Former Champion Trevor Berbick Arrested on Charge of Sexual Battery

MIRAMAR, Fla. —  Former heavyweight champion Trevor Berbick was arrested Tuesday and jailed on a sexual battery charge in the alleged assault of a baby-sitter last October, police said.

Berbick denied the allegation as he was led to the Broward County Jail in handcuffs, saying his estranged wife, Nadine, had made up the story in the heat of emotion over their pending divorce.

“Hey, I’m not an abusive person. I didn’t hurt that girl. She knows this,” Berbick said. “My wife got upset and didn’t know what she wanted to do, so she told a lie.”

Berbick, a former World Boxing Council heavyweight champion, was arrested Tuesday at his Miramar house on a warrant filed by Miami police charging him with one count of sexual battery, said Miramar Police Sgt. George Pierson.

Berbick was held without bond pending a still-unscheduled court appearance in Dade County, Pierson said.