Boxing Obituary: Trevor Berbick 8/1/54 – 10/28/06

Famous For All The Wrong Reasons

It has been reported that in rural Jamaica, former WBC Heavyweight Champion Trevor Berbick was found dead in a church courtyard early Saturday morning with contusions to the head that match up with that of a large knife or machete.

In a way, it is odd that the former champion should be found dead in such a place as the outer surroundings of a church. In life, Berbick himself was not a man known for his good deeds. In fact, outside the ring he was more famous for his law breaking ways and it was this brutish attitude that gained him attention. In the ring, he may be more known for his biggest loss than any of his wins.

Berbick, who was born in Jamaica, had become a citizen of Canada and spent a large part of his life there before being deported back to Jamaica (for the second time) some years ago. He fought on the 1976 Olympic team and held several minor pro titles during his career. Among those belts were Several Canadian title reigns, the USBA crown and the Commonwealth title.

His most significant accomplishment was one that ended quickly. He defeated Pinklon Thomas in March, 1986 to become the WBC World Heavyweight Champion but in his first defense, he lost it Mike Tyson in only two rounds.

After getting up from the first knockdown in round two, Berbick went down again this time to fall twice more when trying to get up from the same punch. In that fight, Tyson made history by becoming the youngest heavyweight champion and a few years later, Trevor started his downward spiral.

In 1991, Berbick started his shame by holding a gun to his business managers head, claiming that she was robbing him blind. In 1992, he was convicted of raping the family babysitter and forging his wife’s name to take a mortgage out on their home. It was behavior like this that ruined Trevor’s life.

When he made his return to the ring some years after his troubles with the law, Trevor was never half the athlete he was prior to his incarceration. He had mixed successes in the later years of his career and retired for good in 2000.

The story of Trevor Berbick is another classic tale in our sport. A man who could not deal with the success and failures in his professional or personal life. One who always thought that his career would once again flourish and when it didn’t, he self destructed from the inside out.

The truth is that I really don’t know much more about Berbick than the average fan. He was never press friendly, nor did he make himself accessible to those in the public. Despite that, he was and is a part of our sports’ history.

It is sad that yet another man with all the potential in the world threw it all away once things didn’t go right. He had the potential to be and accomplish so much more not only in the sport but also in his life. Instead, he chose to become famous for all the wrong reasons.