Former world heavyweight champion Tommy Morrison, best known for his role in Rocky V and a very public HIV diagnosis, died last night in Nebraska of undisclosed causes, reports the Tulsa World. He was 44. "It's true," says his former promoter. "He was with his wife Trisha when he passed." Morrison claimed the World Boxing Organization's title in a victory over George Foreman in June 1993; he lost it four months later in a first-round knockout to a newcomer. "I zigged when I should have zagged," he later said. "It's one of those situations you have to live with and learn from it. I'll be back." His lifetime record was 48-3-1.
Morrison starred as Tommy "Machine" Gunn in Rocky V. But perhaps his most public moment came in 1996, when he admitted amid a media firestorm that he had tested positive for HIV and had been suspended by the Nevada Athletic Commission. Morrison tearfully apologized to "a number of sparring partners out there that I worked with, and more importantly, the young ladies that I've been involved with," and urged them to get tested. Morrison later denied that he was HIV-positive, notes the AP, and attempted to resume his career. He fought as recently as 2008 in Mexico. (More Rocky stories.)
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