A few words with Tommy “The Duke” Morrison


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A few words with Tommy “The Duke” Morrison

Interview by Benny Henderson Jr., Doghouse Boxing (Jan 19, 2009)

Former WBO heavyweight title holder Tommy “The Duke” Morrison 48-3-1 (42) returns to the ring January 31st when he takes on hometown journeyman Corey Williams 7-9-2 (4) in a scheduled six round heavyweight match-up at the Albany Fair Grounds in Laramie, Wyoming.

Morrison, whose return to the ring February of 2007 produced not only controversy for the now forty year old fighter, but back-to-back knockout victories in his quest to once again become a top tier fighter.

In this exclusive interview conducted by Doghouse Boxing, Morrison speaks out on his return, his opponent, and a potential heavyweight match-up with another big name in the boxing business, enjoy.

Benny Henderson Jr.: We appreciate you coming back to Doghouse Boxing, what has been going down in the world of “The Duke”?

Tommy Morrison: Well, we have a lot of things in the works, I have a fight coming up the thirty-first of this month. You will be able to watch the fight for $5.99 at www.gofightlive.tv. The one thing that has been my enemy for the last three years in making my comeback has been inconsistency, the powers that be in boxing get all stirred up every time I fight, and it causes such a media frenzy we got three locations to fight at where people cannot bother us so we can be consistent. I am looking to have six or eight fights this year and keep going. I have what it takes, my speed, power and I am a lot calmer, and as I have gotten older I feel that I have the potential to be better than what I was before.

BH: There is a lot of controversy when you fight, the media is on you, a lot of critics out there. How do you deal with it?

TM: I really don’t deal with it, I let it go. As I mentioned earlier I do no stress out and worry and fret over things that are out of my control. I give it to God, I say God this is bigger than me and I do not know what to do but I know You do. I give it up and do not worry about it. I think most people would give up, but being the spiritual guy that I am I know that God is in control.

BH: How are you feeling physically coming into this fight?

TM: Physically I am probably in better shape than I have been in my life. This fight popped up pretty quick, so I have about three and a half weeks to train for it, I have been running and lifting so I am trying to put on a little weight. It is elevation, people pass out walking around like that, and I don’t know why they are having a fight up there but they are, so I am little concerned about that. I will have a couple of weeks of sparring under my belt by the time I get there, I will be alright for this fight, but I do want to improve my training environment for the next one, which will be probably March 7th in Denver. The whole thing is that I am finally going to stay consistent and improve, people cannot see your improvement when they see you fight once a year.

BH: We touched on the media’s reaction when you fight, how about the fans?

TM: I am getting so much feedback from fans it is crazy, we are letting everybody know where they can go see this fight, again it is www.gofightlive.tv. Mia St. John will be fighting on the card as well.

BH: Who is this cat you are fighting, do you know anything about him?

TM: I really do not know much about him, he fought in some MMA and he also boxes, his name is Corey Williams, I really know nothing about him. I do know that he is a big guy. I am going to go in there and try to get a couple of rounds of work and dealing with the altitude I am not going to play around. That is all I need to do is go in there and lock up cause I waited to long to pull the damn trigger Benny.

BH: Where do you stand in this division, and do you still feel that you have what it takes to be a major player?

TM: Right now I guess you can all it the bottom, even on my worse day I am probably better than the majority of the people in the top twenty in terms of skill. I just need to knock some rust off, and the only way to do that is be consistent. It has taken three years to put this ting together, I have been dreaming about this whole PPV thing, and I think in the big picture you do yourself more good making it affordable for the fans. For the price of a six pack of beer you are going to be able to watch a hell of a fight. Then you can watch another one in March then again maybe in May, and if I keep knocking people out they are going to have to take notice. The only thing that is wrong with professional right now is that there is nobody out there that people want to watch. There is a Klitschko fight once or twice a year, these guys go out there and take them apart because people fight them defensively, you have to fight them offensively. Just hit him on the chin, they are very beatable, there is nobody that people want to watch, but you are talking to somebody that people want to watch. As hard as I try to put myself out there, the powers that be are working twice as hard to keep me out. I cannot figure this out, but they are not going to win, this is a mission that God put me on. They cannot stand in the way of that, screw Vegas, we don’t need Vegas, we will create our own Vegas.

BH: In closing what do you want to say to the fight world?

TM: It has taken me three years to do this, I have been keeping myself in good shape, that is all I have to regain is my cardio, and as I progress I will move on up. If something doesn’t happen I would like to close it out with Riddick Bowe. He is fighting again, that would be a big money fight for the both of us and help us both, let’s air the fight on the internet. I think we can get a lot of viewers. That is the future Benny, the internet.

For more fight info check out www.gofightlive.tv

You can listen to Bob Carroll, Butch and “THE Big Dog” Benny Henderson Jr. every Wednesday night from 6-7pm EST on Fightin’ Words Radio Show. To listen live via the internet, go to www.1490wwpr.com and look for the ‘listen here’ tab. Don't forget to check out the Fightin' Words Radio Show website, www.fightinwordsonline.com

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