HBO’s Larry Merchant interviews notorious promoter Don King regarding the threat by heavyweight boxer Trevor Berbick to back out of his December 11, 1981 bout with Muhammad Ali….despite pleas from Angelo Dundee and the rest of Ali’s camp to definitively retire after the beating he took from Larry Holmes in his previous fight….but this fight almost never came to pass…..as the day of the fight….Berbick announced that he would not enter the ring until Don King agreed to pay him more money….after learning how much Ali was to make.
This interview reveals that both promoter Don King and HBO Sports….who were covering the fight live….had no idea if Berbick would even show up…..as he arrived at the Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre in Nassau, Bahamas only 20 minutes before the fight was to begin.
The Drama In The Bahamas did finally take place as scheduled….when Trevor Berbick won an unanimous decision over The Greatest….when along with Larry Holmes….Berbick is one of only two men in professional boxing history to have fought both Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson….and as seen in this video herewith….promoter Don King was not quite sure that the fight would actually come off as planned.
