After his stoppage of Razor Ruddock in June of 1995, Tommy Morrison agreed to finally meet Lennox Lewis in Atlantic City on October 7th at Convention Hall. The bout on HBO was certainly one I wasn’t going to miss, and although the promotional buildup were labeling this fight a toss up, I knew there was no way in the world Tommy was going to beat Lewis. The critics claimed Lennox could be knocked out, but I knew that styles make fights, and this one didn’t bode well for Tommy.
Mills Lane had been brought east to ref this one, and in the first round, both guys were measured and cautious which is the norm. The jab of Lewis was being a problem for Morrison by the second round, and a counter left hook dropped Tommy to one knee. Lennox also opened a cut over Tommy’s right eye, which would hamper him the rest of the night.
Lennox won the third with his jab, but Morrison rallied to win the fourth round. However in the fifth, with his eye closing, Tommy was dropped as the round closed. It was obvious the end was near. Two more knockdowns by Lewis in the sixth closed the show, and it was kind of sad to watch. Tommy had become one of my favorites, but after this dreadful performance, I knew he’d never contend for the title again.
What followed, no one could have expected. I had been in Vegas in March, when Tommy was scheduled to fight on the Tyson-Bruno undercard. Don King had signed Tommy to a multi-fight contract, with the payoff being a bout with Tyson. However, his pre-fight physical had revealed that Morrison was HIV positive, and would have to retire. The talk was all around Vegas that weekend, because the only thing that was official at that point, was that Tommy’s fight was cancelled. It was not until days later, when I was home in Jersey, that Tommy himself announced his retirement because of his diagnosis.
It was a shock to me, but Tommy handled the situation like a man, and was embarrassed and hurt that he had disappointed so many of his fans. He would fight in November in Japan on the George Foreman vs. Crawford Grimsley undercard, but it was a joke. His opponent Marcus Rhode, hit the canvas with the first punch that hit him, proving he was there for a quick payday, and that alone. No one wanted to fight a guy HIV positive, and that ended Tommy’s career for the most part.
He unfortunately convinced himself years later that he was never HIV positive, and the test results were wrong. Amazingly he fought twice more, in 2007 and 2008 against no name opponents.
His decision to stop taking AIDS medication proved fatal, and Tommy died on September 1, 2013 at age 44. His story to me will always be a sad one, but as time goes by, I remember Tommy as ‘The Duke’, the promising young star of Rocky V, with the great left hook. Rest in peace, Tommy.
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