The . You have the wake and then the funeral, but this fight was like the headstone dedication, he said. If nothing else, Ali could be proud that he earned the privilege of ending this fight on his feet instead of on his stool. Berbick (left) stood up to Larry Holmes rocket left jab for 15 rounds. Berbick lost a title fight to Larry Holmes by unanimous decision in 1981. Berbick had said before the fight that if Ali was hurt, he would let up on him. In fact, his loss to Tyson seemed to mark a grim turning point. A year later, Randy Turpin, who famously beat Sugar Ray Robinson, committed suicide after being declared bankrupt. Cornelius persisted, and eventually he found a place willing to stage an Ali fight. Failed to delete memorial. Police have arrested a man and were interrogating him at the Port Antonio police station in Portland, Const. Not only was Alis speech slurred and gravelly, his movement and general coordination had decayed and, without the aid of the Thyrolar that helped him shed more than 30 pounds in less than two months before the Holmes fight, his physique had the thickness and softness expected of someone five weeks short of 40. Are you sure that you want to delete this memorial? Careening around a ring that seemed more like the playfield of a pinball machine designed by Playmatic or Bally Midway Night Rider, say, or Moon Flight seemed to shatter his already frail psyche. The following is an excerpt from Muhammad Ali: By the Numbers co-written by CompuBox founder and president Bob Canobbio and punch-counter/historian Lee Groves. There is a problem with your email/password. Six months later, on April 7, 1991, Berbick took part in a fracas with Larry Holmes that epitomised his now-disordered life. According to Nack, Ali, wearing a rubber corset, walked more than he ran during roadwork, shadowboxed listlessly, then climbed into a waiting limousine that took him back to his hotel. After his release, Berbick returned to the ring in the mid-1990s and only a failed CAT Scan in 2000 kept Berbick from continuing his farcical career into his fifties. Following the Ali bout, Berbick went on to win 10 of his next 12 fights, earning him a shot at Pinklon Thomas WBC heavyweight title in March 1986. San Jose, CA 95112. Obituaries Funeral Homes Newspapers Send Flowers News & Advice Memorials. He said he wouldnt step it up on Ali like Holmes did., Holmes punished Ali heavily in October 1980. It . That realization hit hard and the emotions enveloping the room were raw and real. I ended up beating the All-Marine heavyweight champ and winning the service tournament. He won thrice in London (KO 5, KO 6 versus Henry Cooper, KO 3 Brian London), four times elsewhere in Europe (KO 12 Karl Mildenberger, KO 7 Juergen Blin, KO 11 Al Blue Lewis, KO 5 Richard Dunn), four times in Asia (W 15 Mac Foster, W 12 Rudi Lubbers, W 15 Joe Bugner II, KO 14 Joe Frazier III), three times elsewhere in North America (W 15, W 12 George Chuvalo II, KO 5 Jean-Pierre Coopman) and once in Africa (KO 8 George Foreman) before losing to Berbick in the Bahamas. These extracurricular pursuits distracted him right up to the day of the fight, when he could be found in the lobby of the Riviera Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, hawking cassette tapes of a song he had recorded in hopes of landing a major label contract. (7). He won the title via unanimous decision but wouldnt hold onto it for very long. But in the fall of 1981 rumors of yet another Ali comeback began to stir. Because of me, Ali said, the whole world watches boxing now. (11), Years into his retirement, Ali gets ready to participate as a guest referee in the inaugural Wrestlemania at Madison Square Garden in 1985. The accuser claimed that Berbick had driven to her apartment in Miami (FL) on Halloween in 1991 to pay her for her services but then physically assaulted her, ripped off her clothing, and then raped her. We all grow old. (10). The press conference was actually on my floor where I was staying. Wide-eyed, groggy, and surprised, Berbick took the mandatory-eight from Referee Mills Lane, and when the fight resumed, he braced himself for the worst. Even before the end of round one, blow-by-blow commentator Don Dunphy declared the first a very good round for Ali, and he was right. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. More in News . The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Berbick's body was discovered about 6:30 a.m. in his hometown parish of Portland, constable Beverly Howell said. An email has been sent to the person who requested the photo informing them that you have fulfilled their request, There is an open photo request for this memorial. According to Sports Illustrated, Ali's purse was $1.1 million and Berbick's was $350,000. A crowd of more than 10,000 horrified fans gathered at the Halifax Metro Centre on April 3, 1979, to see Berbick plunge to the canvas, unconscious, after absorbing a booming overhand to the jaw in the first round. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request. For his part, Berbick out-landed Ali 22-16 overall and landed 19 of his 38 power shots (50%) to Alis 5 of 13 (39%). Directions. For $2.1m, Berbick signed a contract that put the entire blood sport concept of risk-and-reward in stark context: he agreed to defend his WBC title against the rampaging terror, Mike Tyson. Not only did Berbicks legs stand up to Holmes bombs for 15 rounds, he stood up to Holmes himself by spewing taunts throughout the early rounds before The Easton Assassin pulled away in the championship rounds. While Ali historically had done well against aggressors, Berbicks persistent smashmouth style was not what Ali needed at this stage of his life. Hes one of just two boxers to fight both Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson, the other being Larry Holmes, and was a big part of an often-overlooked era in the sport in the early 1980s. In a closely contested fight, Berbick was able to narrowly earn the victory by unanimous decision to capture his first major heavyweight title. God raised me up for a purpose! After this fight a CAT scan revealed a blood clot on Berbick's brain, and his boxing license was revoked. Unfortunately, thats not his only connection to Iron Mike. In 1984, he moved to Florida and signed with promoter Don King. Berbick drove Ali toward the ropes with a series of heavy body shots, then maintained the pressure as Ali desperately tried to fend him off with clinches and the Rope-a-Dope. The crowd tried to spark Ali with Ali, bomaye chants but even the ghosts of Kinshasa couldnt regenerate the Ali of old. As Berbick pounded away, Ali dug into that bag of tricks by widening his eyes and opening his mouth in mock duress. But another legal mishap occurred and Trevor Berbick was once again deported from the U.S. in 2002 and returned to Jamaica. Your Scrapbook is currently empty. Berbick (left) stood up to Larry Holmes rocket left jab for 15 rounds. They spoke for themselves, they fought for themselves and the fans who paid to see them, and they fought for the sport that gave them a chance to build new lives. Rounds five, six and seven delivered a sobering and punishing message to Ali while allowing Berbick to separate himself on the scorecards and the statistics. Audience Relations, CBC P.O. The overriding theme of it, being a young kid, was, this is something Im never going to forget, this is something I probably dont deserve to be at, and this is the end of the greatest athlete in the history of the world. . Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried. Trevor Berbick was the last fighter to face Muhammad Ali in the ring. Photo by Focus on Sport/ Getty Images. Fittingly, for Berbick, at least, the HBO card was billed Judgment Day. Without the mobility of a James Tillis or Mitch Green, the only men to have gone the distance with Tyson in 27 starts, Berbick would be more than just the 3/1 underdog looking for the upset: he would be the sporting equivalent of a ritual sacrifice. Often in trouble with the law, he once spent 15 months in prison for rape. His future, like that of so many of his contemporaries, would include drugs, prison, privation, early death. Resend Activation Email. or redistributed. There, while Holmes celebrated his kayo win, stood an impassive Trevor Berbick. He was a heavyweight world champion. The email does not appear to be a valid email address. Berbick, always a rebel at heart, had other things in mind. Standing 6-foot-2 and scaling a solid 218 pounds, the Canadian and Commonwealth heavyweight titlist used his broad shoulders to burrow inside and clubbing blows that crushed inferior opponents and wore down the better ones. But what most people might not know is that just two weeks later, Trevor Berbick was convicted of rape as well. But there was also a dark side to Trevor Berbick. Photo by Focus on Sport/ Getty Images. Recently, he had been coaching boxing at clinics in Trinidad. Trevor Berbick, boxer: born Port Antonio, Jamaica 1 August 1954; twice married (six children); died Norwich, Jamaica 28 October 2006. Are you sure that you want to remove this flower? He also was convicted in 1992 of second-degree grand theft for forging his ex-wife's signature to get a mortgage on a home. This was about Ali. Berbick made his professional boxing debut at the age of 22 on September 27, 1976. He went to Canada, where he lived for a time following the 1976 Olympics. After all, Berbick would steer himself back home to peruse his dog-eared bible after training sessions, break out into impromptu hymns, and spend most of his Sundays at church, where he would often preach, energetically, at the pulpit. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. Police have arrested a man and were interrogating him at the Port Antonio police station in Portland, Constable Sheldon Francis said. A system error has occurred. Market data provided by Factset. In December 1991, Berbick was charged with grand theft and mortgage fraud, just a few days before he lost a farcical boxer-wrestler match to Nobuhiko Takada in Japan. In 1991, Berbick was convicted of misdemeanor assault for attacking his former business manager, who testified the boxer put a gun to her head and accused her of stealing money from him. A jury Thursday found Harold Berbick, 21, guilty of murder and Kenton Gordon, 19, guilty of manslaughter in the death of Berbick, who was 54. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. His body was found at the weekend in a pool of blood near his Port Antonio home. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Family members linked to this person will appear here. Learn more about merges. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. There Berbick worked at a variety of jobs to make ends meet. Berbick vaulted to world prominence with a stunning ninth-round KO of former WBA titlist John Tate on the Roberto Duran-Sugar Ray Leonard I Brawl in Montreal card in June 1980, and since then he had gone 4-1 with four early-round knockouts, the most recent of which was a two-rounder against Conroy Nelson in July. or don't show this againI am good at figuring things out. Berbick, a 27-year-old Jamaican fighting out of Canada, was rated fourth by the WBA and sported a 19-2-1 record that included 17 knockouts. He was a strong puncher who moved well and had the potential to be a lasting force in the heavyweight division before the emergence of Tyson. Photo by The Ring/ Getty Images. Berbick served a combined 15 months for both convictions and was ordered deported back to Jamaica. There are no volunteers for this cemetery. Thanks to the extraordinary access he had granted them, they not only knew Ali as a legendary athlete but also as a human being who experienced the full range of emotions and shared most of them with them. Ali went through hell in his final professional round as Berbick, showing no mercy, threw 100 punches in round ten (86 of which were power punches), the most by an Ali opponent among fights counted. In no time, Larry Holmes returned to the lobby and pummelled Berbick through the doors of the Diplomat and into the parking lot, where, for the moment, at least, the commotion was over. The statistics backed up the judges while also delivering a brutally honest assessment. I dont know that we necessarily knew at that point, as Ali was retiring, that it was going to be as great a period as it was, but in fact, the era was in very good hands and didnt need Ali at that point. Try again later. In 1997, after he had resumed his boxing career, Berbick was found guilty of violating his parole and deported from the U.S. to Canada. cemeteries found in Norwich, Portland, Jamaica will be saved to your photo volunteer list. Ali had carried boxing in America, almost-singlehandedly, in the 1970s but the early 1980s was a great time. You can always change this later in your Account settings. Even when Holmes, from the dais, insulted him, Berbick remained motionless. The former fighter, believed to be 52, was pronounced dead by a doctor in the church courtyard. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you. Alis reflexes are gone, Dunphy declared as round two began its final minute. Berbicks late rally overcame Alis early surge as he out-landed the legend 22-17 despite being out-thrown 59-56 and forged a huge 18-6 lead in landed power shots. Berbick, who claimed that the incident was consensual, was sentenced to five years in prison but served just 15 months. That lead to Nadine initiating divorce proceedings. He knows what to do but he cant do it. Then, ever the hopeful soul, Dunphy added, at least he cant up to now. His right hands, once crisp and stinging, lacked speed and were occasionally delivered with an awkward downward chop. I dont know if that was the feeling after the Holmes fight probably it was, he took such a beating in that fight everybody figured there wouldnt be any more but this time everybody knew there would be no more. Thanks to the gold medalists savant-like skills in terms of self-marketing he revived his sport in a way few others had and the results spoke for themselves. Trevor Berbick - Professional Boxing Record Professional Boxing Record Read more about this topic: Trevor Berbick Famous quotes containing the words professional, boxing and/or record: " In European thought in general, as contrasted with American, vigor, life and originality have a kind of easy, professional utterance. All rights reserved. Im not crazy. This flower has been reported and will not be visible while under review. He fought in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, and stayed there to turn professional, winning his first 11 fights (10 by knockout) before losing for the first time to Bernardo Mercado in 1979. 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From now on, it would be one calamity after another, a seemingly endless series of tribulations. Eventually, Berbick spent 15 months in prison. This is a carousel with slides. No animated GIFs, photos with additional graphics (borders, embellishments. (5), For a fight of this magnitude, this tops it all, Eddie Futch, who guided Pete McIntyre to a 10-round decision win over Mike Fisher, told the New York Times George Vescey. Berbick fought from 1976 to 2000, finishing with a 50-11-1 record, including 33 knockouts. Long before George Foreman made his miraculous return in the late 1980s, Trevor Berbick had been billed as The Fighting Preacher. He had even become an ordained minister at the Moments of Miracles Tabernacle in Nevada. Harold Berbick had been involved in a land dispute with his uncle. In his very first title defense exactly eight months later, he was viciously knocked out in the second round by 20-year-old Mike Tyson, who became the youngest heavyweight champion in history.
