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"Tough times never last, but tough people do." – Tommy Morrison
TUE February 27, BUSTER PARIS - The punch in the face is followed by an inward smile. He waited over a decade for that punch in the face, 11 years to be exact.
Morrison had been out of the game 11 long years because back in February of 1996 he tested HIV positive. Morrison and his crew say that that test done in ’96 was a false positive.
As for today – Tommy says, "Over the last two or three months, I've taken five, six different tests and continued to pass them…"
“I did every kind of test they have on the market and one that is not even approved yet…”
The most powerful statement he uttered:
"They can't find any virus."
11 years is a long time to wait for a punch in the face. 11 years is a long time to wait to fight. The last time he fought he was 27. Ask any 38 year old guy if he remembers being 27 and you’ll see his eyes smile first, then the grin comes, then that long stare to yesteryear as the memories begin. You too – think back 11 years – you were an entirely different person.
Thursday – February 22nd, 2007 at Mountaineer Race Track in Chester, WV an older and entirely different Tommy “The Duke” Morrison (W 47 - 41 ko's, L 3 & D 1) was finally able to get that punch in the face – and fought “Big John” Castle (W 4 - 2 ko's & L 3) in a scheduled 4 rounder that went 2.
At about the halfway point in the 2nd round Morrison connected with a powerful left hook that dropped Castle. John slowly rose, but referee Dave Johnson got to the count of eight and waved it off – fight over.
You have to figure that amidst the understandably overshadowing HIV storyline that those 4:49 must have been amazing for “The Duke” –and for that, congrats Tommy!
Post fight, Tommy had some comments on his performance:
"I'm satisfied with my performance. I still have a lot of improving to do …”
"For the first fight in 11 years, with a win under my belt, I'm pretty happy.”
"As time goes on, as I spend more time in the gym, I'm going to improve in every area."
For “Big John” Castle – with 7 fights under his belt, it’s rare that he would have had the opportunity to fight a name like Tommy Morrison and you have to imagine – even with Tommy’s HIV tests coming in negative that he’d be a little apprehensive to fight Morrison. He told the New York Daily News as much:
“…I was going to refuse to fight. I asked to see his medical tests and they showed me three tests where he was negative for HIV. That's the only way I would fight."
John’s trainer, Wesley Ramey also told the New York Daily News:
"I made up my mind ahead of time that I was going to stop it if Morrison got a bad cut. A guy with HIV and AIDS isn't going to bleed all over my guy. My guy has a wife and two kids at home. I couldn't let that happen to him."
And to make the fight more dramatic, Tommy did suffer a small cut under his eye.
The boxing world will keep an eye on this, obviously it’s an enormous issue like nothing the sport has ever faced before, and it brings up a lot of good points and interesting debates as well as a lot of fear and some of the uglier aspects of peoples thoughts and reactions to HIV and AIDS.
We at TalkingBoxing.com would love to hear your thoughts and views on the matter.
For now, for today, let’s focus on one important aspect -- that Tommy Morrison waited 11 years for a punch in the face and got it.
“I got hit with a right hand. It knocked me off balance … it was my first fight in almost 11 years. I needed this."
Now there’s a brand new number in his “W” column. #47. He waited 11 years for that too. That 46 must have been painfully taunting him; a constant reminder that things ended way too soon.
Going forward – Morrison says:
"I want to fight again, maybe twice in March," he said. "My timing was off, but timing is feeling it, getting the rhythm. That's the last thing you get back. I have a ways to go there. My power is still there. The rest will come. I am just excited to be back."
Good for you Tommy –and best of luck! – with everything.
Lastly – when it comes to Tommy Morrison and even his future in the sport, it’s far too early right now to tell what kind of threat or factor he’ll be in the struggling Heavyweight division, but regardless of what he does or does not have left in the tank we need to finally put to rest one lingering issue that’s so entwined with everything that he is, and it’s something that has haunted -and is haunting - Tommy, his family and the sport of boxing itself – and I challenge anyone one of you to prove me wrong on what I’m about to address, so let’s end it here and now:
Rocky V was not the worst Rocky movie, it actually fluctuates between 3rd and 4th best --- Rocky IV was the worst, hands down.
Buster Paris can be reached at: bparis@talkingboxing.com - and always enjoys receiving your thoughts, comments and questions.
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