Following a report Friday evening by the Arizona Republic in which Tommy Morrison's former agent said the boxer is HIV positive, John Stover told Sherdog.com that he remains undecided about fighting Morrison in a mixed martial arts bout Saturday at Cliff Castle Casino in Camp Verde, Ariz.
"Today [promoters] assured me on and on that [Morrison] tested negative and they said he's been tested 15 times over the past few years and he tested negative each time," said Stover, a six-foot-two, 340-pound fighter out of Pine Ridge, South Dakota.
"I don't know what to do other than believe them, because why would they lie to me, especially about something like that?" he continued. "Because if he and I were to fight and he was positive then that would be a felony. What do they call it? Attempted manslaughter."
According to the report published on the Republic Web site, Morrison's former agent Randy Lang said Morrison, 38, has tested positive for HIV antibodies.
"If they have proof of that test and then they're trying to push this thing through, then of course that needs to be exposed," Stover's manager, Mike Bridge, told Sherdog.com late Friday.
Since being driven out of boxing after a positive HIV test in 1996, Morrison has repeated claims that the test conducted by the Nevada State Athletic Commission was a false-positive, and he is free of the virus that causes AIDS.
Jay, Oklahoma's Morrison stayed out of the ring for 11 years before attempting to return to boxing this January. A hand injury ended that bid, and his license application to the Arizona State Athletic Commission was subsequently pulled back before blood work could be returned.
On Feb. 22, 2007, Morrison fought John Castle in a four-round bout after West Virginia licensed him based largely on documents that Lang said were fraudulent, or tests in which blood samples were switched.
Lang said he stopped working for Morrison three days after the Feb. fight because the boxer and his promoter, Peter McKinn, who is running Saturday's fight in Ariz., misrepresented the results of tests conducted in front him and Arizona State Athletic Commission Executive Officer Joe Montano.
McKinn told the Republic that he was never in West Virginia during Morrison's licensing process and that all documents supplied to the commission came from Lang.
Calls from Sherdog.com to McKinn were not immediately returned.
Stover, a self-diagnosed brawler with a penchant for bloody fights, told Sherdog Radio on Friday afternoon that he was under the impression the fight, intended to be Morrison's MMA debut, fell under the jurisdiction of the Arizona State Athletic Commission.
"I came into this with what my promoter told me," he said.
Informed that blood, heart and eye exams were not going to be administered because the bout was taking place on Yavapai-Apache Nation land, which falls outside the jurisdiction of the Arizona Commission, Stover said, "I'm not ready to commit suicide or something like that."
The heavyweights finally met Friday evening during weigh-ins for the controversial bout. They shook hands and took pictures before Morrison left.
"It's kind of flip-floppy right now," said Bridge. "We'll wait to see what tomorrow brings. [Stover's] kind of freaking out about it because we're getting mixed signals.
"As far as I know, the fight's still on."
"Today [promoters] assured me on and on that [Morrison] tested negative and they said he's been tested 15 times over the past few years and he tested negative each time," said Stover, a six-foot-two, 340-pound fighter out of Pine Ridge, South Dakota.
"I don't know what to do other than believe them, because why would they lie to me, especially about something like that?" he continued. "Because if he and I were to fight and he was positive then that would be a felony. What do they call it? Attempted manslaughter."
According to the report published on the Republic Web site, Morrison's former agent Randy Lang said Morrison, 38, has tested positive for HIV antibodies.
"If they have proof of that test and then they're trying to push this thing through, then of course that needs to be exposed," Stover's manager, Mike Bridge, told Sherdog.com late Friday.
Since being driven out of boxing after a positive HIV test in 1996, Morrison has repeated claims that the test conducted by the Nevada State Athletic Commission was a false-positive, and he is free of the virus that causes AIDS.
Jay, Oklahoma's Morrison stayed out of the ring for 11 years before attempting to return to boxing this January. A hand injury ended that bid, and his license application to the Arizona State Athletic Commission was subsequently pulled back before blood work could be returned.
On Feb. 22, 2007, Morrison fought John Castle in a four-round bout after West Virginia licensed him based largely on documents that Lang said were fraudulent, or tests in which blood samples were switched.
Lang said he stopped working for Morrison three days after the Feb. fight because the boxer and his promoter, Peter McKinn, who is running Saturday's fight in Ariz., misrepresented the results of tests conducted in front him and Arizona State Athletic Commission Executive Officer Joe Montano.
McKinn told the Republic that he was never in West Virginia during Morrison's licensing process and that all documents supplied to the commission came from Lang.
Calls from Sherdog.com to McKinn were not immediately returned.
Stover, a self-diagnosed brawler with a penchant for bloody fights, told Sherdog Radio on Friday afternoon that he was under the impression the fight, intended to be Morrison's MMA debut, fell under the jurisdiction of the Arizona State Athletic Commission.
"I came into this with what my promoter told me," he said.
Informed that blood, heart and eye exams were not going to be administered because the bout was taking place on Yavapai-Apache Nation land, which falls outside the jurisdiction of the Arizona Commission, Stover said, "I'm not ready to commit suicide or something like that."
The heavyweights finally met Friday evening during weigh-ins for the controversial bout. They shook hands and took pictures before Morrison left.
"It's kind of flip-floppy right now," said Bridge. "We'll wait to see what tomorrow brings. [Stover's] kind of freaking out about it because we're getting mixed signals.
"As far as I know, the fight's still on."
removed from the rules, the bout can hardly be considered mixed martial arts.