After looking for a state to sanction his comeback bout, Muhammad Ali and his promoter found one in the fall of 1981 in Nassau, the Bahamas.
His opponent would be Canadian heavyweight champion Trevor Berbick, who had battled Larry Holmes to a tough decision loss in April. Ali’s rationale was that if he beat a top contender like Berbick, he would earn another shot at a championship, and challenge WBA Mike Weaver for his belt, thus becoming the first 4-time heavyweight champion of the world.
Ali had trained as hard as he could at this point in his life, left sparring out of his training camp, and entered the fight with Berbick at 236 pounds, the heaviest of his career. After weighing only 217 lbs. for Holmes, he figured he needed the weight to last the full ten round distance. Trevor weighed in at a muscular 218 lbs, and was the favorite going in.
To see the fight, I had to order a fledgling satellite service called WHT. For $50, they came and installed a tiny antenna on your roof so you could watch the bout. You also got movies every evening for the monthly package, one I only intended to keep for one month.
I watched the fight on the color tv in my parent’s room, and the undercard was actually quite good. This would be the first time watching Ali as a full fledged boxing fan, and I was rooting him on. My dad joined me to watch the fight as round one began.
Muhammad looked far better than he had against Holmes 14 months earlier, and was landing jabs and combinations. Trevor was stronger, bullied Ali a lot and when the ten rounds were complete, the decision was announced for the younger Berbick.
I felt good about the whole thing, with Ali doing his very best
Muhammad announced his retirement in the ring, but I was glad he took his best shot and went out his way. December 11, 1981 will always stick out to me in my mind as the night the world saw Muhammad Ali in the ring for the very last time.
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