George Foreman was supposed to be too old and too fat to box. Tommy Morrison, some said, should not fight because he is infected with the virus that causes AIDS.
But the two heavyweights overcame their doubters, at least for the moment, winning convincing victories over clearly overmatched opponents here today.
The 47-year-old, 253-pound Foreman bested Crawford Grimsley, a 34-year-old former kick boxer, by a unanimous decision.
Morrison, on the undercard, used powerful overhand rights to deck the little-known Marcus Rhode three times in the first round, winning by a technical knockout a mere 1 minute 38 seconds after the opening bell.Continue reading the main story
Morrison, whose infection with H.I.V. was discovered in February, said today's fight will make it more acceptable for H.I.V.-positive boxers to fight by showing people that it is ''not such a big deal.''
''This is a dangerous thing, no doubt about it,'' he said. ''But we're trying to prove to people that it can be a positive thing as well, and I think we did that tonight.''
His opponent agreed, saying he had never been worried about becoming infected.
''It was all blown out of proportion,'' said the 24-year-old Rhode (15-1), who was a last-minute stand-in after Morrison's scheduled opponent, Anthony Cooks, was arrested on rape charges in Oklahoma. ''We were well educated even before the Tommy Morrison incident about how hard it is to get H.I.V. from boxing.''
The bout was fought under special rules. If Morrison had been cut, the fight would have stopped for one minute. If the bleeding persisted after that, the bout would have been decided on the basis of the score up to that point.
But because the fight was so short -- and Morrison (46-3-1) was never in danger of being cut -- it might not allay all concerns.
When his infection was diagnosed, Morrison vowed to quit boxing. But he changed his mind, saying he wanted to fight to earn money for Knockout AIDS, a foundation he established for children infected with H.I.V. He stands to make about $500,000 from today's fight, said Ron Weathers, one of the promoters.
The 27-year-old from Jay, Okla., said he is willing to fight again for the ''sole purpose'' of aiding his foundation, but added, ''This is by no means a second career.'' He suggested that he would like Foreman to be his next opponent. The two fought in 1993, with Morrison winning by decision.
Foreman said he was not averse to a rematch, and he defended Morrison's right to box.
''Tommy Morrison did something very important today,'' Foreman said at a post-fight news conference. ''He stepped in the ring and executed his profession. No one can ever say now 'what if' or 'maybe' or 'he should' or 'he shouldn't.' It's done now. Now it's time for someone else to come and do it again, but he's already stepped in, the water's fine and nobody can take that away from boxing.''
Foreman also executed his profession against Grimsley, who was 20-0 with 18 knockouts against weak opponents. The 237-pound Grimsley is nicknamed Terminator because of his passing resemblance to Arnold Schwarzenegger.
But today, he backpedaled constantly to stay out of Foreman's way.
''It seems that the younger fellas, they love to run from me,'' Foreman (75-4) said from the ring after his victory. The three judges awarded Foreman the match -- by 10 points, 6 points and 4 points.
In November 1994, when he was 45, Foreman became the oldest heavyweight champion ever by knocking out Michael Moorer, regaining a share of the crown he had lost 20 years earlier to Muhammad Ali.
But since then, Foreman had fought only once until today, narrowly beating Axel Schulz by a decision in April 1995. His failure to defend led to his being stripped of his International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Association belts last year. Foreman still holds the fringe World Boxing Union title, which he defended today.
Foreman's weight today was only 3 pounds more than when he won the title two years ago. He seemed somewhat sluggish in the early rounds, falling victim to Grimsley's left jabs, but got more aggressive as the bout wore on.
Foreman said he intended to keep fighting, provided the money is right. Weathers estimated Foreman's take today at $5 million.
The fights attracted little attention in Japan. With ticket prices ranging from about $90 to more than $800, the roughly 6,000-seat arena near Tokyo Disneyland was half-empty. But the bouts were really aimed at a Saturday night pay-per-view audience in the United States.
Even Morrison's condition was treated fairly nonchalantly here, which was somewhat surprising in a nation where H.I.V.-infected people routinely hide their condition for fear of social ostracism. But Japan has no regulations barring H.I.V.-positive people from boxing.Continue reading the main story