The Quagmire of Tommy Morrison

Tommy Morrison was once called the Duke, the Great White Hope, even the Next Great Champ. These days he's been called a danger to the sport, a liar and a host of other words I won't use. It's difficult writing about Tommy Morrison because so much of his story is clouded in controversy, rumors, accusations and denials. So much of the last eleven years has been surrounded with anger towards the former champ that it is hard at times to gauge what is truth and what are simply bitter words spoken by those who feel they have been wronged by Morrison.

As a boxer Morrison found himself on both sides of the extreme. He had phenomenally powerful punches but limited understanding on how to fight the full 12 rounds. His combinations were awe inspiring, yet his chin was one of the weakest the heavyweight division had ever seen. An imposing physical specimen yet he could not keep up in longer bouts. As a result he was on the giving and receiving end of some of the most spectacular knockouts the eighties and nineties ever saw.

It was shortly after his loss to Lennox Lewis in 1995, however, that the Tommy Morrison story would take it's most controversial and most dangerous turn. In that year, shortly before he was to fight on a Showtime card, Morrison tested positive for HIV under a Nevada Athletic Commission test, which automatically forced him into retirement. Exiled from the ring, Morrison would have one more unsanctioned bout in Tokyo before leaving for good in 1996.

In the years that followed Morrison often expressed his belief that the HIV test results had been falsified and claimed to have passed four separate HIV tests in 2006. Morrison has not explained why the Nevada Boxing Commission would do such a thing, only contested that the test was false. The head of the Arizona State Boxing Commission personally observed Morrison take a test for HIV that came back negative. As a result, Morrison was allowed to fight John Castle February 22, 2007 at Mountaineer Race Track in Chester, Virginia. Morrison won the fight in Round 2. But just a few months later more controversy would surface.

Morrisons former agent Randy Lang claimed that Morrison had in fact failed an HIV test and that the HIV negative results from an earlier test had come as a result of Morrison and Arizona promoter Peter McKinn somehow getting a fraudulent test performed. Lang had quit as Morrisons agent on Feb. 25, saying that the falsified test was the reason. Lang also claims that Morrison is also carrying Hepatitis C. Oddly enough Lang has supported Morrison in his quest to box again, HIV positive or not. Lang's position is that HIV cannot be transmitted in a boxing match.

It is still unknown whether or not Morrison is HIV positive, however he has not done much to aid his cause. Recently he participated in an unsanctioned MMA fight on the Yavapai-Apache Nation Reserve. No blood test was given and because it was on Native soil the Arizona Boxing Commission had no authority to order one. Oddly enough shortly before the fight Morrison's opponent, 340 pounder John Stover, was informed he could use to ground fighting, no kicks, elbows or knee strikes of any sort. As any one will tell you, this minimizes the chances of blood-letting.

The simple fact is we don't know who is telling the truth. Morrison claims the Nevada test was a false-positive, Lang says he quit because Morrison is lying now and has been lying all along. Morrison says the Arizona test was real, yet his last fight was unsanctioned and had no blood test. He underwent blood test in Houston but the paperwork was filed late and his license application was denied. No one outside of a few people have ever seen the test results done by the State and Morrison has not been forthcoming with the tests he claims to have passed in 2006.

This is extremely dangerous ground for all parties involved. If Lang is lying then he is slandering his former employer and potentially ruining his attempts at boxing again. If Morrison is the one not telling the truth, then he is endangering not only himself but any and all he steps into the ring with should he continue to fight in unsanctioned contests. Morrison needs to do the right thing, which is let multiple State Athletic Commissions run blood tests and clear things up once and for all. Should the new be good then Morrison has to be allowed to continue his attempts at a come back. If, however, the news is bad, the Tommy must swallow that bitter pill and step away from the ring for good.


Everyone knows that medical records are kept confidential for good reasons, but in the interest of those Tommy has fought since his positive test and those he may fight in the future, this murky and down-roght messy situation needs to be cleared up once and for all.