How far would Tommy Morrison have gone if he wasn't caught for aids in 1996?

He was an overachiever as it was. He was a poor man's Alex Stewart.

 

He was already on the way out. It's possible his star appeal might have squeezed in one or two more paydays, possibly the Tyson fight or something like that, but he wasn't going anywhere.

 

He only trained with discipline for two of his top fights that was Foreman and Lewis. He had lost to Lewis so he probably doesn't make it far after a Tyson fight assuming he loses that one.

I don't see him changing his lifestyle out of the ring which was his toughest opponent, himself.

 

Not far

He was past peak

 

His toughest opponent wasn't himself, it was Ray Mercer, who gave him a bigger beating than himself ever did. Thinking about it, Morrison's toughest opponent may have been the ref in that fight. Who the hell was that? Had they not let him ref a fight since he did Emile Griffith vs Paret?

 

Morrison was a live fast, play dirty and age quickly type of guy who really did not listen much to his trainers. But with all that money behind him, I think he'd get the right type of match making to go further.

We was scheduled to face Herbie Hide once. A match with Golota could have been interesting. Or a showdown with Moorer. He could win or lose any of these matches. An exciting type of guy.

 

Overachiever? Since when does a guy who had bad training habits become an overachiever?

He easily out boxed Foreman, defeated Ruddock and showed heart beating Hipp with a broken jaw.

He was up 3-0 vs. a skilled Ray Mercer until falling apart. Okay he was not in Lennox Lewis class at all, but who else is?

 

I didn't think I'd be a Morrison supporter but here we are.

I definitely think Morrison showed himself a superior talent than Stewart ever did. Morrison managed to outbox an old Foreman, without ever touching the mat. If you want direct comparisons on what the two accomplished, Stewart had to get off the deck twice and was nearly stopped against that same old Foreman.

What good wins did Stewart ever have, ever comparative to someone like Joe Hipp? Morrison also had Ruddock on his resume, Stewart basically never beat anyone.

 

Tommy ran from George all night, literally turning his back and outpacing an old man. That was a strategy he could have never pulled off against another contemporary top 10 opponent, i.e. anyone with legs still beneath them. He barely could outrun an old dinosaur. Stewart at least laid some hurt on George and made him get those sunglasses fast after the fight. Funny, I recently scored the Tommy/George fight and had it a draw.

And the Ruddock that Morrison beat was a non-entity.

But point taken, I will re-state. Morrison was a middleclass man's Alex Stewart.

 

He already had gone as far as He could. Maybe one more payday.
He had a vicious left hook.....he could hurt anyone with it. Today he'd have one belt or other; I bet he'd beat Parker.

 

I know he ran at times, but outpointing even old George Foreman isn't something just any joe blow can waltz into boxing and do.

He's certainly not an elite talent, and I do agree with him being comparable to Stewart, though not a poorer fighter than him.

 

You can denigrate Morrison's peformance against Geroge all you want, but it was the right strategy. He showed he could stick to a gameplan and adapt to fight in a way he didn't normally fight. Alex Stewart, meanwhile, was a one trick pony. He only fought one way. I do think Stewart fought great against Foreman - but he did lose the fight. Stewart also gave Holyfield a great fight, but lost. Morrison has better wins than Stewart. He should be rated higher.

 

Tommy Morrison was the Tommy Bolin of boxing. He burned the candle at both ends, still had a great career, but like other people have said he was his own worst enemy.

 

i think Tommy was a victim of racism in america. i remember reading all the boxing magazines about him as a kid, and he was always not taken seriously because he was White.