The Return of Tommy Morrison and the 1990 Heavyweights
By Geno McGahee
I often speak about the great times of the 1990s…boxing-wise, at least. The movies and music may have not been the best, but the heavyweight division was incredible. In the mid to late 1980s, it was Mike Tyson and everyone else, as he dominated and was seen as unbeatable, but in 1990, a 42-1 underdog would shake up the boxing world and pull the biggest upset of all time, knocking out “Kid Dynamite” in 10 rounds to claim the crown.
Evander Holyfield, the former Cruiserweight Champion, moved up to heavyweight and was demanding a crack at Tyson, but he was kept on hold, but was eventually promised the next crack after Tyson got through Douglas. With Tyson down and out, a Douglas-Holyfield fight was made.
In October of 1990, “The Moment of Truth” took place with the undefeated Holyfield knocking out a bloated Buster Douglas to become the heavyweight champion, and this opened up an entire new can of worms. Holyfield wasn’t Tyson. He wasn’t the killer inside the ring. He was vicious but beatable, and that made the heavyweight division that much more interesting. Tyson was still in the mix, but he too was beatable now, and with the up and coming heavyweights, the future was bright.
In August of 1990, Olympic Gold Medalist, Ray Mercer, had a memorable war with Bert Cooper, maintaining his undefeated record with a spirited 12 round decision, followed up by a pay per view showcase against WBO Heavyweight Champion, Francesco Damiani. After losing every round, Mercer would find an uppercut and break the nose of the Italian champion and take the title.
On the undercard, two other undefeated heavyweights made some noise. Bruce Seldon, 16-0, 13 KO’s, jumped off the canvas, literally, after being dropped by ring veteran Jose Ribalta in the opening seconds, only to pummel him into submission in 3 rounds. The heavy-hitting Tommy Morrison, 24-0, 20 KO’s, fresh off his starring role as “Tommy Gunn” in Rocky V, beat another ring veteran in James “Quick” Tillis, stopping him in less than two minutes of the first round.
In 1990, another young American heavyweight was on the rise by the name of Riddick Bowe. He had a great fight on the undercard of Holyfield-Douglas, stopping Bert Cooper in two rounds, and then was featured on ABC, defeating Tony Tubbs and Tyrell Biggs. With his likable personality (a manufactured one), he was quickly gaining fans, but the top of the division was still dominated by three names: Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, and George Foreman.
On June 16th, 1990, Mike Tyson had his comeback fight against the hopeless Henry Tillman. In the co-main event, George Foreman faced off against fringe contender, Adilson Rodrigues. The plan was to match Foreman against Tyson in a Don King/Bob Arum co-promotion that would have been the biggest pay per view of all time. Both men won their fights, Tyson in one and Foreman in two, but they would go different directions after this.
Holyfield would defend his heavyweight title against Foreman in the “Battle of the Ages,” while Tyson would move on to face Alex Stewart (KO-1) and then have two fights with Razor Ruddock (TKO-7, UD-12) before being locked up for rape and being taken out of the heavyweight picture. Ruddock’s great performances put him into the mix of contenders for Holyfield to defend against.
In 1992, Lennox Lewis made his big impression by stopping Ruddock in two rounds. It was part of a tournament that never completed. Riddick Bowe defeated Holyfield for the title in November of that year and opted to give up the WBC title and avoid Lewis, but the division was full of life.
Ray Mercer only had one defeat, dropping a decision to Larry Holmes, but with his power and great chin, he was still a big player. Tommy Morrison, one defeat to Mercer, was still in the mix. Bruce Seldon fell back in the rankings after losses to Oliver McCall (TKO-9) and Riddick Bowe (KO-1), but had won six of seven fights in 1992, keeping in the public’s eye.
In the early 1990s, the division was full of good talent and it was very interesting. Bowe held the WBA and IBF titles from 1992-1993, losing to Holyfield in a rematch, but the loss was close and he was still a major player. Lennox Lewis held the WBC Title from 1993-1994, losing by shocking stoppage to Oliver McCall, who had slowly worked his way back up the ranks. Holyfield would lose his regained crown to former Light Heavyweight Champ, Michael Moorer in his first defense in 1994.
In the mid 1990s, heavyweights came onto the scene, adding new blood to the current contenders. Andrew Golota, Jeremy Williams, Larry Donald, Shannon Briggs, Lou Savarese, Henry Akinwande, Frans Botha, Michael Grant, Jimmy Thunder, Hasim Rahman, Obed Sullivan, Chris Byrd, John Ruiz, David Tua, and Ike Ibeabuchi were the new crop of heavyweights ready to challenge and make their mark as guys like Tim Witherspoon, George Foreman, Evander Holyfield, Riddick Bowe, Lennox Lewis, Frank Bruno, Bruce Seldon, Tommy Morrison, Joe Hipp, Jorge Luis Gonzalez, Buster Mathis, JR., Herbie Hide, and a returning Mike Tyson made up much of the upper echelon.
In 1994, Michael Moorer would lose to George Foreman by stoppage, dropping the IBF and WBA titles. Foreman’s victory was never followed up by any true defense, eventually being stripped of both titles. The WBA went to Bruce Seldon after he defeated Tony Tucker, and the IBF was returned to Michael Moorer when he defeated Axel Schulz by decision.
McCall would drop his heavyweight title to Frank Bruno in 1995, who would then lose it to Mike Tyson in 1996. Lennox Lewis took back the WBC Title, vacated by Tyson, in a rematch with McCall and began the Lewis era, systematically cleaning out the division and distinguishing himself as the true champion, although the other titles would be handed around, which went basically unnoticed.
Tyson and Holyfield would meet up in 1996 with the WBA Title on the line, and Holyfield would pull the upset, stopping Iron Mike in 11 to take the title and would defend it successfully in the rematch, giving up part of his ears to do so in a DQ win. Holyfield would then take the IBF title in a unification bout with Michael Moorer, avenging his defeat and Holyfield – Lewis became a hot item.
Lewis would defeat Holyfield, after a ridiculous draw robbed him of all titles the first time around, but when Lewis opted to take on the public’s choice in Michael Grant, the WBA stripped him of the title and attempted to give it back to Holyfield, and did just that when he defeated John Ruiz for the vacant crown. The WBA lost all credibility and Ruiz’s career suffered because of it.
As Lewis beat all of the available contenders: David Tua (W-12), Henry Akinwande (DQ-5), Shannon Briggs (KO-5), Frans Botha (KO-2), Andrew Golota (KO-1), Hasim Rahman in a rematch of his only other loss (KO-4), and Mike Tyson (KO-8), he left the sport by defeating Vitali Klitschko on a cut and called it a career. All of the heavyweights of the 1990s were gone, gone, all gone, for the most part.
Ike Ibeabuchi, an undefeated heavyweight that seemed to be destined for greatness found legal trouble and was sent to prison for a long, long time. Riddick Bowe was beaten without mercy and sent packing by Andrew Golota. David Tua never showed the dedication to be all he could be. Lou Savarese was exposed. George Foreman retired and Mike Tyson was forced to quit after losses to Lewis, Danny Williams and Kevin McBride.
The 1990s were over and the Klitschkos have taken over the sport. The difference is that there isn’t the crop of good contenders with legitimate shots to take the crown. Long shots like Tomasz Adamek, Alexander Povetkin, and Odlanier Solis are in the wings, but there is zero excitement about a showdown with any of them. David Haye, the WBA Champ, seems to be the only one of interest.
All is not lost though for the fans of the 1990s. Some of those old timers are still lingering around. Evander Holyfield, 43-10-2, 28 KO’s, at 48 still goes on, hoping against hope that he will get another crack at the title. HIV positive Tommy Morrison, 48-3-1, 42 KO’s, hopes to return to the ring on a double header with former foe, Ray Mercer, 36-7-1, 26 KO’s. Hasim Rahman, 49-7-2, 40 KO’s, continues on at age 38, hoping that victories over no-hopers will get him into a title opportunity, and Oliver McCall, 55-10, 37 KO’s, forges on at 45. At 38, David Tua’s, 51-3-2, 43 KO’s, on again/off again career may be back on in a rematch with Monte Barett, a fight that was judged a draw and where the public could easily see that Tua is a spent force.
None of the heavyweights of the 1990s have a hope to defeat the current champions, but they still represent a better time in boxing. It would have been interesting to see how the Klitschkos would have done against the prime Ray Mercer, Tommy Morrison, Riddick Bowe, Lennox Lewis, Oliver McCall, and so on. The division was wiped clean by Lewis and has not recovered since. There are no contenders that the public has backed as the “next big thing” to challenge the Klitschko reign and it’s easy to imagine the two brothers winding down their careers without another defeat. Let’s hope that we will see some new blood on the rise that will turn the division back to the competitive group it once was.