ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, February 13, 1996 TAG: 9602140010
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: TULSA, OKLA.
SOURCE: Associated Press
Tommy Morrison's up-and-down boxing career reached its low point Monday with the announcement that the powerful heavyweight had tested positive for the virus that causes AIDS.
Morrison's promoter, Tony Holden, confirmed that a test administered in Las Vegas last week came back HIV positive.
``He's taken it like a champ,'' Holden said. ``He knows he's had a promiscuous lifestyle in the past. He's taking it better than his team [of handlers].''
Morrison, 27, did not attend the news conference. He remained in isolation at his home in the northeastern Oklahoma town of Jay, where he was providing blood samples to paramedics so further tests could be run.
He issued a statement asking people to pray for children affected by the disease because ``I feel it would be selfish to ask you to say a prayer for me.''
``I understand that there are people concerned about me,'' he said in the statement. ``I am fine.''
Holden said results of the latest tests are expected within 48 hours. He said Morrison still held out hope that a retest would show the original test false, but that the fighter has talked about getting involved in AIDS awareness activities.
``If it is true, I don't see us ever fighting again or ever wanting to,'' Holden said. ``But right now we're not concerned about that.''
Morrison cited religious reasons when he initially refused to take a test for the virus in the days before his scheduled fight Saturday night against Arthur Weathers in Las Vegas. He left a doctor's office but returned the next day to submit a blood sample.
Holden said Monday he had told Morrison not to sign anything before contacting him or his attorney because of a new agreement with promoter Don King.
The Nevada Athletic Commission suspended Morrison for medical reasons only hours before the fight.
Morrison's trainer, Tom Virgets, said he told the fighter the news of his suspension Saturday afternoon in the crowded casino at the MGM Grand hotel.
Morrison was to have received $50,000 to fight Weathers, the first step in a package of fights that was to have led to a possible $4 million payday against Mike Tyson later this year.
Morrison is 45-3-1 in a seven-year career with 39 knockouts. His career has been marked by daunting setbacks, but he always seemed to work his way back.
A promising start to his career suffered in 1991 when, weary and teetering, Morrison was knocked out by Ray Mercer in the fifth round. Two years later, Morrison won the World Boxing Organization championship with a 12-round unanimous decision over George Foreman.
But that victory celebration was short-lived.
Four months after the Foreman fight, with an $8 million payday against Lennox Lewis awaiting him, Morrison opted for a tune-up against relative unknown Michael Bentt. Bentt knocked him out in the first round.
In an interview before a June 1995 bout against Razor Ruddock, Morrison insisted his days of women chasing and finding trouble were behind him.
``There was a time where I went through a little bit of a metamorphosis, where I wasn't the most dedicated athlete in the world,'' he said.
``I've had my ups and downs, and I certainly like it better at the top. But I don't feel like I've accomplished what I've set out to do.''
Morrison flattened Ruddock with a perfect left hook in the sixth round of their fight.
Despite a bloody loss to former WBC champion Lewis in October, Morrison appeared to be making another comeback, recently signing with King for a package of fights that was to have led to the possible shot at Tyson.
The blond boxer's occasional acting career also had received a recent boost. Morrison, who played a leading role as the character Tommy Gunn in the movie ``Rocky V,'' appeared as Leo, the boxer, in January on the television comedy ``Cybill.''
Morrison learned to punch by beating the sawdust and stuffing out of a duffel bag on the front porch of his home in Jay. He used altered birth certificates to fight in Toughman contests at age 13, flattening men twice his age. He had a reputation for barroom brawls.
He faces misdemeanor assault charges in Oklahoma for allegedly hitting the mother of his 5-year-old son and biting the finger of another woman. Morrison has denied the allegations and requested a jury trial to settle the matter.
LENGTH: Medium: 84 linesby CNB