
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, April 9, 1991                   TAG: 9104090209
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B-5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

HOLMES DECKS BERBICK IN STREET BRAWL

At Hollywood, Fla., Larry Holmes' comeback bout was not much to speak of, but the brawl that followed was another story.

Holmes and Trevor Berbick engaged in a bizarre street fight in front of the Diplomat Hotel shortly after Holmes, 41, knocked out Tim "Doc" Anderson 2 minutes 3 seconds into the first round Sunday night.

The brawl, which spilled onto South Ocean Drive, a main thoroughfare also known as A1A, was triggered by remarks the fighters made at the news conference after the Holmes-Anderson bout.

Holmes was asked whether he would consider Berbick as a future opponent. With Berbick in the audience, Holmes said he would not fight him.

"I don't like his attitude," said Holmes, who, like Berbick, is a former world heavyweight champion.

Berbick, in a suit and tie, said nothing until Holmes left the news conference. He then began a loud, rambling discourse in which he accused Holmes of using a female friend he identified as "Jenny from Jacksonville" to subvert the Berbicks' marriage.

According to Hank Kaplan, a boxing historian and longtime friend of Berbick's, Berbick and his wife, Nadine, have been separated since last year. The Berbicks have four children.

Holmes, who lives in Easton, Pa., with his wife, Diane, and two children - all of who attended Sunday's fight - also owns a waterfront home in Jacksonville, Fla.

"He used his sweetheart to mess up my married life!" Berbick shouted. "Jenny from Jacksonville. I got proof and tapes. All the problems I have are through him. My kids are suffering, too."

Soon after, Todd Neidorf, a publicist for the Holmes-Anderson bout, went to get Holmes for a television interview. But before he could reach Holmes' suite at the Diplomat, a grim-faced Holmes was moving purposefully past him to the elevator, intent on getting his hands on Berbick.

Holmes spotted Berbick in front of the hotel.

"Larry Holmes came rushing out," said Victor Stephenson, a valet parking employee for the hotel. "He kicked and punched Berbick and Berbick ran out onto the street. Larry Holmes kept kicking and punching him."

Police separated the two men.

As word of the brawl got back to the press room at the Diplomat, members of the media raced through the hotel lobby and out the front door, where Berbick was shouting to the crowd, "Larry Holmes punched me. Everybody saw him kick and punch me."

Moments later, Holmes ran across the tops of two parked cars and leaped onto Berbick, knocked him down and pummeled him until the police again broke up the fight.

There were no arrests.

by CNB