This article is one piece of an ongoing effort by MixedMartialArts.com to understand what really works in martial arts. The focus is not on what happens in the arena, but rather on what happens on the street. Please check out more stories on:
1. Martial Arts on The Street
2. Boxing
3. Style vs. Style
On a wild night in Florida back in April of 1991, Hall-Of-Fame heavyweight boxer Larry Holmes not only made a successful comeback from retirement, but also got involved in a crazy street fight with another former champion, Trevor Burbick.
Holmes had hung up his gloves following a TKO loss to Mike Tyson in 1988, but felt he still had unfinished business in the ring, which led to him fighting that night at the Diplomat Hotel against Tim Anderson. A multiple-time world champion, Holmes proved far too much for Anderson to handle, taking him out with body shots and a right hook just two minutes into the first round, earning a TKO victory, and extending his career record to 49-3.
However, more action was still to come.
Trevor Berbick, a former opponent of Holmes, showed up at the post-fight press conference looking to stir the pot. After Holmes left to conduct a TV interview, Berbick (who’d lost to Holmes by unanimous decision in a WBC title fight 10 years prior), claimed to the media that the boxer had been involved in the break-up of his marriage.
When word reached Holmes about what Berbick had said, “The Easton Assassin” immediately went looking for him, eventually finding his old foe at the front of the hotel. According to eyewitnesses, Holmes rushed in and began punching and kicking Berbick. The fight then spilled onto the street, with Holmes still on the attack.
Word of the fight soon spread and the media flooded outside to record what was happening. A crowd gathered around Berbick who was telling the police and reporters that Holmes had just assaulted him.
At that moment Holmes suddenly reappeared, running across two nearby cars, and then side kicking his rival and continuing the attack until police separated the two.
There is some dispute about the exact nature of the attack, with some calling it a drop kick, and others a side kick. Could have been an Atomic Butt Drop. Butt whipping sums it up.
The Aftermath
Despite the violence, the latter part of which was caught on tape and witnessed by many onlookers, police made no arrests and the two men went their separate ways. “A Current Affair” covered the fracas in some detail; if you’re interested, click here.
As it turned out a rematch in the ring between Holmes and Berbick never materialized despite the bad blood between them, though both would continue to compete in the ring for many years after this infamous altercation.
In 2006, Berbick was murdered with a length of pipe, wielded by his nephew. Holmes’ comment was, “God don’t like ugly. … Let me forget about that guy, because it’s a sore subject. His soul is resting. I don’t know if it’s in peace or not, but his soul is resting.”
Unlike so many fighters, Holmes wisely invested his money, and is today a multimillionaire, and beloved figure in Easton, Pennsylvania.
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