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Will Tommy Morrison Come Back?

08.03.06 - By Craig Parrish: He once won a fight with two broken hands, a cut over his eye, and a broken jaw. He beat the legendary George Foreman. He was the victim of one of the most brutal knockouts the sport has even seen when he fought Ray Mercer. If nothing else, watching a Tommy Morrison fight was always exciting, because anything could happen. After appearing as Rocky’s protégé, Tommy Gunn, in Rocky V, Morrison’s real life boxing career took off and he became one of the marquee Heavyweights of the ‘90’s. He had won 46 of 50 fights and was slated to fight Mike Tyson upon his release from prison, when a physical examination revealed that Morrison was HIV positive. He was immediately banned from competition, and his life fell apart. Morrison fought one more time in Japan, for a fund raising effort. Then, he was gone. He was 27 years old.

Occasionally you would read in the back pages of sports sections about his antics. Booze, bigamy, drugs,and prison. It looked like Morrison was following in the self-destructive path of so many former fighters and it would just be a matter of time before you read of his early demise.

But somehow, Tommy pulled himself out of the downward spiral. He married, and through advanced in vitro techniques, fathered children. He has found God and is getting his life back together, and there are reportedly plans to turn his wild ride into a film. And now, Tommy Morrison wants to get back in the ring.

Morrison is now 37, the same age as current Heavyweight challenger, James Toney (whom Morrison has said he despises). He has not fought in ten years. Perhaps inspired by the recent court decision win of Joe Mesi (whom Morrison has been quoted as calling “soft” and “too pretty”), Morrison is reportedly considering suing the Nevada Boxing Commision to get his license re-instated, on the grounds of “discrimination” and “preventing him from earning a living." He claims to weigh around 210 pounds, so he has kept himself trim and has not blown up. Can Morrison come back and be competitive? Will Nevada re-instate his license, given that he is HIV positive?

Morrison fought some decent competition in his day, including wins against Joe Hipp, Razor Ruddock,Carl Williams, and a 6th round loss to former champ Lennox Lewis. And Morrison was still relatively young at the time, in the Heavyweight world. With continued training and experience, who knows what he may have accomplished had he been able to continue? He was a two-time title winner. He had a viscous left hook, and Ray Mercer to this day so that Morrison hit harder than any other fighter he has faced. His accomplishments are pretty impressive, given the fact that he had basically no amateur experience, as he started his career fighting in tough-man competitions.

Given the current state of the Heavyweight Division, it’s not out of the question that Morrison could return and perhaps make a little noise. However, the 10 year layoff would probably be too much to overcome. Still, one thing Tommy Morrison always had going for him was guts. A guy getting off the canvas and winning a fight with two broken hands and a broken jaw is something we don’t see much of these days.

However, Morrison being re-instated is highly unlikely. Unlike most other competitive sports, in boxing fighters regularly get bloody. It is hard to fathom any fighter wanting to get in the ring knowing that they could possibly be exposed to the virus. Even if the license were granted, there would probably be very few opponents for Morrison to face. Regardless of whether he fights again or not, the fact that Tommy Morrison has come back from the edge is a happy ending. Too often in the fight game, we read tragic stories of fighters who end up down and out, brain damaged, in prison for life, or worse. Hopefully, he can help to prevent others from making some of the mistakes that he made.

Source. Eastsideboxing.com

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