Whats Tommy Morrison's Legacy?

[XThe GreatestX]

I was thinking about this earlier today and i just can't help but be extremely disappointed when i think about Tommy Morrisons career. heres a guy who had all the makings of a big star but he just seemed to literally come up so short in all his big fights and some of his smaller ones!

I mean cmon the guys is on his way to the hw title and than loses to Ray Mercer which isn't that bad of a loss i guess but i mean he got demolished in a fight that he was winning up until that 5th round where he ended up getting hit with like 30 punches.

then he goes on another streak being positioned to fight lennox in a unification match before losing to the 10-1 Michael Bennt?????

than he goes on another streak before getting crushed by Lennox Lewis which isn't a bad loss by any means but the fight just wasn't competitive

Morrison was a fighter that i enjoyed to watch and i was out of my chair screaming when he beat Razor Ruddock by ko, but jeez did the guy come up ridiculously small in some of his fights

btw most of these streaks in between losses were against bums

 

[Social Distance Warrior]

White fighter with good hook and star of the worst Rocky film.

 

[MC Paul Barman]

3 losses to 48 wins isn't anything to be ashamed of.

Many boxers have that lapse where they lose to a guy they should beat.
But aside from the loss to Bentt. Losses to Mercer and Lennox are nothing to be ashamed of.

Lennox was simply a better boxer.


Legacy wise? I don't know.... he had a good left hook.

 

[MC Paul Barman]

White fighter with good hook and star of the worst Rocky film.

Yeah, he was a pretty bad actor in that movie.
So corny.


Some of the background on that movie is interesting though. How Tommy would unload full power shots on the stuntmen he was boxing with. Nasty, mean spirited stuff.

 

[PUO3]

Morrison was one of my favorites as a kid. Another somewhat wasted talent due to outside factors. The partying and bullshit outside of the ring ruined what could have been inside of it. Dont think he had it to a "great", but the dude was quite the talent regardless.

As far as a legacy, its more of a what could have been type. The Ruddock KO was awesome though.

 

[MC Paul Barman]

 

[Seano]

His legacy is getting HIV, going crazy and dying with nothing.

He had a part of the HW scene of the 90's but his legacy really isn't a positive one in any way.

The guy beat George Foreman but it hasn't even been mentioned in the thread.

 

[MC Paul Barman]

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/99253/STUNTMEN-SUE-SLY-FOR-ROCKY-ROUGH-STUFF.html

 

[MC Paul Barman]

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20113507,00.html

disgusting:

Both Todd Champion, 29, who now walks around with a titanium plate in his head, and Steve Santosusso, 26, who had his jaw broken in two places, claimed in court documents that their injuries were sustained during separate fight sequences in the movie and were inflicted "with malice" by one of Stallone's co-stars, professional fighter Tommy Morrison.

Can't find the link. But there was one a while back where a member on the set said that Morrison didn't like how Champion walked around and that he looked cocky. So that's what prompted him to crack him.

 

[EGarrett]

Yeah, he was a pretty bad actor in that movie.
So corny.


Some of the background on that movie is interesting though. How Tommy would unload full power shots on the stuntmen he was boxing with. Nasty, mean spirited stuff.

There have been much, much worse acting performances by athletes in movies than Tommy Morrison in Rocky V. He actually managed to pull off quite a few of those cheesy scenes to the point that you don't realize he wasn't a professional actor.

 

[Social Distance Warrior]

Yeah, he was a pretty bad actor in that movie.
So corny.


Some of the background on that movie is interesting though. How Tommy would unload full power shots on the stuntmen he was boxing with. Nasty, mean spirited stuff.

I fault the writers of that movie more so than Morrison.

THere was one touching scene where Rocky has a flashback talking to Mickey...

many people don't know this, but what Mickey was saying was verbatum was Cus D'Amato said in an interview regarding Tyson.

"...if you weren't here, I probably wouldn't around.....that fact that you are here and doing as well as you are gives me motivation to staly alive..."

 

[BKMMAFAN]

Being in complete denial about HIV/AIDS.

 

[Torrid]

Getting HIV, talking about getting HIV, then going into this crazy HIV denial fantasy world where he and his wife referred to it as, 'His Innocent Victim'. Then going on to blame every doctor that tried to help them by claiming his declining physical health was due to malpractice.

Also, signing to fight in a MMA bout on Indian ground, then changing the rules last minute to a cage-boxing bout - while having HIV.

Oh, and he had a good left hook.

 

[opie]

Getting HIV, talking about getting HIV, then going into this crazy HIV denial fantasy world where he and his wife referred to it as, 'His Innocent Victim'. Then going on to blame every doctor that tried to help them by claiming his declining physical health was due to malpractice.

Also, signing to fight in a MMA bout on Indian ground, then changing the rules last minute to a cage-boxing bout - while having HIV.

Oh, and he had a good left hook.

^pretty much all of this

had decent skill. got hiv. disappeared for a while. came back and was a crazy ass

 

[Blazeblack]

His legacy probably stands as a former Heavyweight title holder who had aids and was in Rocky 5. Though realistically the WBO belt he had was about as relevant as an interim or silver title is today, and rocky 5 was probably the worst movie of the bunch. That being said I personally think he was an exiting fighter that fell on hard times, rest in peace Tommy.

 

[Reinhard]

Agree with the above posters. I don't mean to offend the dead, or anyone, really, but if someone mentions Morrison, I pretty much just think about a damn good left hook and that whole HIV debacle.

 

[GhostBlade]

He didn't have the best chin and left himself wide open to get tagged. He had the physical tools no doubt but his ring I.Q. was lacking. Having a white, All-American heavyweight contender back in the 90s was a rarity and this was Morrison's main appeal but as a fighter he wasn't anything special as there were a ton of black fighters in the 90s that were better than Morrison.

 

[papitodd]

Getting KTFO by Ray Mercer. And a decent role in a sub par Rocky movie.

 

[sportkillergreg]

yeah the HIV thing comes to mind first for me. Had a good hook, good boxer. Could have fought a good 5+ years before the HIV thing and extended his boxing legacy. Also I read that he was planning to fight Mike Tyson before the whole HIV thing sidelined him. The way some of you guys talk about him seems pretty glib though.

 

[SuwoopBangin]

Aids