Tommy “The Duke” Morrison: The Greatest Left Hooker in Heavyweight History!

 Loading ...

By Luca “MamaLuke” Balossino

Floyd Patterson who had one of the greatest left hooks in heavyweight history once said:“When delivered properly, the left hook is the most devastating punch in boxing. It takes a lot of practice to deliver this punch with power, but it is well worth it.” At least hundreds, of boxers throughout history have unfolded their left hooks and a few dozen can legitimately claim to own one of the greatest left hooks in history. These boxers can be counted with two hands at the most. Two time Heavyweight championship title challenger, Gerry Cooney possessed a unique left hook. I still remember that epic left hook to the body, which broke Ron Lyle’s ribs and stopped him in the first round. Mike Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion of the world by defeating Trevor Berbick while landing a left hook high on the temple of Trevor, causing Berbick to dance on Queer Street.

Bob Foster was a light heavyweight/heavyweight. One of his memorable knock downs was after trading punches with the younger brother of Jerry Quarry, a meaningful left hook that put Mike Quarry down seconds before the end of round 4, causing his first defeat after 35 fights. David Tua was one to be also remembered “When I throw that left hook, and when that left hook finds home, I sense fear, I taste blood and I taste victory,” That left hook landed on the chin of John Ruiz follow by a dozen unanswered punches which put Ruiz to sleep and will be rememberd as one of the nastiest knockouts in the heavyweight division.

Nobody can forget of course Frazier’s left hook that floored Muhammad Ali in the final round of their first fight. That was for sure the most significant left hook ever seen in the heavyweight history. However, this in my book doesn´t mean he was the greatest heavyweight “left hooker” of all the time (excuse my French). Morrison fought the opponents that were put in front of him, by saying that, I am not defending or making a comparison with the opponents that Frazier fought against the ones that Tommy fought.
I mean, people most remember Frazier for the trilogy with Ali, stating he was one of the greatest boxers out there, which indeed he was! No doubt about it. But he also made a name with his trademark punch the left hook and built up a record against fighters like Woody Goss, Mel Turnbow, Charley Polite, Billy Daniels, Ray Staples, Marion Conner, Don Smith, Chuck Leslie, Billy Daniels, Al Jones and the list goes on…

Morrison also fought fighters as the same caliber as the ones I just mentioned and had a bigger and more spectaculars KO´s (Don´t forget the fight against Ruddock with that sinister counter left hook that landed flush on Ruddock´s chin in round 6). His KO rate during his career was 81% against 73% of Frazier. Out of his 48 wins and 42 knockouts he managed to put down with the left hook (27 opponents, which 6 were body punches that broke his opponent’s ribs.

even Ray Mercer who knocked the heck out of Tommy with the scariest knockout in heavyweight history was asked a few years back who hit him the hardest in his professional career? “Morrison hit me so hard to the body with those hooks that I was actually farting in the ring (laughs). You have to act like… you can´t let the guy see that you´re hurt, but he the hit me harder than I was ever hit in boxing.” Jim Lampley after the Morrison Vs Carl “The Truth” Williams fight stated about Tommy Morrison loud and clear, “Well, he’s still a one dimensional fighter. He still utterly depends on the left hook and he still has the greatest left hook in the heavyweight division”. He also said during a broadcast fight of “The Duke Morrison has so much power, even his jabs sounds like Mike Tyson´s body punches”. Bert Sugar was always very critical with Tommy Morrison, but when it came to talk about his left hook he had no hesitation of stating: ‘Tommy has a hell of a left hook, he´s got a great left hook, period end of paragraph”.

Gil Clancy was asked by Jim Lampley how many guys above 220 pounds he has seen to throw the left hook as quick as Tommy Morrison? “That is a good question (Gil stated), probably the other guy that I’ve seen is Mike Tyson… and Mike Tyson´s hook is not as short as Tommy Morrison”. Joe Frazier back in 1996 was asked about Tommy Morrison as a fighter, he said the following, “This is about the closest guy they say have a left hook almost like mine”. George Foreman prior to fighting Morrison for the WBO belt was comparing Frazier with Morrison. “I remember the moment in my life when I had to face Joe Frazier, who had a murderous hook, I was scared then, I am only frightened this time (by facing Tommy Morrison)”.

Morrison´s left hook, was stronger and faster than Frazier’s, if you want to debate strongest take a look at the knockout percentage and how many times he used the left hook to put his opponents down. Realize that every boxing fan will say that Mike Tyson would hit harder than Tommy, would even find offense to this statement. I am sorry, says who? Yes a boxing fan, but when you ask a few opponents that fought both fighters the response is unanimous:

James “Quick” Tillis the first man who went to distance with a prime Tyson, stated the following comparison with both heavy hitters: “Tommy hit harder than Tyson, so he´s second behind Shavers by my experience”.

Morrison´s left hook arsenal was the most complete one out there, landed from many different angles. Take a look at the only round he fought against former WBC Heavyweight Champion Pinklon Thomas. He murdered Thomas by landing his left hook from every angle and broke Pinklon´s rib, making him quit after 1 round. Pinklon Thomas stated years later in regards fighting Morrison: “I couldn´t believe how all his punches hurt. I thought there was something suspicious about it, he hits way harder than Mike Tyson”. Also Razor Ruddock stated that Morrison hit “slightly” harder than Tyson.

Make no mistake folks, I am not saying Morrison was the greatest heavyweight in history out there, he was far from it! He lacked a good defense due to his fighting style, had a decent chin combined with a huge heart which led him to always getting up every time he went down (with the exclusion of the Mercer bout due to being exhausted), he had stamina problems because of the intensity he landed his punches that took a lot out of him. However, I am confidently saying with arguments and some deep research, that without a doubt: Tommy Morrison was and still is the greatest left hook in heavyweight history!

[si-contact-form form=’2′]