The DARKEST Secret In Boxing History!?

to all my young fans out there I'd ask that you no longer see me as a role model but see me as an individual that had the opportunity to be a role model and blew it me Tommy Morrison the most popular kid in school captain of every sports team he entered adored by hundreds of friends and especially the females although he was only in his mid-teens he was already a famous face in a small County of Delaware his father Tim was a boxer just like his father before him and just like his old man before him in fact the more is the name is one that has been recognized in the local area for close to a hundred years known for their charming looks in muscular physique they use their natural builds to compete a damn near every tough man boxing contest in Southern America and young Tommy was no exception the only difference between Tommy and his forefathers was in these clips you're looking at he's only 13 years old and while many years below the legal limit defied he was so incredibly advanced for his age he forged a fake ID just to compete and quite frankly went on to destroy men that were twice all I do is black I go to I go to bed thinking about and I wake up thinking about it outside of his athletic ability Tommy was also a bright pupil and was left in a predicament once graduation approached he had the choice of pursuing an academic career or following in his father's footsteps as a boxer a hard decision to make for many but an easy one for Tommy I'm Tommy the Duke Morrison a heavyweight with 24 knockouts and I'm going to the top you during the mid-to-late 80s boxing it entered a golden age Mike Tyson was the most feared man on the planet elite contenders were starting to rise in Linux Lewis and Evander Holyfield the Rocky movies had taken the film world by storm and every one of their grandmother had a poster of Sylvester Stallone on their bedroom wall truly an incredible time for the fighting art well ring the bell all right ding-ding [Applause] and behind every great professional is a great amateur and while Tyson was obliterating top contenders in the pro ranks a sake white kid with a mullet was doing a similar job with the head Garzon [Music] [Applause] from 1985 to 1988 Tommy had amassed a huge record of 290 wins with 21 losses in a staggering 263 knockouts and outrageous punters record and while most were against other local fighters in a Delaware area he did eventually make his way to the big league when he competed in the Seoul Olympic Trials infamously losing a narrow decision to rising star and later rival merciless Ray Mercer who ended up proving himself as the cream of the crop as he captured the gold medal just a few months later the way things are going right now it's hard telling who's gonna be the next weight champ in the world but I'd say what I will be a heavyweight champion boxing fan watch out [Music] despite having a large fanbase before in pro career it even begun Tommy remained grounded with an attitude to gradually fight his way to the top main goal in life is to be able to take care of my parents you know if it wasn't for them I wouldn't be here start with he made his debut on a small hall event in New York scoring a first-round knockout and from here on it was very clear that Tommy was a special power puncher particularly with the left hook as he was known for being able to close the distance in an instant with a fast leaping left Hayter [Applause] it wasn't long before ESPN came knocking at the door asking for Tommy to feature on Tuesday Night Fights a great platform for any young fire looking to build a fanbase while still taking on slightly lower journeyman at their division that's gonna make me basically a household name that's going to make people take me as a real fighter of course morrison jumped at the chance and was soon matched up with the 19 and six Jesse Shelby on August 22nd 1940 [Music] you'll be in trouble yes early loss Olympic crowds a big right hand followed up on the left by Boris didn't know [Applause] and Tommy Morrison remains unbeaten guys like I was just a step off you know the first part through the first round and second round but once I got adjusted to I think thanks uh thanks went my way I can thank us being a top-ranked for having me here okay a quick report card from bill Cayton after fifteen fights what do you see though I think Tommy is on his way still learning but he's improving from Pike to Pike soon after the bout Frank Stallone recalled his brother Sylvester was looking for a young muscular athlete to play the character tommy gun and the latest upcoming rocky after witnessing Morrison on Tuesday Night Fights he quickly informed his brother that this young power puncher from Oklahoma might just be the guy he's looking for a movie producer heard about Tommy and decided that since his granduncle was John Wayne that acting as well as fighting was in his blood less than a week later they had already begun filming [Applause] despite the movie arguably being the worst in the series Tommy received praise from many critics due to the fact he'd never acted in any sort of capacity beforehand and did a relatively good job and bringing Tommy Gunn to life okay so which will it be will you go for the acting career or will you go for the Heavyweight Championship well I'm gonna get to have a championship first and then then we'll work on the other however acting wasn't Tommy's Forte he was a boxer and now with a brand new younger fanbase he couldn't wait to get back in the ring and continue his road to the title I got a job to do and I plan on doing it quickly Tommy has a hell of a left hook he's got a great left hook period in two paragraph fight after fight knockout after knock out the now 22-year old Morrison couldn't put a foot wrong he blasted out many of the same faces Mike Tyson did a couple years prior the former world champion Pinklon Thomas couldn't make it past one round the tricky slickster James quick Tillis met the same fate a month prior Steve's house key Lorenzo Boyd and David Jacko were others Tyson faced and Tommy and steamrolled the big fight was on the tip of everyone's tongue Tommy Morrison versus Mike Tyson ruling Tommy for a shot at heavyweight champion Mike Tyson and it could be the grudge match of the century the style clash was undoubtedly going to gel well for the fans both were undefeated and both were big knockout punters and it certainly wasn't an idea Tommy was shying away from a lot of people are pretty satisfied with saying hey you know I fought the devil again for the world we don't want to fight where we want to fight for it and win it he's there when I get there with him don't have fear move just before the Morrison and Tyson fight came into fruition Buster Douglas shocked the world with a historic upset over the seemingly unbeatable Tyson [Applause] almost 30 years has passed since that night in Tokyo and still to this day it's regarded as the biggest upset not just in boxing but in world sports history boxing you never know what to expect and if you don't believe me you can ask Mike Tyson okay a few months later Tommy enter the most significant out of his career repeat a revenge Morrison versus Mercer - on the line the WBO heavyweight championship of the world ray Brinn three years on from their clash in the Olympic Trials Tommy had a chance to set things straight as he matched up in a widely speculated 5050 showdown with now 17a no professional Ray Mercer no Murph Mercer had shown a lot a way of promise himself during the build-up to this contest not quite the flashy power puncher like Morrison but a rough and tough resilient brawler nevertheless and here's the big one that was the one who put him to sleep and then one more Tommy Morrison belongs in boxing Ray Mercer is the WBO heavyweight champion careful early Tommy starts very fast he has a lot to prove and he'll try to do that in a quick fashion Ray Mercer defending his title opening neither a defensive Wiz so you know there will be openness ignores about Evan gets that through every soul rate to make him quit it has been portion in the first two rounds Morrison was in the greatest shape of his career the timing and speed of his combos during the first two rounds were breathtaking Mercer was known for having a chin of iron but to walk through the onslaught of Tommy shots the way he did elevated everyone take so many shots puts a couple of whites together your memories Marcin with a right hand is a gift to end the third by the end of the fourth round Tommy's mouth was wide open struggling to breathe his game plan was obviously to blast Mercer out inside three and in retrospect it was a huge oversight considering the strength he possessed [Applause] here he is just connected with shots unanswered punches out on his feet and hurt his Tommy the Duke Morrison a lot of shots from merciless Ray Mercer the loss was a tough one to swallow and Tommy went from the hottest prospect in world boxing to a man with a grandly future after all if he couldn't betray Mercer the weakest regarded champion in the division how on earth could he compete with the likes of Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson after the Mercer fight I took about probably three months off stay completely away from the gym kind of did a little bit of soul-searching perhaps the old cliche of the great white hope would surround Tommy's name from here on out but then over the next few months a surprising revelation surface [Music] we had friends at the bars at Westport but they call it up at midnight one o'clock and say hey you better come to get you boy he's lady passed out on the floor my one coming game before the media gets here so we drag down and pick him up and throw him in the back of a pickup truck and carry him home Tommy surrounded himself with the wrong people he was already deep into a vicious cycle of heavy drinking drug taking and by all accounts of the people close to him info mania Tommy was a constant womanizer he was such a natural athlete that even after years of self abuse the lifestyle never appeared to catch up to him in the ring by the untrained eye at least however this guy didn't have supernatural powers the partying was later revealed to be far worse than first thought this wasn't just a weekend binge situation this was an every night thing I never once thought it was a bully with always when liked by everybody and I like to be liked by everybody I'm willing to get along with anybody I want skill on me despite Tommy losing that reputation as a role model that he once loved to embrace the partying went on like before only this time he was consistently fighting at a higher level in between so bouts that he would easily win as a sober man became just that [Applause] I think I learned a lot from this do what happened 1f well the hardest punches I've ever fought I look at it as a plot you know I got I can hit all of it too much defense is something that we felt like we always had to work on something they have them in a secret so we're real happy about it well you came through it Tommy with a late round knockout congratulations to you thanks very much for talking to us [Music] bust it up [Applause] after defeating Carl the truth Williams in January 1993 Tommy put himself in line for a lucrative title shot against the immovable object that is big George Foreman probably didn't have the greatest training habits in the world but I've matured as an athlete feel very comfortable with where I'm at and I actually this time I feel like I belong here yeah he's probably all the things he's got going for him you know better for him and then I've got a few things going for me mostly 256 pounds I want to use those pounds suit Foreman was midway through his comeback after 10 years away from the sport he obviously wasn't considered to be the threat he was in the mid-70s still there was no denying the big man could take an almighty punch [Applause] and as his recent outing suggests deliver one edit I his daughter as well he's got a lot of experience he's got a lot of weight and he's got a lot of age and I've got to try to counterbalance that with youth speed and athletic ability [Music] [Applause] despite big George being the 705 betting favorite June 7th 1996 became the glowing highlight of Morrison's career from the opening round he made the older man look ancient as he carefully maneuvered around the ring evading the slow but dangerous attacks his defensive prowess complemented his razor-sharp combination counters as he never gave form in a millisecond to recuperate from his errors by Tommy Morrison good left hook by Tommy Mars and h1 didn't move [Music] [Applause] [Music] work by Tommy Morrison [Applause] he's calling time again [Applause] [Music] at Tommy Morrison thought a very intelligent fight stuck with his plan and I think he deserves full credit for a victory I expect he's gonna get Jerry Roth scores about 118 to 109 for the winner and new champion Tommy [Applause] [Music] once Morrison became world champion notable changes in his appearance and performance became apparent to all within just an 18-month period he appeared to age by five or six years slightly losing his boyish looks at muscular physique along the way he also no longer possessed those fast twitch muscle fibers from before the power remained but Tommy relied on a speed just as much as his strength which inevitably resulted in some shocking losses and one sided feet downs [Applause] despite the poor run of form promotional superstar Don King stepped in and offered Morris it a life-changing retirement package three fights ten million dollars with a guarantee of a Mike Tyson showdown ended all a very lucky out to put it lightly Don King accepts the contract we're ready to have the warmup Arthur stormy weathers was the first man penciled in for Tommy a low-level journeyman with little to no chance and causing an upset nothing more than a - enough to get the ball rolling for Morrison's comeback but in the days leading up to the bout an unusual headline surfaced Tommy Morrison was supposed to fight tonight in Las Vegas but the Duke was ko'd by the Nevada Athletic Commission just hours before his scheduled bout with Arthur weathers Morrison suspended worldwide for medical reasons Tommy's reasons for avoiding the blood tests just didn't make sense he claimed he was scared of needles but every boxer knows that excuse simply won't be enough to avoid such a key an important part of the sport take your freaking blood test well you told me not to do anything unless you were here you know Don wanted me to I said Tommy takes your blood test that's for the Commission Morrison had no choice but to take the test or be stripped of his license and for his love of the game and faith in God he took the test knowing full well the results could end his career and perhaps even his livelihood I've taken action to have more extensive test run I was informed just a little while ago that those tests to in fact confirm that I have tested positive for the HIV virus Morrison was subsequently suspended from the sport having the HIV virus in any sort of combat sport runs a huge risk of transmission blood and saliva often trade places during a bout and the Nevada State Athletic Commission made the right decision in instantly revoking his license but was it something that they should have done sooner perhaps seven years sooner to be more precise dating right back to the days and months in which he first turned professional and then it now said he could not pass these physical and I knew what it was we had talked about this before he talked about what the HIV [Music] he knew before he suspicioned Morrison's own mother admitted that Tommy knew to some degree he had the virus long before failing the test in 1996 and in 2016 court papers were released suggesting Tommy had been diagnosed hiv-positive all the way back in 1989 when Morrison's ex-wife Don Brady was questioned for the upcoming lawsuit in a sworn deposition she said that he had told her in 2000 that he tested positive for HIV in 1989 when he got checked out as part of a screening for a life insurance policy Morrison confirmed this himself when he went into rehab in 1999 and the counselor doing his intake wrote that he claims that he was first told he was HIV positive in 1989 we do have to add that the claims made are alleged but the amount of evidence to suggest he was hiding the virus for many years is overwhelming [Music] once Morrison contracted the virus his whole life changed the town where he was once known as a hero turned their back on him most of his close friends never even bothered to offer some sort of sympathy he was alone and scared my first reaction was what are people gonna think you know I mean Here I am a supposed to be a big tough guy and and I think I walked around in life thinking that I was bulletproof and now I gotta pay the ultimate price shortly after his public press conference Lakers legend and five-time NBA champion Magic Johnson contacted Morrison to try and help him through this hard time and offered him some valuable advice Johnson as I'm sure many of you are aware contracted the virus himself just a few years prior to this incident and it's since become a main advocate and spreading awareness of the deadly virus I would now become a spokesman for the HIV virus Morrison quickly teamed up with the former basketball star where together they toured the country sharing their stories with as many ears and eyes as they could reach [Music] [Applause] initially the recovery went great Tommy had a lead HIV specialist dr. nursing his health he took his pills regularly and began transforming his broken a weak body back to full fitness that was until he met his soon-to-be wife Trisha in the late 2000s he couldn't talk to people his wife wouldn't let anybody near him Tommy had convinced himself and others around him that he didn't just no longer have AIDS but he never had the virus in the first place the former champ gave up his prescribed medicine for marijuana and other street drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamine in doing so his health rapidly deteriorated and by the summer of 2010 he was barely recognizable in this picture he was just 40 years old after a string of health complications over the next couple of years Morrison finally passed away on September 1st 2013 due to multiple organ failure and a cardiac arrest he was only 44 years old there are still so many unanswered questions surrounding Tommy's life and death like when did he contract the virus how did he contract the virus why did he give up on recovery sadly it seems unlikely that we'll ever definitively know the answers I do think it's worth pointing out that after a lot of research I was unable to find a story of a Morrison lover or ring sharer whoever contracted the virus is a direct result of himself his three ex-wives and two sons all live healthy lives to this day with Trey and Kenzie both following in their father's footsteps as professional boxers thanks for watching if you enjoyed the video a thumbs up is always appreciated and for those of you that just stumbled across this channel for the first time feel free to check back through our content for similar videos until next time fight fans this is boxing legends TV [Music] everybody I'm not willing to get along anybody want to get on me he hit me hard I've been hit before for three round [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] you [Music]

Channel: Boxing Legends TV

Views: 10,427,387

Rating: 4.8515043 out of 5

Keywords: boxing, tommy morrison, secret, hbo, documentary, boxing legends tv, bltv, showtime, espn, highlights, 30 for 30, ray mercer, george foreman, boxeo, rocky, rocky music

Id: dclkp6DXmCM

Length: 22min 57sec (1377 seconds)

Published: Wed Nov 07 2018

Reddit Comments

[u/TwoFaceLord]

Haven't seen any posts about Tommy for a long time. Crazy how low he fell. Boxing ,fame, women and drugs often go side by side.

[u/danr06]

There's a great 30 for 30 on Tommy Morrison aswell

[u/sgtmar]

Something tells me this thumb is photoshopped.... I could’ve sworn Buster rocked a darker tan. Damn Mandela effect

[u/Tomalumpa]

He was pretty darn good when at his best. Would have been a credible challenger to Michael Moore's, and probably could have beaten a few lesser guys who held a version of the title in the 90s. Seldon, Mccall, Bruno are all good fights, and I think he ices Seldon.

Bad decision putting him in with Bentt. He had been sparring with Holyfield and Evander spike highly of his power. Tommy had the title shot, so why take a stay busy fight against a puncher. Any bum would have been fine.

[u/Corwin978]

One of the best left hooks ever in heavyweight division. Shame.

[u/DiskoBoss]

Gee I hope no one is gonna spoil the ending for me

[u/delicreeps]

I've always really disliked Tommy Morrison. As a boxer I thought he was overrated and he has always been a bit of an idiot. Listen to the podcast Crime in Sports; there's an episode dedicated to him and it's an interesting and hilarious listen. EP 23

[u/Raxflex]

Great video, I watched it 3 times today. Crazy life for sure.

[u/writing_from_mars]

beautiful piece. I didn't know much about the guy until today. Thanks BLTV for this one