Former Heavyweight Boxing Champion Tommy Morrison Died at the Age of 44 Last Night

So sad.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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The last time we heard from former heavyweight boxing champion Tommy Morrison, he was denying the fact that he had HIV. Even though the disease ended his pro boxing career prematurely back in 1996 prior to a fight against Arthur Weathers, Morrison—who beat George Foreman in 1993 to win the World Boxing Organization heavyweight title—insisted that he did not have HIV during an interview with the Kansas City Star in 2011 and even talked about how he didn't believe that the virus actually existed. His wife Trisha Morrison seconded that notion as well when she did an interview with ESPN in 2011 and said that Morrison had something called Guillain-Barre Syndrome and not HIV.

Regardless of what he had, though, Morrison passed away late last night at a hospital in Omaha, Neb. His promoter Tony Holden confirmed his death with ESPN. He refused to comment on the reason behind Morrison's death, but he did seem to indicate that his death was not a complete surprise.

"You prepare for things like this," he said, "and still you feel like you got hit by a truck when you hear the news."

Morrison, who starred as "Tommy Gunn" in the 1990 movie Rocky V, was just 44. R.I.P.

RELATED: The 10 Most Shocking Retirements in Sports History

[via ESPN Boxing]

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