Ali & Tyson’s murdered rival

Trevor Berbick faced both Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson during his boxing career. He even held the world title for a short while. However, he is remembered for a different reason – and because of his tragic end.

He was the last opponent of the great Muhammad Ali and the springboard to fame for a young talent named Michael Gerard Tyson.

The former heavyweight world champion Trevor Berbick was, in a sense, the link between two generations of boxers and thus made sporting history. Yet Berbick’s personal story took a very ugly turn afterwards – and came to a tragic end 20 years ago today.

Trevor Berbick defeated the ageing Muhammad Ali

Berbick, who had suffered an early exit at the 1976 Montreal Olympics as a talented but inexperienced boxer, had moved to Canada after the Games and launched a successful professional career there; five years later came his first world title bout against a legend: Larry Holmes prevailed over 15 rounds in Las Vegas.

Eight months later, Berbick faced an Ali who was already well past his prime and was showing symptoms of Parkinson’s disease at the time. Berbick won on points in the Caribbean in a bout that was, not without reason, dubbed the ‘Drama in the Bahamas’.

Mike Tyson ends Berbick’s brief reign

In 1986 came his brief stint as world champion; following a points victory over Pinklon Thomas, he won the WBC title – which he relinquished after just one fight: Boxing prodigy Tyson gave Berbick no chance on his way to becoming the youngest heavyweight champion in history – a second-round knockout.

Although Berbick extended his career until the year 2000, the fight against Tyson was the last time he was seen competing at that level. Berbick retired at the age of 45 – by then, he had long since only been making headlines for the wrong reasons.

Prison sentence for rape

Much like his rival Tyson, Berbick was sent to prison in 1992 for rape. The man who had become a church preacher in the boxing mecca of Las Vegas had sexually assaulted his child’s babysitter.

Sentenced to five years’ imprisonment, he was released on parole after 15 months – only to face deportation to his former adopted home of Canada after breaching the terms of his parole. There, too, he faced legal trouble regarding his right of residence. After a lengthy back-and-forth, Berbick eventually returned to the USA – where he was once again deported in 2002.

A tragic end in his homeland

In his homeland of Jamaica, the life of this father of four came to an end on 28 October 2006: Berbick was bludgeoned to death with a steel pipe in a church in Norwich, Jamaica – by a member of his own family.

A 20-year-old nephew and an accomplice were convicted of murder and manslaughter respectively. This is said to have been preceded by a family dispute over land ownership.