THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
KINGSTON, Jamaica — The nephew of Trevor Berbick has been convicted along with another man of killing the 54-year-old former world and Canadian heavyweight boxing 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 following a four-week trial.
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.
Berbick, who fought for Jamaica at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, became a landed Canadian immigrant in 1979 shortly after beginning his pro boxing career while living in Halifax.
He quickly won the Canadian heavyweight title, then moved to south Florida in the early 1980s just as his career was taking off. Taylor Gordon, a former head coach of Canada’s Olympic boxing team, trained with Berbick before he left for the U.S.
In 1981, Berbick beat an aging Muhammad Ali in the final fight of the boxing legend’s career, then in 1986 won the WBC heavyweight title on a decision over Pinklon Thomas.
Eight months later in Las Vegas, Berbick lost the title to a 20-year-old Mike Tyson, who became the youngest heavyweight champion in history.
Berbick fought from 1976 to 2000, finishing with a 50-11-1 record, including 33 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.
Berbick beat such fighters as Iran Barkley, Greg Page and John Tate. Among his losses were those to Buster Douglas, Renaldo Snipes and Larry Holmes.
Berbick’s legal problems began as his boxing career began to wane.
In 1991, he was convicted of misdemeanour assault for attacking his former business manager, who testified the boxer put a gun to her head and accused her of stealing US$40,000 from him.
The following year, he was convicted of raping a 16-year-old Florida babysitter and was sentenced to four years in prison. He was also convicted of second-degree grand theft for forging his ex-wife’s signature to get a $95,000 mortgage on his Miramar, Fla., home.
He served 15 months on those convictions and on his release from prison was ordered deported to his native Jamaica.
But before he could be removed, Berbick fled the state and slipped into Canada, moving to Montreal — in an unsuccessful attempt to resurrect his boxing career — and later B.C.
At some point, Berbick left B.C. and returned to Florida, where a warrant had been issued for his arrest. He was deported by the U.S. to Jamaica in 2002.