http://www.tulsaworld.com/article.a...on_reportedly_dead/20130902_11_0_TommyM693614
Tommy Morrison, who hailed from Jay, scored a prominent role in the Rocky V movie with Sylvester Stallone and soared to the top of the world heavyweight boxing ranks in 1993, died on Sunday night at 44 in Omaha, Neb., his former promoter Tony Holden has confirmed.
Its true, said Holden, who resides in Tulsa. He was with his wife, Trisha, when he passed.
The cause of death has not been reported by any member of Morrisons family or Nebraska authorities.
In February 1996, before he was scheduled to fight in Las Vegas, Morrison was suspended by the Nevada Athletic Commission after having tested positive for HIV. Three days later, during an internationally televised news conference conducted at the Marriott Tulsa Hotel Southern Hills, Morrison said that an additional blood test also revealed that he carried HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
Later, Morrison vehemently denied that he was HIV-positive. In a 1998 ESPN Magazine piece, he was quoted as having said: HIV's never been proven to cause AIDS. HIV ain't ever killed anybody.
Unable to obtain a boxing license in any state that has a boxing commission, he fought as recently as 2008 in Mexico.
In a recent ESPN.com update on Morrisons health, a family member reported that Morrison had been sustained during the last several months by a feeding tube and ventilator.
They say heroes never die, Jeremy Black of Jay said on Monday, so we must keep them in our hearts and never forget why they were so much to us.
Jay resident Jerri Hudson-Lane said, I have known Tom since he was young, and my heart is broken over the loss of such a funny, kind and strong man.
During Morrisons senior year at Jay High School, Carol Round was his English teacher.
He was an intelligent young man, earning good grades, said Round, now retired and residing in Claremore. He was also a member of BETA Club, an organization based on serving others. To be invited, a student must have had a B-plus average or better.
One of the clubs projects was to adopt a resident at a local nursing home, she said.
While we had set a limit of $10 per person toward a Christmas gift, Tommy and another student spent three times that amount, purchasing a pair of nice leather house shoes for the man they had adopted, Round said. I was impressed by their generosity.
A knockout artist renowned for his devastating left hook, Morrisons record in the ring was 48-3-1. He fought professionally seven times in Oklahoma twice at Tulsas Brady Theater, once at Tulsas Expo Square Pavilion, once at the Tulsa Convention Center, twice in Oklahoma City and once in Muskogee.
From a boxing fan perspective, he was a great fighter to watch, said Clint Drake of Grove. He was aggressive from the ring of the first bell and never let up until the fight was over.
Tommy Morison's ring style should be a life lesson to us all. Never give up. Even if he were losing, he would fight to the bitter end. He won quite a few fights off of sheer determination.
In a 1992, ABC-televised bout against Joe Hipp at Reno, Nev., Morrison sustained a broken jaw, a sprained right hand and a gash above his eye that later would require 20 stitches to close. Morrison prevailed in a ninth-round knockout.
In June 1993, Morrison prevailed in a 12-round decision over George Foreman, capturing the World Boxing Organization title in Las Vegas.
On Oct. 29, 1993, in an HBO-televised championship bout witnessed live by a Tulsa Convention Center crowd of 7,800, Morrison defended his title against Michael Bentt, a little-known New Yorker. After wearing a Tulsa Oilers jersey and Jay Bulldogs cap into the ring, Morrison was dealt a first-round knockout defeat.
Morrison was an Arkansas native whose family moved to northeast Oklahoma. He played football at Jay High School. As a teen, Morrison got his start in the fight game by competing in Toughman contests.
I remember the day I met him in person (at a restaurant bar), recalled Mark Limes, an Olathe, Kan., resident and a native of Grove. It wasn't too long before his fight against George Foreman. He had come in with his groupies.
I went up to him and introduced myself and then I said, 'Grove can beat Jay any day of the week in football even in their sleep.' You should have seen the look in his face. It was classic.
Claiming to have been distantly related to actor John Wayne, Morrison was nicknamed The Duke.
During the process of casting his Rocky V film, Stallone watched a Morrison fight on ESPN. Morrison was summoned to Los Angeles for a screen test, and, at the age of 21, wound up with the Tommy Gunn role in the 1990 movie.
After his 1996 HIV test in Nevada, Morrisons news conference in Tulsa was televised by ESPN.
To my family and my friends, I wish that there was somehow a way that I could go through this by myself,'' Morrison said. ``I'm sorry that I've had to drag you guys through this with me. Many times in my life, I've had to pick myself up off the floor. This has certainly been one of those times.
``If there's anyone out there that feels they've come in contact with me either directly or indirectly, I would encourage them to get themselves tested for their own sake and certainly for their own peace of mind,'' Morrison added. There were a number of sparring partners out there that I worked with, and more importantly, the young ladies that I've been involved with. ... My prayers go out to them nightly and their families in hopes that everything will be OK.
A few hours following the news conference, while in the living room of Holdens south Tulsa home, Morrison was interviewed by CNNs Larry King.
We bumped (singer) Neil Diamond to make room for Tommy,'' King told the Tulsa World at the time. The Morrison situation is a major story. ... This is a fascinating story. You have to cover it. You have to talk about it. It was on the front page of the Washington Post.
Morrison is believed to have made more than $10 million in boxing. Within a little more than two years of his Tulsa news conference, he was arrested three times on suspicion of drunken driving. One of the arrests occurred in Broken Arrow in 1998.
In September 1999, Morrison was arrested in Fayetteville, Ark., after police reportedly discovered cocaine, drug paraphernalia and a gun in his car. Weeks later, he was arrested again on complaints of marijuana possession and public intoxication. He wound up serving a 14-month sentence in an Arkansas prison.
Tommy Morrison, who hailed from Jay, scored a prominent role in the Rocky V movie with Sylvester Stallone and soared to the top of the world heavyweight boxing ranks in 1993, died on Sunday night at 44 in Omaha, Neb., his former promoter Tony Holden has confirmed.
Its true, said Holden, who resides in Tulsa. He was with his wife, Trisha, when he passed.
The cause of death has not been reported by any member of Morrisons family or Nebraska authorities.
In February 1996, before he was scheduled to fight in Las Vegas, Morrison was suspended by the Nevada Athletic Commission after having tested positive for HIV. Three days later, during an internationally televised news conference conducted at the Marriott Tulsa Hotel Southern Hills, Morrison said that an additional blood test also revealed that he carried HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
Later, Morrison vehemently denied that he was HIV-positive. In a 1998 ESPN Magazine piece, he was quoted as having said: HIV's never been proven to cause AIDS. HIV ain't ever killed anybody.
Unable to obtain a boxing license in any state that has a boxing commission, he fought as recently as 2008 in Mexico.
In a recent ESPN.com update on Morrisons health, a family member reported that Morrison had been sustained during the last several months by a feeding tube and ventilator.
They say heroes never die, Jeremy Black of Jay said on Monday, so we must keep them in our hearts and never forget why they were so much to us.
Jay resident Jerri Hudson-Lane said, I have known Tom since he was young, and my heart is broken over the loss of such a funny, kind and strong man.
During Morrisons senior year at Jay High School, Carol Round was his English teacher.
He was an intelligent young man, earning good grades, said Round, now retired and residing in Claremore. He was also a member of BETA Club, an organization based on serving others. To be invited, a student must have had a B-plus average or better.
One of the clubs projects was to adopt a resident at a local nursing home, she said.
While we had set a limit of $10 per person toward a Christmas gift, Tommy and another student spent three times that amount, purchasing a pair of nice leather house shoes for the man they had adopted, Round said. I was impressed by their generosity.
A knockout artist renowned for his devastating left hook, Morrisons record in the ring was 48-3-1. He fought professionally seven times in Oklahoma twice at Tulsas Brady Theater, once at Tulsas Expo Square Pavilion, once at the Tulsa Convention Center, twice in Oklahoma City and once in Muskogee.
From a boxing fan perspective, he was a great fighter to watch, said Clint Drake of Grove. He was aggressive from the ring of the first bell and never let up until the fight was over.
Tommy Morison's ring style should be a life lesson to us all. Never give up. Even if he were losing, he would fight to the bitter end. He won quite a few fights off of sheer determination.
In a 1992, ABC-televised bout against Joe Hipp at Reno, Nev., Morrison sustained a broken jaw, a sprained right hand and a gash above his eye that later would require 20 stitches to close. Morrison prevailed in a ninth-round knockout.
In June 1993, Morrison prevailed in a 12-round decision over George Foreman, capturing the World Boxing Organization title in Las Vegas.
On Oct. 29, 1993, in an HBO-televised championship bout witnessed live by a Tulsa Convention Center crowd of 7,800, Morrison defended his title against Michael Bentt, a little-known New Yorker. After wearing a Tulsa Oilers jersey and Jay Bulldogs cap into the ring, Morrison was dealt a first-round knockout defeat.
Morrison was an Arkansas native whose family moved to northeast Oklahoma. He played football at Jay High School. As a teen, Morrison got his start in the fight game by competing in Toughman contests.
I remember the day I met him in person (at a restaurant bar), recalled Mark Limes, an Olathe, Kan., resident and a native of Grove. It wasn't too long before his fight against George Foreman. He had come in with his groupies.
I went up to him and introduced myself and then I said, 'Grove can beat Jay any day of the week in football even in their sleep.' You should have seen the look in his face. It was classic.
Claiming to have been distantly related to actor John Wayne, Morrison was nicknamed The Duke.
During the process of casting his Rocky V film, Stallone watched a Morrison fight on ESPN. Morrison was summoned to Los Angeles for a screen test, and, at the age of 21, wound up with the Tommy Gunn role in the 1990 movie.
After his 1996 HIV test in Nevada, Morrisons news conference in Tulsa was televised by ESPN.
To my family and my friends, I wish that there was somehow a way that I could go through this by myself,'' Morrison said. ``I'm sorry that I've had to drag you guys through this with me. Many times in my life, I've had to pick myself up off the floor. This has certainly been one of those times.
``If there's anyone out there that feels they've come in contact with me either directly or indirectly, I would encourage them to get themselves tested for their own sake and certainly for their own peace of mind,'' Morrison added. There were a number of sparring partners out there that I worked with, and more importantly, the young ladies that I've been involved with. ... My prayers go out to them nightly and their families in hopes that everything will be OK.
A few hours following the news conference, while in the living room of Holdens south Tulsa home, Morrison was interviewed by CNNs Larry King.
We bumped (singer) Neil Diamond to make room for Tommy,'' King told the Tulsa World at the time. The Morrison situation is a major story. ... This is a fascinating story. You have to cover it. You have to talk about it. It was on the front page of the Washington Post.
Morrison is believed to have made more than $10 million in boxing. Within a little more than two years of his Tulsa news conference, he was arrested three times on suspicion of drunken driving. One of the arrests occurred in Broken Arrow in 1998.
In September 1999, Morrison was arrested in Fayetteville, Ark., after police reportedly discovered cocaine, drug paraphernalia and a gun in his car. Weeks later, he was arrested again on complaints of marijuana possession and public intoxication. He wound up serving a 14-month sentence in an Arkansas prison.
