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Boxing Champ, Kevin Berbick, Killed in Jamaica

51 year old Trevor Berbick, who was better known for being the last boxer to fight legend, Muhammed Ali, was killed in Norwich, Jamaica and local police suspect that he was murdered. Berbick?s body was found in a church, 90 miles out of Kingston and police say that an assailant, armed with a hatchet put an end to his life.

Berbick was a powerful heavyweight fighter who represented Jamaica in the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal. In 1979, after winning 11 bouts, Berbick lost to up and coming boxing star, Bernardo Mercerdo. In April of 1981, Bernick secured a world title shot in a tight match against Larry Holmes. After 15 rounds, Holmes was unanimously declared champion. In December of that same year, in a game held in the Bahamas, Berbick and Muhammed Ali fought 10 rounds before Berbick put an end to Ali?s boxing career.

In 1986, five years after his defeat to Holmes, Trevor Berbick beat Pincklon Thomas and won the WBC version of the heavyweight belt. However, his title was short-lived as, only eight months later, he lost his first defense to Mike Tyson. Berbick continued boxing for another 14 years before his license was revoked in 2000, after a CAT scan showed a blood clot in his brain. Berbick had several convictions in the US, which eventually led him to be deported in 2002 back to his native Jamaica.