Tommy Morrison vs. Michael Bentt
Background
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Following his loss, Morrison strung together eight consecutive victories before landing another shot at the vacant WBO world title against popular 44-year-old former heavyweight champion [[George Foreman]]. Through the course of the fight, Morrison abandoned his aggressive style and used constant movement to keep Foreman off balance. Though the pro-Foreman crowd booed Morrison for using the tactic, it nevertheless paid off as Morrison was able to pick up a lopsided unanimous decision, winning by two scores of 117–110 and one score of 118–109, becoming the new WBO heavyweight world champion in the process. |
Following his loss, Morrison strung together eight consecutive victories before landing another shot at the vacant WBO world title against popular 44-year-old former heavyweight champion [[George Foreman]]. Through the course of the fight, Morrison abandoned his aggressive style and used constant movement to keep Foreman off balance. Though the pro-Foreman crowd booed Morrison for using the tactic, it nevertheless paid off as Morrison was able to pick up a lopsided unanimous decision, winning by two scores of 117–110 and one score of 118–109, becoming the new WBO heavyweight world champion in the process. |
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Originally, Morrison's first defense was scheduled to be against his ''[[Rocky V]]'' co-star [[Michael Williams (boxer)|Mike Williams]], but Williams pulled out only an hour before the fight after refusing to take a pre-fight drug test. As such, Morrison proceeded to defeat unknown journeyman |
Originally, Morrison's first defense was scheduled to be against his ''[[Rocky V]]'' co-star [[Michael Williams (boxer)|Mike Williams]], but Williams pulled out only an hour before the fight after refusing to take a pre-fight drug test. As such, Morrison proceeded to defeat unknown journeyman Tim Tomashek. The match was a sanctioned title fight because Morrison's manager Bill Cayton paid the sanctioning fee for the match. |
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A month prior, Morrison had reached an agreement to face the undefeated [[Lennox Lewis]] for Lewis' [[World Boxing Council|WBC]] world heavyweight title.[https://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/02/sports/boxing-lewis-morrison-bout-set-both-to-earn-8-million.html Lewis-Morrison Bout Set; Both to Earn $8 Million], N.Y. Times article, 1993-07-02, Retrieved on 2013-09-30 However, before moving on to face Lewis, Morrison chose to first defend his WBO title against the virtually unknown [[Michael Bentt]], who was a highly decorated amateur, but had only 11 fights in five years as a professional. |
A month prior, Morrison had reached an agreement to face the undefeated [[Lennox Lewis]] for Lewis' [[World Boxing Council|WBC]] world heavyweight world title.[https://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/02/sports/boxing-lewis-morrison-bout-set-both-to-earn-8-million.html Lewis-Morrison Bout Set; Both to Earn $8 Million], N.Y. Times article, 1993-07-02, Retrieved on 2013-09-30 However, before moving on to face Lewis, Morrison chose to first defend his WBO world title against the virtually unknown [[Michael Bentt]], who was a highly decorated amateur, but had only 11 fights in five years as a professional. |
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Bentt went on to fight Morrison reportedly not fully recovered from an [[arm fracture]]. |
Bentt went on to fight Morrison reportedly not fully recovered from an [[arm fracture]]. |
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