Garwin Davis, Gleaner Writer

OCHO RIOS, St. Ann:

The international sporting community has expressed both sadness and outrage at last Saturdays' brutal killing of Trevor Berbick, with many calling the former champion's death "a sad loss to boxing."

"I am stunned to say the least," said Maurice Neira, a Florida-based screenwriter and videographer who only three weeks ago did a video shoot with Berbick in Port Antonio. "He was so excited about the possibility of having a documentary done on his life. He wanted the world to know about the life and time of Trevor Berbick, his trials and tribulations."

Mr. Neira said he would be going "full speed ahead" with the Berbick documentary, adding that the former heavyweight champion's story was a scriptwriter's dream.

"Berbick will however be known as the last boxer to fight and beat the man who is widely considered as the greatest athlete of the 20th century - Muhammad Ali," he added. "He was also the man who Mike Tyson defeated to become the youngest heavyweight champion in boxing history. It is a case of wherever Ali and Tyson go in boxing history, Berbick will forever be linked to those two great champions."

CNN and ESPN, two major United States-based international networks, have also been closely following the Berbick story. Jamie Morrison, of CNN Sports, has expressed shock while Rick Morris of ESPN said he wasn't even aware that Berbick was in Jamaica.

"This is indeed very sad; he certainly did not deserve to go out like this," he said.

George Spaulding, a boyhood friend of the former champion who now resides in Hendersonville, North Carolina, called the killing tragic and added that "this can't look good for Jamaica and the Norwich community".

Allan Smithson a travel operator for Prime Time Travel Agency out of Vero Beach, Florida, said the Berbick killing was another sad blow for Jamaica's tourism.

"Anyway, you want to look at this, this will be bad for tourism," he said. "We have been having a difficult time selling Jamaica as it is, with all the reports of other killings. A killing of this magnitude, involving a former world champion and international celebrity can only make it worse."