Amidst controversy surrounding whether or not former boxing heavyweight champion Tommy Morrison was HIV positive, the 38-year-old boxer stopped South Dakota's John Stover early in the first round in what was billed as The Duke's mixed martial arts debut, reports Sherdog.com's Tommy Messano.
An hour before the bout at the Cliff Castle Casino in Campe Verde, Ariz., promoters officially changed Morrison-Stover to a stand-up only boxing bout with 4-ounce gloves.
Morrison made Stover, 35, wait in the cage for 10 minutes before strolling into the arena wearing boxing shoes. The crowd voiced its displeasure at Morrison, who along with promoter Peter McKinn was accused on Friday by the fighter's former agent Randy Lang of fallsifying documents or tampering with test samples to show the boxer was HIV negative.
Pouring blood from a broken nose, Stover went to the cage fencing, where Morrison, despite looking out of shape, worked him over with strikes before the referee intervened. Morrison did not wear any cuts or abrasions, and did not bleed in the fight.
Held on the Yavapai-Apache Nation, Saturday's fighters fell out of the jurisdiction of the Arizona State Athletic Commission. Fighters were not required to take pre-fight blood, heart or eye exams.
Morrison was forced out of boxing in 1996 after the Nevada State Athletic Commssion said the Oklahoman tested positive for HIV. He has maintained that the NSAC test was a false positive and that he is HIV negative.
An hour before the bout at the Cliff Castle Casino in Campe Verde, Ariz., promoters officially changed Morrison-Stover to a stand-up only boxing bout with 4-ounce gloves.
Morrison made Stover, 35, wait in the cage for 10 minutes before strolling into the arena wearing boxing shoes. The crowd voiced its displeasure at Morrison, who along with promoter Peter McKinn was accused on Friday by the fighter's former agent Randy Lang of fallsifying documents or tampering with test samples to show the boxer was HIV negative.
Pouring blood from a broken nose, Stover went to the cage fencing, where Morrison, despite looking out of shape, worked him over with strikes before the referee intervened. Morrison did not wear any cuts or abrasions, and did not bleed in the fight.
Held on the Yavapai-Apache Nation, Saturday's fighters fell out of the jurisdiction of the Arizona State Athletic Commission. Fighters were not required to take pre-fight blood, heart or eye exams.
Morrison was forced out of boxing in 1996 after the Nevada State Athletic Commssion said the Oklahoman tested positive for HIV. He has maintained that the NSAC test was a false positive and that he is HIV negative.
