Former WBO
heavyweight champion Tommy Morrison is staging a comeback,
saying Tuesday that a positive HIV test that ended his
career more than a decade ago was inaccurate.
''I'm negative
and I've always been negative, and that should be the end
of it,'' Morrison said in a telephone interview with the
Associated Press. The 38-year-old will face John
Castle in a four-round fight Thursday at Mountaineer
Racetrack and Gaming Resort in Chester, W.Va. ''The
rug was yanked out from under my feet by a misdiagnosis,''
he said. ''All I want to do is fight.... It's
unfinished business.''
State athletic
commissioner Steve Allred said Tuesday he approved
Morrison's participation in the fight after reviewing
medical records and consulting with the Association of
Boxing Commissions' medical review committee. Allred
said confidentiality laws prevent him from discussing
Morrison's medical history or the records he reviewed.
West Virginia
does not have mandatory blood testing for boxers. ''I
assure you that West Virginia is doing due diligence to make
sure everyone who steps into the ring is healthy,''
Allred said. Morrison (46-3) and Castle (4-2) square
off in one of seven bouts scheduled at Mountaineer.
Morrison won the
WBO title in 1993 by outpointing George Foreman. He lost
it later that year. Morrison, who was featured in the movie
Rocky V, also served a couple of years in an
Arkansas prison on drug and weapons charges.
He announced he
had human immunodeficiency virus in February 1996 and
last fought in Japan that November, knocking out Marcus
Rhode in the first round. Morrison said Tuesday that
he has taken several HIV tests while preparing for his
comeback and all have been negative.
He has signed a
contract with Top Rank promoters for at least eight
fights this year. ''I have no doubt I'll be a better fighter
than I ever was before,'' he said. ''I am more
relaxed. Something that comes along with age causes
you to simmer a bit.'' (AP)