Tommy

20171278 min

In 1996, Tommy Morrison signed a $38 million contract. Then a positive HIV test changed all that.

In 1996, Tommy Morrison was 27 years old and had just signed a contract that guaranteed him $38 million and a matchup with Mike Tyson. He was recognized for his role in Rocky V and at one point, he was even called Champ. Then a positive HIV test changed all that. Gone were the guarantees, the entourages, the money and the women. His lifestyle of excess had come to an end. The world saw Morrison as another hallmark moment in the story of HIV and A.I.D.S. ‘A famous athlete becomes cautionary tale.’ But this isn’t a film about the disease. This is a personal story. A tale about a man who represented the masculine ideal and tasted the spoils accordingly. Then it all went away. How does one react to a life-altering event? For Tommy Morrison it was all about denial. Not just denying the disease that he regularly tested positive for but failing to comprehend that the life he cherished was never coming back. Great boxers often adjust their approach to an opponent in the middle of a fight. Tommy Morrison couldn’t make that adjustment. Instead, he kept blindly fighting the only way he knew how.