Posted on 12/28/2007 11:55:02 PM PST by LibWhacker
KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) -- A nephew of Trevor Berbick has been convicted along with another man of killing the 54-year-old former heavyweight champion.
A jury Thursday found 21-year-old Harold Berbick guilty of murder and 19-year-old Kenton Gordon guilty of manslaughter in the death of the former boxer.
The judge ordered both men jailed pending their Jan. 11 sentencing.
Authorities said the nephew and Gordon beat Berbick to death in October 2006, leaving his body in a church courtyard in Portland. Harold Berbick had been involved in a land dispute with his uncle.
Trevor Berbick was the last fighter to face Muhammad Ali in the ring and briefly held the WBC heavyweight title before losing it to Mike Tyson in 1986.
Berbick fought from 1976 to 2000, finishing with a record of 50-11 with one draw and 33 knockouts. He later had legal problems, including convictions for sexual assault, grand theft and burglary, that led to his being deported from the United States to his native Jamaica.
Convictions of sexual assault? Why wasn’t he in prison?
“From his early life until his remaining moments, Berbick was actively involved in the church. He was a preacher at the Moments of Miracles Pentecostal church in Las Vegas while he was a fighter and was killed in a church courtyard in 2006.
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 (he served only 15 months) for sexually assaulting his children’s babysitter in 1992 [2]. In 1997, he violated his parole and was ordered to be deported from the United States.
Feud with Larry Holmes
One of the more memorable sports events in Berbick’s life was his well publicized feud with Holmes, whom he fought in 1981. Their feud culminated in a public brawl in 1991 which was caught on tape (see link below) in which Larry Holmes landed a flying drop kick on Berbick off the hood of a car while Berbick was being escorted by police.[3].
(> Wikipedia)
I didn’t even know he was dead. I remember when Mike Tyson knocked Berbick down three times with one punch. :)
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