 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date | October 29, 1993 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Tulsa Convention Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Title(s) on the line | WBO Heavyweight Championship | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tale of the tape | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Result | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bentt defeated Morrison by 1st round technical knockout | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tommy Morrison vs. Michael Bentt , billed as "The Tulsa Shootout", was a professional boxing match contested on October 29, 1993 for the WBO Heavyweight Championship.
On October 18, 1991, the then-undefeated Tommy Morrison lost to Ray Mercer via 5th-round knockout in his first attempt at capturing the WBO heavyweight title. Following his loss, Morrison strung together eight consecutive victories before landing another shot at the vacant WBO 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 champion in the process. Originally, Morrison's first defense was scheduled to be against his Rocky V co-star 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 in what would ultimately become a non-title bout after the WBO refused to sanction the fight. [1] A month prior, Morrison had reached an agreement to face the undefeated Lennox Lewis for Lewis' WBC heavyweight title. [2] 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. Bentt went on to fight Morrison reportedly not fully recovered from the arm fracture.
Morrison was able to quickly get Bentt's back up against the ropes and staggered him twice with left hooks. Morrison would hit Bentt with a multiple-punch combination, but soon tired, allowing Bentt to counter with a combination of his own that sent Morrison down to the canvas only 50 seconds into the round. Morrison was able to answer the referee's count, but Bentt quickly attacked him with another powerful combination that sent Morrison into the ropes and back onto the canvas only seconds after the first knockdown. With Morrison clearly shaken up from the knockdowns and the three knockdown rule in effect, Bentt relentlessly continued to hammer Morrison with another powerful combination in an effort to get the deciding knockdown. After backing Morrison into the ropes, Bentt landed a six-punch combination that again sent Morrison down. The fight was immediately stopped and Bentt was named the winner by technical knockout at 1:33 of the first round, becoming the new WBO Heavyweight Champion. [3]
Morrison's loss not only cost him the WBO title, but also his planned $8 million WBC title fight with Lennox Lewis. [4] [5] Morrison would go undefeated in his next eight fights, which concluded with a knockout of former number one contender Donovan "Razor" Ruddock that got him back into contention. After a WBO heavyweight title match with Riddick Bowe fell through, he finally met Lewis in a non-title bout on October 7, 1995, ultimately losing by sixth round knockout.
Bentt, meanwhile, would make the first defense of his title on March 19, 1994 against British fighter Herbie Hide. Bentt was knocked out in the seventh round and had to be rushed to the hospital where he spent four days in a medically induced coma after suffering brain damage. [6] Though he eventually made a full recovery, the injuries were severe enough that Bentt was forced to retire shortly after.
| Country | Broadcaster |
|---|---|
 Canada | TSN |
 United Kingdom | Sky Sports |
 United States | HBO |
Tommy Morrison was an American professional boxer and mixed martial artist who competed from 1988 to 2009. Best known for his left hook and formidable punching power, Morrison won the WBO heavyweight title in 1993 with a unanimous decision victory over George Foreman. He lost the title in his second defense to Michael Bentt that same year. Morrison's other boxing highlights include his fight with Ray Mercer in 1991, and with Donovan Ruddock in 1995. Morrison is also known for his acting career, having starred alongside Sylvester Stallone in the 1990 film Rocky V as Tommy Gunn. He retired from boxing in 1996 after testing positive for HIV.
Donovan "Razor" Ruddock is a Jamaican-born Canadian former professional boxer who competed from 1982 to 2001 and in 2015. He is known for his two fights against Mike Tyson in 1991, a fight against Lennox Lewis in 1992, and a fight with Tommy Morrison in 1995. Ruddock was also known for his exceptionally heavy punching; some of the best examples of his left hand and overall power was his knockouts of former WBA heavyweight champions James Smith in 1989, Michael Dokes in 1990, and Greg Page in 1992. His favoured weapon at the ring proved to be a highly versatile half-hook, half-uppercut left-handed punch he called "The Smash" which accounted for the majority of his knockout wins -- it also happened to be his major downside throughout his career. Being a left-handed puncher fighting out of the orthodox stance, he didn't throw a single right hand during most knockout flurries.
As in the 1980s, the 1990s in boxing's popularity focused on all divisions. When 1980s legends Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns, as well as others retired, newer superstars filled the void: Pernell Whitaker, Julio César Chávez, in the early 1990s, Oscar De La Hoya, Félix Trinidad, Roy Jones Jr. and Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the mid to late 1990s.
Evander Holyfield vs. Michael Moorer II was a professional boxing match contested November 8, 1997 for the WBA and IBF heavyweight championships.
Riddick Bowe vs. Michael Dokes, billed as The Homecoming, was a professional boxing match contested on February 6, 1993 for the WBA and IBF heavyweight championships. The fight emanated from Madison Square Garden in New York, New York.
Herbie Hide vs. Riddick Bowe was a professional boxing match contested on March 11, 1995, for the World Boxing Organization Heavyweight Championship. The bout took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise, Nevada, and was televised by HBO. Hide was making the first defense of the title he had won from Michael Bentt in a fight that resulted in Bentt suffering career ending injuries while Bowe was trying to find his way back into the world championship picture sixteen months after he lost his place as champion to Evander Holyfield. Bowe defeated Hide in the 6th round.
Riddick Bowe vs. Jorge Luis González, billed as "Mortal Enemies", was a professional boxing match contested on June 17, 1995 for the WBO Heavyweight Championship.
Lennox Lewis vs. Donovan Ruddock, billed as "The Fight for the Right" was a professional boxing match contested on 31 October 1992. The fight was a WBC heavyweight title "eliminator", with the winner scheduled to challenge the winner of the Evander Holyfield–Riddick Bowe championship bout held two weeks later. In addition, Lewis' Commonwealth heavyweight title was also on the line.
Lennox Lewis vs. Tony Tucker, billed as Star Spangled Glory, was a heavyweight professional boxing match contested between WBC champion Lennox Lewis and the WBC's number one ranked contender Tony Tucker. The bout took place on May 8, 1993 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Paradise, Nevada, U.S. Lewis retained his WBC title via unanimous decision.
Lennox Lewis vs. Phil Jackson was a professional boxing match contested on May 6, 1994 for the WBC Heavyweight Championship.
Lennox Lewis vs. Oliver McCall II, billed as "Payback or Playback", was a professional boxing match contested on February 7, 1997, for the vacant WBC Heavyweight Championship.
Lennox Lewis vs. Shannon Briggs, billed as "March Badness", was a professional boxing match contested on March 28, 1998 for the WBC and Lineal Heavyweight Championships.
Lennox Lewis vs. Francois Botha, billed as The Homecoming, was a heavyweight professional boxing match contested between WBC, IBF, and IBO champion Lennox Lewis and the WBC's #9 ranked contender Francois Botha. The bout took place on 15 July 2000 at the London Arena in England. Lewis defeated Botha via second-round technical knockout to retain his heavyweight titles.
Lennox Lewis vs. Tommy Morrison, billed as "Laying It All on the Line", was a professional boxing match contested on October 7, 1995 for the IBC heavyweight championship.
Ray Mercer vs. Tommy Morrison, billed as "Test of Courage", was a professional boxing match contested on October 18, 1991 for the WBO Heavyweight Championship.
George Foreman vs. Tommy Morrison, billed as the Star-Spangled Battle, was a professional boxing match contested between George Foreman and Tommy Morrison on June 7, 1993, for the vacant World Boxing Organization Heavyweight Championship.
George Foreman vs. Shannon Briggs was a professional boxing match contested on November 22, 1997, for the Lineal heavyweight championship.
Lennox Lewis vs. Lionel Butler was a professional boxing match contested on May 13, 1995. The fight was a WBC "eliminator" bout with the winner scheduled to become the number one contender for the WBC heavyweight title.
George Foreman vs. Ken Norton was a professional boxing match contested on March 26, 1974, for the WBA, WBC and The Ring heavyweight championships.
Tommy Morrison vs. Donovan Ruddock, billed as "Raw Power", was a professional boxing match contested on June 10, 1995 for the IBC heavyweight title.