Tommy Morrison

Tommy Morrison (January 2, 1969 – September 1, 2013) was an American professional boxer and mixed martial artist who competed from 1988 to 2009. Best known for his left hook and formidable punching power, Morrison won the WBO heavyweight title in 1993 with a unanimous decision victory over George Foreman. He lost the title in his second defense to Michael Bentt that same year. Morrison's other boxing highlights include his fight with Ray Mercer in 1991, and with Donovan Ruddock in 1995. Morrison is also known for his acting career, having starred alongside Sylvester Stallone in the 1990 film Rocky V as Tommy Gunn. He ultimately retired from boxing in 1996 when he tested positive for HIV. Morrison made a brief comeback to boxing from 2007 to 2008 when the Nevada commission lifted the indefinite worldwide suspension in July 2006, and briefly dabbled in the world of MMA. As a mixed martial artist, he scored a notable first-round knockout win over Wyoming state heavyweight champion Corey Williams in 2009, which ultimately became the last fight Morrison ever had in combat sports before his final retirement due to his declining health that began in 2011. In August 2013, Morrison's mother announced that her son was in the final stages of AIDS, and he died on September 1, 2013, at the age of 44 from sepsis, septic shock, multi-system organ failure and, ultimately, cardiac arrest. Early life and amateur career Morrison was born in Gravette, Arkansas. His mother, Diana, was Native American (half Ponca and half Otoe) whereas his father Tim was of Scottish from the clan Morrison ancestry. Morrison was raised in Delaware County, Oklahoma, spending most of his teenage years in Jay. His nickname, "The Duke", is based on the claim that he was a grand-nephew (or otherwise distant relative) of the Hollywood star John Wayne (né Marion Morrison). Tommy's father urged him to take up boxing at age ten. When Tommy was 13 years old, his mother used a fake ID and entered her son into 15 "toughman" contests (the minimum age for contestants was 21). He later told The New York Times that he lost only one of these matches.