RIP Trevor Berbick

98 percent of us will die at some point in our lives. </Ricky Bobby>

 

Hopefully it won't happen until after we turn 52, at least.

 

No, that was Renaldo "Mr." Snipes who decked Holmes with a right in the seventh round of their fight in Pittsburgh. Holmes stopped Snipes in the 11th.

 

Berbick was the first challenger to go the distance against Larry Holmes (after Holmes won the WBC title against Ken Norton).
He first made his mark when he defeated John Tate in Montreal on the Leonard/Duran undercard.

 

He may have succeeded George Chuvalo as Canadian heavyweight champion, but I don't know if the two ever fought each other. I think Chuvalo vacated the title by retiring.

 

Mr J,

Actually, I'm not sure Chuvalo has officially retired yet.

My favorite Canadian heavyweight: a guy who boxed with the handle "Him."

So help me. Always hoped his wife came to the fights (then on CityTV). Would she have gone by Her or Mrs. Him ... the latter almost makes me teary.

Berbick's place among Canadian heavyweights ... behind Chuvalo, Tommy Burns, Robert Cleroux and Kitchener's own Lennox Lewis, but ahead of Razor Ruddock, Pretty Boy Felstein, Willie DeWit and Him.

YHS, etc

 

Am I imagining this, or was there a Canadian boxer in the late '70s/early '80s who went by the name Mack Truck?

I forget what weight class he was in, but as a kid I remember seeing his name in the paper and wondering who would name themselves that.

Boxing promoter's dream: a fight between Mack Truck and Peter Bilt. Yes?

 

Mr. Friend O'

You forgot Ken Lakusta and Earl Walls.

I wouldn't put Berbick ahead of Ruddock, who was a guy few wanted to tangle with back in the day) and have no idea how little Tommy Burns (the little lacrosse player from Hanover as Milt Dunnell always described him) would have fared against some of these guys. Mind you, it took a guy like Jack Johnson to take his title.

 

Mr Huggy,

The list of RR's memorable victories is ... uh, Mike Weaver, then 40 or something. And it was close.

We only give pts for wins. RR gets no pts for losses to Tyson or getting zotzed by Lewis.

I didn't forget Ken Lakusta. He's no Him. Earl Walls would be there. My error. Second group, would be in there. Baldy Chard would be too if it was bare-knuckles street fighting. (Former Canadian amateur champ. later Toronto's most famous bouncer, once matched with a heavyweight contender in a back-alley bare-knuckles street fight on the 1950s equivalent of PPV)

YHS, etc

 

Mr. Friend O'

Ruddock almost killed Michael Dokes at MSG. Good point about his losses being bigger than his wins. Can't believe a guy that went toe-to-toe with Tyson for 19 rounds (and got fucked in the first fight by an awful stoppage by Richard Steele) packed it in so easily against Lewis.

My old man knew Baldy Chard a little bit and he talked about that fight. Wasn't James J. Parker the other party?

 

Not quite everywhere. It's been a long, strange trip. And, I might be moving on to my next place soon.

 

Mr Huggy,

Re RR's quality victory: Dokes was coke-addled at that point. He hadn't beaten a live fighter for some time before and never after.

Right with the James J Parker call. I actually worked at the liquor store on Parliament where Mr Chard and his sons stocked up for their all-night booze can. Drank there on several occasions with Regent Park socialites.

YHS, etc