Mercer vs Morrison. Was that fight proof that Tommy just wasnt gonna make it..?

Morrison stopping a comeback version of Holmes is certainly possible. But then again, Larry was still difficult to hit with the left hook, even at that stage. He could still take a good shot and had a servicable jab and uppercut.. Tommy could very well have beaten him from 1991 onward, but I think Larry still has a hell of a chance.

 

The fight was one of those that shows the good and bad of each guy. You certainly knew that Mercer was not going to stay undefeated for long as easy as he was to hit in there. And Morrison's parachute blew open like lots of hitters when they are the one getting hit on the chin.

Not enough credit is given to Morrison for coming back to any sort of effectiveness after such a brutal ko. How many other heavies did that? He was the rare breed that got himself back to the top of the division that was a tremendous accomplishment to do that. Winning fights after coming back that far is strictly hollywood scripts, but very very few heavies come back from those 3 minute or more ko defeats and end up ruined.

And his style made for a promoters dream because you weren't buying a dull fight. Other guys can put you to sleep but Morrison did put fans in the seats & 1 way or another was exciting.

I still would have liked to have seen him in there in some more gunslinger matches against the likes of Bruno or Gary Mason when he was on his run. That Hide fight that Arum cancelled. Alex Stewart. Golata. Witherspoon wasn't bad back then and made for an interesting fight. JL Gonzales. Seldon and his jab was another one I wanted to see Tommy deal with. He'd win a few and lose a few but they'd be exciting.

 

I always expected the same from Morrison. Start fast then his mouth would open he would start breathing heavy and try to turn into a boxer. Shannon Briggs seemed to do something similar in his fights. Who knows, it must be attributed to training habits, not mental or asthma like both fighters claimed.
Look at Tyson later in his career same thing, and we knew it was because of training. Early in his career Rooney would make him fight for 12 rounds and he would rotate fresh guys in and Tyson could fight the course and that style, like Morrions and Briggs, took a lot of energy.
Atlas always commented how lazy Briggs was in training and Im sure Morrison did the same thing.

 

He did ok after the mercer loss,quite well even but that fight did confirm he was never going to beat the very best.

 

Ah, the 1990’s. The more I see or think about this decade, the more I appreciate it as the 1st or 2nd best decade in heavyweight history. Morrison has some things going for him. He was good enough to be say the 5th or 6th best heavyweight in the decade. Morrison had true one punch KO power, fast hands, and for the most part pretty good heart. I think his management made a miscalculation in the Mercer fight.


One should never match an undefeated / untested puncher vs. a tough boxer with skills ( Mercer was an Olympic star ) in a breakout match unless 1. His chin is solid and , and 2. His stamina is tested for 10 rounds. Morrison qualified for neither. How his team did not know this after seeing him go 100’s of rounds in the gym, and sometimes look shaky vs. journeyman is beyond me. To complicate matters, Morrison was a stubborn type who did not take well to training, and was easily distracted outside of the ring.


Morrison started out hot vs. Mercer, but began to gas as early as round 4. This to me says it all. He wasn’t ready and really did not know his limitations as a fighter. Props to Mercer for hanging in there and delivering a classic KO.

 

George Foreman made it to the top by fighting Manny, Moe, and Jack!

 

Exactly. :good

It;s not like Mercer hadn't shown a few weaknesses himself either. It was pretty much regarded as a 50/50 fight at the time.

 

?? Mercer was exactly in his prime.