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From The June 1996 issue of Ring Magazine.
Eyebrows were raised on the afternoon of February 10 in Las Vegas, when it was announced that Tommy Morrison, scheduled to fight that night at the MGM Grand, had been medically suspended. When Marc Ratner, the executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Comission, descrived it as a worldwide suspension, and then added that Morrison had not been tested for steroids or drugs, there was no need to guess.
Morrison had tested HIV-positive. And when he was retested a couple of days later in his native Oklahoma, the results were the same.
Morrison is not the first world-class fighter to be linked to the HIV virus or AIDS. Esteban DeJesus died of AIDS; former 122-pound champion Paul Banke is living with the disease; and middleweight Lamar Parks and featherweight Ruben Palacio have tested HIV positive.
It is the news of Morrison, however, that is likely to bring changes. HIV testing is mandatory only in Nevada, Arizona, Org=egon, and Washington. As we went to press, several other states, including New York and New Jersey, were considering testin all fighters.
"All I’m taliking about is common sense," said Floyd Patterson, chairman of the New Yourk State Athletic Commission. " Does anybody object to this?"
The 27-year-old Morrsion, a kayo loser to Lennox Lewis last October, was scheduled to face Arthur "Stormy" Weathers on the Felix Trinidad-Rodney Moore card. Having signed a contract with Don King, the hard-punching, soft-chinned heavyweight was being targeted for a showdown with Mike Tyson.
A one-time Toughman champion, Morrison is -45-3-1 (39). Before reaching contender status, he starred in 1990's Rocky V. In 1993, "The Duke" reoprted to be a distant relative of John Wayne, scored a 12-round points win over George Foreman. He also holds a win over Joe Hipp, and has lost by kayo to Ray Mercer and Michael Bentt.
"To all my young fans," Morrison said at a press conferenct, "I'd ask you no longer see me as a role model, but an individual that had the opportunity to be a role model and blew it---blew it with irresponsible, irrational, immature decisions, decisions that one day could cost me my life. I thought I was bulletproof. I'm not"
Eyebrows were raised on the afternoon of February 10 in Las Vegas, when it was announced that Tommy Morrison, scheduled to fight that night at the MGM Grand, had been medically suspended. When Marc Ratner, the executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Comission, descrived it as a worldwide suspension, and then added that Morrison had not been tested for steroids or drugs, there was no need to guess.
Morrison had tested HIV-positive. And when he was retested a couple of days later in his native Oklahoma, the results were the same.
Morrison is not the first world-class fighter to be linked to the HIV virus or AIDS. Esteban DeJesus died of AIDS; former 122-pound champion Paul Banke is living with the disease; and middleweight Lamar Parks and featherweight Ruben Palacio have tested HIV positive.
It is the news of Morrison, however, that is likely to bring changes. HIV testing is mandatory only in Nevada, Arizona, Org=egon, and Washington. As we went to press, several other states, including New York and New Jersey, were considering testin all fighters.
"All I’m taliking about is common sense," said Floyd Patterson, chairman of the New Yourk State Athletic Commission. " Does anybody object to this?"
The 27-year-old Morrsion, a kayo loser to Lennox Lewis last October, was scheduled to face Arthur "Stormy" Weathers on the Felix Trinidad-Rodney Moore card. Having signed a contract with Don King, the hard-punching, soft-chinned heavyweight was being targeted for a showdown with Mike Tyson.
A one-time Toughman champion, Morrison is -45-3-1 (39). Before reaching contender status, he starred in 1990's Rocky V. In 1993, "The Duke" reoprted to be a distant relative of John Wayne, scored a 12-round points win over George Foreman. He also holds a win over Joe Hipp, and has lost by kayo to Ray Mercer and Michael Bentt.
"To all my young fans," Morrison said at a press conferenct, "I'd ask you no longer see me as a role model, but an individual that had the opportunity to be a role model and blew it---blew it with irresponsible, irrational, immature decisions, decisions that one day could cost me my life. I thought I was bulletproof. I'm not"
Actually the sign should read "welcome to last decade."
And this thread still sucks.
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