round of their only professional meeting, Berbick walked into a punch and was knocked out cold. Nevertheless, he remained in contention for the heavyweight title.

A 1980 upset of ex-champ John Tate (9th-round KO) secured a title shot against Larry Holmes on April 11, 1981, but Berbick lost a 15-round unanimous decision. In his second fight after the loss, he beat 39-year-old Muhammad Ali in the final fight of Ali's career.

In 1982 he beat undefeated prospect Greg Page, and in 1984 he moved to Miramar, Florida and signed with promoter Don King. Wins over undefeated Mitch "Blood" Green and David Bey scored him another title fight, and he won the WBC world heavyweight title by upsetting Pinklon Thomas with an easy unanimous decision on March 22, 1986. However, his reign as champion would be brief.

On November 22, in his first defense of the title, Berbick took on Mike Tyson, who was looking to break Floyd Patterson's record and become, at the age of twenty, the youngest ever heavyweight champion. In the second round, Tyson dropped Berbick with a quick knockdown. Berbick was quickly overwhelmed by his opponent and late in the round, he went down again. The champion rose to his feet, but immediately stumbled backward and fell back to the canvas. Berbick tried twice more to make it to his feet but fell both times, and referee Mills Lane stopped counting and waved the fight off to end Berbick's reign as champion.

Along with Larry Holmes, Berbick is one of only two men in professional boxing history to have fought both Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson.

In 1991, he went to the UWFI in Japan to fight Nobuhiko Takada in a "boxer vs. wrestler" bout. Berbick claimed that he had been double-crossed and that he had expected the fight to be like American kickboxing, but it turned out that the rules allowed Takada to kick Berbick below the belt. Berbick refused to mount any offense, instead repeatedly complaining to the referee as Takada kicked him repeatedly in the legs. Takada claimed victory by default when Berbick exited the ring.^[1]

Afterwards, his career deteriorated further. He eventually fought his last bout in 2000 against Canadian journeyman Shane Sutcliffe, winning a 12-round unanimous decision. Afterwards, a CAT scan revealed a blood clot in his brain and his boxing license was revoked. His final professional record was 49 wins (33 by knockout), 11 losses, and 1 draw.

Outside the ring

Berbick was a preacher at the Moments of Miracles Pentecostal church in Las Vegas.

Troubles with the law

Berbick was arrested on a number of occasions throughout his life and was sentenced in Florida to 5 years in prison for sexually assaulting his children's babysitter in 1992. He served 15 months. In 1997, he violated his parole and was deported from the United States to Canada. Due to his legal issues, he also had problems staying in Canada, losing his landed immigrant status and being ordered back to Jamaica in 1999.^[2] Later in 1999 he won the right to remain in Canada.^[3]

Feud with Larry Holmes

Berbick had a well-publicized feud with Larry Holmes, whom he fought in the ring in 1981. Their feud culminated in a public confrontation and brawl in 1991, which was caught on tape. After a verbal altercation indoors, Berbick was outside complaining about being kicked and punched by Larry Holmes when Holmes climbed atop a parked car and launched himself at Berbick. The footage ends as the two are separated by police and others.^[4]

Retirement

He retired in Florida to be with his wife and four children (he had three children with his first wife in Montreal) and started to train boxers at Kenny Barrett's Gym in Tamarac, Florida. Berbick's problems escalated. He was again deported from the U.S. on December 2, 2002.

Murder

On October 28, 2006, Berbick was murdered at a church in Norwich, Jamaica by an assailant wielding a 2-inch-thick (51 mm) steel pipe. He suffered multiple blows to the head and died at the scene.^[5]

Police arrested two men, one of whom was Berbick's 20-year-old nephew Harold Berbick,^[6] in connection with the murder. They were interrogated at the Port Antonio police station in Portland as of early in the morning of October 29.^[7] Local residents indicated that the suspect was involved in a land dispute with Berbick.^[8] On November 3 it was reported that Berbick's nephew, 20-year-old Harold Berbick, and an unidentified 18-year-old man had been charged with his murder by Jamaican police.^[9] On December 20, 2007, Harold Berbick was found guilty of the murder of his uncle. His alleged accomplice, Kenton Gordon, was found guilty of manslaughter. Both were sentenced on January 11, 2008.^[10] Harold Berbick was sentenced to life in prison; Kenton Gordon was sentenced to fourteen years in prison.^[11] Trevor Berbick was buried at the Berbick Family Plot Norwich Portland, Jamaica.

Professional boxing record

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
61	Win	49–11–1	Shane Sutcliffe	UD	12	May 26, 2000	Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada	Retained Canada heavyweight title
60	Loss	48–11–1	Tony LaRosa	SD	8	Aug 12, 1999	Slave Lake, Alberta, Canada
59	Win	48–10–1	Iran Barkley	UD	8	Jun 29, 1999	Molson Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
58	Win	47–10–1	Shane Sutcliffe	TKO	12 (12), 0:44	Feb 5, 1999	Centre Pierre Charbonneau, Montreal, Quebec, Canada	Won Canada heavyweight title
57	Win	46–10–1	Ben Perlini	UD	10	Aug 6, 1998	Slave Lake, Alberta, Canada
56	Loss	45–10–1	Lyle McDowell	SD	12	Sep 15, 1997	Shaw Conference Centre, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada	For vacant IBO Inter-Continental heavyweight title
55	Loss	45–9–1	Hasim Rahman	UD	10	Oct 15, 1996	Circus Maximus Showroom, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
54	Win	45–8–1	Louis Monaco	UD	10	Sep 18, 1996	Westbury Music Fair, North Hempstead, New York, U.S.
53	Win	44–8–1	Ken Smith	TKO	4 (10), 1:05	Apr 26, 1996	Westbury Music Fair, North Hempstead, New York, U.S.
52	Win	43–8–1	Bruce Johnson	TKO	3 (10)	Aug 25, 1995	Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
51	Loss	42–8–1	Jimmy Thunder	UD	12	Mar 15, 1995	Mystic Lake Casino Hotel, Prior Lake, Minnesota, U.S.	For vacant WBC Continental Americas heavyweight title
50	Win	42–7–1	Melvin Foster	SD	10	Sep 13, 1994	Westbury Music Fair, North Hempstead, New York, U.S.
49	Win	41–7–1	Marselles Brown	KO	2 (10)	Aug 10, 1994	Lakefront Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
48	Win	40–7–1	Paul Phillips	KO	4 (10), 1:14	Jul 30, 1994	Myrl H. Shoemaker Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
47	Win	39–7–1	Danny Wofford	PTS	8	Mar 14, 1994	Spartanburg, South Carolina, U.S.
46	Win	38–7–1	Garing Lane	PTS	8	Aug 2, 1991	Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, Cannes, France
45	Win	37–7–1	Bobby Crabtree	KO	5 (10), 2:00	Dec 14, 1990	The Diplomat, Hollywood, Florida, U.S.
44	Win	36–7–1	Jeff Sims	TKO	6 (10), 2:15	Jul 18, 1990	Varsity Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
43	Loss	35–7–1	Buster Douglas	UD	10	Feb 25, 1989	Las Vegas Hilton, Winchester, Nevada, U.S.
42	Win	35–6–1	O T Davis	KO	3 (10)	Sep 20, 1988	Central Plaza Hotel, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.
41	Loss	34–6–1	Carl Williams	UD	12	Jun 27, 1988	Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.	For USBA heavyweight title
40	Win	34–5–1	Robert Evans	UD	10	Nov 24, 1987	Forum, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
39	Win	33–5–1	Lorenzo Boyd	TKO	3 (10), 1:48	Oct 29, 1987	Musical Theater, Sunrise, Florida, U.S.
38	Win	32–5–1	Art Terry	TKO	5 (10), 1:33	Jul 31, 1987	Lee County Civic Center, North Fort Myers, Florida, U.S.
37	Loss	31–5–1	Mike Tyson	TKO	2 (12), 2:35	Nov 22, 1986	Las Vegas Hilton, Winchester, Nevada, U.S.	Lost WBC heavyweight title
36	Win	31–4–1	Pinklon Thomas	UD	12	Mar 22, 1986	Riviera, Winchester, Nevada, U.S.	Won WBC heavyweight title
35	Win	30–4–1	Mike Perkins	TKO	10 (10)	Jan 17, 1986	Omni Coliseum, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
34	Win	29–4–1	Mitch Green	MD	12	Aug 10, 1985	Riviera, Winchester, Nevada, U.S.	Retained USBA heavyweight title
33	Win	28–4–1	David Bey	TKO	11 (12), 2:30	Jun 15, 1985	Riviera, Winchester, Nevada, U.S.	Won USBA heavyweight title
32	Win	27–4–1	Walter Santemore	UD	10	Nov 28, 1984	Broadway by the Bay Theater, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
31	Win	26–4–1	Andros Ernie Barr	TKO	4 (12)	Sep 1, 1984	Nassau, Bahamas	Retained Commonwealth heavyweight title
30	Win	25–4–1	Mark Lee	PTS	10	Mar 13, 1984	Wembley Arena, London, England
29	Win	24–4–1	Mike Cohen	KO	4 (10)	Feb 19, 1984	Hyatt Regency, Tampa, Florida, U.S.
28	Win	23–4–1	Ken Lakusta	KO	10 (12), 1:52	Sep 9, 1983	Edmonton, Alberta, Canada	Retained Commonwealth and Canada heavyweight titles
27	Loss	22–4–1	S. T. Gordon	UD	10	May 28, 1983	Showboat Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
26	Loss	22–3–1	Renaldo Snipes	UD	10	Oct 2, 1982	Sands, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
25	Win	22–2–1	Greg Page	UD	10	Jun 11, 1982	Caesars Palace, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
24	Win	21–2–1	Gordon Racette	TKO	11 (12)	Mar 5, 1982	Frank Crane Arena, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada	Retained Commonwealth and Canada heavyweight titles
23	Win	20–2–1	Muhammad Ali	UD	10	Dec 11, 1981	Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre, Nassau, Bahamas
22	Win	19–2–1	Conroy Nelson	KO	2 (15), 2:49	Jul 21, 1981	Metro Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada	Retained Canada heavyweight title; Won vacant Commonwealth heavyweight title
21	Loss	18–2–1	Larry Holmes	UD	15	Apr 11, 1981	Caesars Palace, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.	For WBC, The Ring, and lineal heavyweight titles
20	Win	18–1–1	Chuck Gardner	TKO	4 (10), 1:12	Jan 31, 1981	Kingston, Jamaica
19	Win	17–1–1	Chuck Findlay	KO	1 (10), 2:47	Nov 11, 1980	Metro Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
18	Win	16–1–1	Ron Rouselle	KO	1 (12), 0:33	Aug 27, 1980	Edmonton, Alberta, Canada	Retained Canada heavyweight title
17	Win	15–1–1	John Tate	KO	9 (10), 0:22	Jun 20, 1980	Olympic Stadium, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
16	Win	14–1–1	Johnny Warr	SD	10	Mar 11, 1980	Metro Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
15	Win	13–1–1	Ngozika Ekwelum	TKO	5 (10), 0:01	Dec 11, 1979	Metro Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
14	Draw	12–1–1	Leroy Caldwell	PTS	10	Jun 14, 1979	Convention Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
13	Win	12–1	Earl McLeay	TKO	7 (12), 2:07	May 26, 1979	Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada	Won vacant Canada heavyweight title
12	Loss	11–1	Bernardo Mercado	KO	1 (12), 2:55	Apr 3, 1979	Metro Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada	For vacant WBC Continental Americas heavyweight title
11	Win	11–0	Greg Sorrentino	TKO	1 (10), 1:27	Oct 8, 1978	Metro Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
10	Win	10–0	Gregory Johnson	KO	4 (10), 2:49	Sep 12, 1978	Metro Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
9	Win	9–0	Tony Moore	TKO	6 (10), 0:01	Aug 1, 1978	Metro Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
8	Win	8–0	Horst Geisler	KO	1 (10), 1:21	Jun 28, 1978	Metro Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
7	Win	7–0	Eugene Green	UD	10	Dec 8, 1977	Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
6	Win	6–0	Eddie Owens	TKO	5 (10), 2:34	Sep 8, 1977	Forum, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
5	Win	5–0	Willie Moore	KO	4 (10), 2:04	Aug 18, 1977	Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
4	Win	4–0	Joe Maye	TKO	7 (10), 2:50	Jan 25, 1977	Metro Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
3	Win	3–0	Michael Lucas	TKO	2 (6), 2:21	Jan 9, 1977	New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, Canada
2	Win	2–0	Bobby Halpern	TKO	3 (6), 2:05	Nov 23, 1976	Forum, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
1	Win	1–0	Wayne Martin	TKO	5 (6)	Sep 27, 1976	Festival Arena, Shediac, New Brunswick, Canada	Professional debut

Titles in boxing

References

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Trevor Berbick

• Professional boxing record for Trevor Berbick from BoxRec
• Sports Illustrated Obituary
• American Heritage on Trevor Berbick vs. Muhammad Ali