Larry Holmes is one of the greatest and most respected heavyweight champions in history – so the sight of him destroying a rival by dashing over the roof of a car to deliver a WWE-style flying drop kick in a street fight remains one of the wildest sights in boxing.
Holmes, who made 20 heavyweight title defenses and fought everyone from Muhammad Ali to “Iron” Mike Tyson, was a smart, 6ft 3in in-ring technician with a mighty jab. Not the kind of man you would imagine storming across a limousine roof in a crisp white tracksuit, then lunging two-legged at Trevor Berbick — and making his way through like a dream combination of Eric Cantona and Macho Man Randy Savage cutting a horde of cops and onlookers.
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Holmes is a heavyweight legend and has shared the ring with the best too
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Holmes’ spearing left jab was a trademark throughout his career – but he also pulled off a nasty drop kick!
Besides the TV footage existing and amazingly lacking, only commentary is from Jim Ross (“As Gawd is my witness, Berbick broke in half”) and WWE boss Vince McMahon (“What a man- uh-var!”) is the finishing touch. But how on earth did two world heavyweight champions roll around in a parking lot in their street clothes in 1991?
The bad blood stretched back to when they met in the ring a decade ago. Undefeated world champion Holmes won a resounding 15-round decision at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, but Berbick – a huge pre-fight underdog – kept it competitive and surprised many by going the distance. He clamored for a rematch, but didn’t expect it to be a special, one-off parking lot fight 10 years later.
Holmes, who went 48-0 before ever facing defeat, was in comeback mode in 1991. He had lost his heavyweight crown to Michael Spinks in two close and controversial bouts and was then stopped by a 21-year-old Tyson. But even at the age of 41, Holmes was still in the tank and returned to winning ways by knocking out journeyman Tim Anderson in one lap.
Then came a post-fight press conference that was far more entertaining than this fight, when a sharply dressed Berbick interrupted matters — in true pro-wrestling fashion — to demand a rematch and bizarrely accuse Holmes of ruining his marriage to have him by having a call girl send him the night before they fought. With cameras rolling, Holmes – whose wife and children were at the event – understandably quickly left the stage, but Berbick stayed on to entertain the press.
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Berbick crashed Holmes’ press conference and then continued his verbal assault outside
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Outside, Holmes ran over the parked car and – WWE style – launched himself at his rival
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A scuffle ensued, and the police pulled apart the fighting heavyweights
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Cantona in 1995 had nothing to do with Holmes’ efforts a few years earlier
“If you want a street fight, I’ll break all his ribs,” Berbick yelled. “He used a sweetheart to mess up my whole married life! That’s why he doesn’t like me. Jenny from Jacksonville! I got proof and I got tapes… All the problems I have are because of him. My children suffer too.”
Berbick had briefly held a version of the world heavyweight title five years earlier, but lost it in two rounds to a 20-year-old “Iron Mike,” who famously stumbled around the ring in knee socks as he tried to regain his balance. Little did he know that Holmes – secretly furious at what had happened – was about to bring him down in arguably even more spectacular style.
When the television crew next caught up with Berbick, he was in the parking lot, his suit much more disheveled, and surrounded by cops, charging Holmes with assault. “Everyone saw him kicking and hitting me!” he yelled. “Larry Holmes kicked and punched me.” But there was no evidence, and Holmes almost got away with the perfect crime — except that the “Easton Assassin” chose that exact moment for the ultimate sneak attack: run over an entire stretch limousine before he got one Air raid in honestly heroic style launched for a man in his forties.
The only thing missing was Jacksonville’s Jenny as his glamorous valet and leisure suit Larry, who hooked the leg as he pinned Berbick to the pavement for the three-pointer. Instead, police and screaming onlookers fought to separate the couple. When it was over, Berbick’s suit looked more than ready for dry cleaning – although, remarkably, no arrests were made or charges filed. Perhaps the police officers watching just assumed they had hallucinated the whole thing.
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Berbick lost his heavyweight title to a young Tyson, who became the youngest champion in division history in 1986
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Holmes was a huge favorite prior to his in-ring bout with Berbick in 1981 and had no problems with him
You could say it was uncharacteristic of Holmes, who had the misfortune to follow in Ali’s footsteps (who had used young Larry as a sparring partner early in his career) as a heavyweight champion. Holmes reportedly wept after defeating a 38-year-old, damaged version of Ali in 1980 – but the public saw him as a sullen, no-nonsense champion; a stopgap between the charismatic, stunning Ali and the brooding menace of Tyson.
That feeling of being undervalued gave Holmes a bitter note he never lost, and helps explain why one of the more intellectual heavyweights would leap over a car roof to lift an ex-opponent into the air. There certainly wasn’t an apology. “I didn’t like him,” Holmes said years later. “He was just arrogant – no respect; no respect for my wife and family, my friends or anyone.
“I was a better boxer than him and my personality was better than his. So he wanted to be silly and I was silly with him, which I shouldn’t have done.”
Holmes fought on for 11 more years after his street fight with Berbick, losing on points in World Championship challenges to Evander Holyfield and Oliver McCall, but had enough seasoned intelligence to pull off a few upsets and beat the likes of Ray Mercer. His last fight came in 2001 when the 52-year-old took on the so-called king of four-fighters Eric ‘Butterbean’ Esch and passed him over 10 laps. After 75 fights in 29 years only Tyson could stop Holmes.
Berbick tragically passed away at the same age when Holmes eventually retired, the 52-year-old who was murdered by his own nephew in his native Jamaica in 2006. Yet for a heavyweight titleholder whose reign lasted just eight months, Berbick had unique career moments. He was the last man to defeat Ali in a sad spectacle in 1981, he was the opponent when Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion in 1986, and his feud with Holmes has – not least – spawned one of the most amazing, unforgettable street brawls that the boxing has ever seen.
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