Former heavyweight boxing champion and star of "Rocky V" Tommy Morrison passed away at the age of 44 in Omaha, Neb., on Sunday night, according to the Washington Post.
Morrison defeated George Foreman in 1993 to win the World Boxing Organization heavyweight championship, a title he dropped in his second title defense to an almost completely unknown fighter named Michael Bentt. Morrison's boxing career came to a screeching halt when he tested positive for HIV prior to a fight against Arthur Weathers in 1996, according to ESPN.
For much of the rest of his life Morrison denied that he was HIV positive, going as far as to even deny the existence of the virus that leads to AIDS. Trisha Morrison, Tommy's wife of two years, also denied that Morrison had HIV and that he was instead suffering from Guillain-Barre Syndrome, according to ESPN.
"I don't know what the official cause of death will be," Tony Holden, Morrison's longtime promoter, said. "You prepare for things like this, and still you feel like you got hit by a truck when you hear the news."
Prior to his short title run Morrison made a name for himself by appearing in "Rocky V" as Tommy "The Machine" Gunn. Tim Morrison, Tommy's older brother said that fame came quickly for Morrison and at times it was more than he could handle. In the interview, which took place in August, Tim says that he hopes that when Tommy passes the family will be remembered for the excitement he brought to boxing, according to ESPN.
"Try being 20 and a millionaire," Tim said. "You're not always going to make the most wise decisions. Tommy was way too young to have all the money and fame that he had. That was his whole problem. He had the world by the b***s, and he blew it."
Holden said that if Morrison had been in the prime of his career now that he would have easily been a world champion, according to the Huffington Post.
"If Tommy was fighting today, he no doubt would be a world champion," Holden said. "You have to look at who he was fighting in the '90s, the guys in that division were Tyson, Lennox Lewis, Riddick Bowe, Ray Mercer, George Foreman. There's no one with that talent today. Tommy would absolutely dominate if he were in his prime in boxing today."
Morrison won his first 28 professional fights in a row prior to losing a bout to Ray Mercer. Morrison would finish with a career record of 48-3-1 with 42 wins by knockout, according to the Huffington Post.
