Professional Career
After the 1976 Olympics Trevor Berbick, decided to end his amateur boxing career and start his professional boxing career. In this pursuit, he left Jamaica and settled in Canada. His earlier fights were around the area of Halifax where he fought numerous boxers, and won 11 fights, out of which ten were knockouts.
In 1977, he fought various boxers like Joe Maye, Willie Moore, Eddie Owens, and Eugene Green. All these fights were fought in Canada, and he managed to win them all.
From 1978 - 1980, he became a better fighter, and moved up in the league, whilst taking on the likes of boxers like John Tate, Gregory Johnson, Greg Sorrentino, Chuck Gardner, Chuck Findlay, and many more.
The first loss in his professional career came against Bernardo Mercado, on April 3, 1979. It was a knockout in the first round. As an amateur boxer Trevor Berbick had beaten Mercado, but failed to win in the professional league.
Trevor Berbick’s first big fight in the United States at ‘Caesar’s Palace’ was set on April 11, 1981 against Larry Holmes also known as the ‘Easton Assassin’. Berbick lost the fight against Larry Holmes in a 15-round unanimous decision.
After his loss with Holmes, ‘Sports International’ promoted a fight between Ali and Berbick. His biggest success happened, when he beat the greatest boxer of all-time Muhammad Ali, on December 11, 1981. This match was coined as ‘Drama in Bahama’ as it was fought at Nassau Bahamas, and ended with a score of 97-94 for him.
Trevor Berbick continued his winning streak from 1982 to 1986, where he fought the likes of Gordon Racette, Greg Page, Renaldo Snipes, S. T. Gordon, Ken Lakusta, Mike Cohen, Mark Lee, Andros Ernie Barr, Walter Santemore, David Bey, Mitch Green, and Mike Perkins, and won most of the fights.
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On March 22, 1986, he won the WBC world heavyweight title by defeating Pinklon Thomas in a 12-round unanimous decision.
Trevor Berbick's reign as WBC world heavyweight champion lasted just eight months and he lost the title to Mike Tyson on November 22, 1986 in a second round knockout..
After Berbick lost to Mike Tyson, he still continued to fight good contenders like Carl Williams, Buster Douglas, Melvin Foster, Jimmy Thunder, and Hasim Rahaman. With more wins, and few losses, his career came to an end on May 26, 2000, when he won his last fight against Shane Sutcliffe in Vancouver, Canada.
Trevor Berbick’s career ended in 2000 after he was diagnosed with a blood clot in his brain, and his boxing license was cancelled as well. He had started preaching at the ‘Moments of Miracles Pentecostal Church’ in Las Vegas after his career had ended.
Personal Life & Legacy
Trevor Berbick was married twice and had seven children namely Trevor Jr. Berbick, Jamaal Berbick, Quinn Berbick, Trisha Berbick, Nadia Berbick, Anita Berbick, and Shawn Berbick from both the marriages. One of his wives name was Nadene
He was sent to jail on account of sexual assault against his child’s babysitter in 1992.
He was deported from United States to Canada as he had violated his parole as well.
He was sent back to Jamaica following some issues in Canada in 1999, but later received permission to reside in Canada. He started training aspiring boxers at a Gym in Florida, but was again deported to Jamaica due to some problems.
After he moved to Jamaica in 2002, he was murdered by assailants on October 28, 2006 with a steel pipe. One of the assailants was his nephew Harold Berbick and the other was Kenton Gordon. Both the individuals were found guilty and sentenced on January 11, 2008. His nephew, Harold Berbick was given a life sentence, while Kenton Gordon was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Facts About Trevor Berbick
Berbick had a unique fighting style that combined power and agility, making him a formidable opponent in the ring.
Outside of boxing, Berbick was known for his love of music and was skilled at playing the steel drums.
Berbick was also a talented cricket player and enjoyed playing the sport in his free time.
Despite facing challenges in his career, Berbick remained dedicated to his training and continued to inspire younger boxers with his perseverance.
