What Happened to Tommy Gunn From ‘Rocky?’

The former WBO heavyweight champion Thomas Morrison is more famously known as Tommy Gunn was a big picture guy in the early 90s. His phenomenal stature and crowd-pulling persona took him into the world of glamor.

Notably, in 1988, after a good amateur career, ‘The Duke’ shifted his momentum towards professional boxing. It was in 1989, after clashing for a record 19 times, Morrison made a remarkable spark through the boxing world. He thrashed 15 opponents through knockout and won all bouts. During his unstoppable campaign, he caught the attention of the renowned actor, Sylvester Stallone.

For the uninitiated, Stallone took him for the role of Tommy ‘Machine’ Gunn in the epic series of Rocky. However, this kept ‘The Duke’ out of the ring for a long spell.

What happened to Tommy Gunn after Rocky 5?

After exercising the acting mogul, Morrison resumed his boxing career. He made a comeback, but now he was a bigger star. His exposure to the world of television exponentially raised his fan base. Now, spectators were more eager to see an actor boxing in the competitive prizefights.

The then-undefeated stalwart made a cinematic start. He outboxed former world champion, Pinklon Thomas. But unfortunately, in a big upset of 1991, Tommy Gunn was knocked out in the 5th round by an underdog, Ray Mercer. However, this stumbled ‘The Duke’ for a short period.

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But his milestone performance came against a legendary boxer, George Foreman. In an epic battle of 12 rounds, Tommy Gun won via unanimous decision. This again escalated the professional career of the fighter as he won the WBO title.

Later, he thrashed Razor Ruddock in the tough battle. However, his last famous shot was against three-time world champion Lennox Lewis. In the high-profile battle, Lewis tore apart Tommy Gunn. And since then the actor never recovered till he retired from the sport.

Where is Tommy Morrison today?

In 1996, an unfortunate setback forced Tommy Gunn to retire from the sports. He was tested HIV positive, which shocked the boxing world and his license was frozen. However, his reckless lifestyle added more miseries. He was sentenced twice. First for two years and then for 1 year.

His love for boxing took him back into the ring. He fought two bouts and finally ended his boxing career. Though he did not face many world champions, he maintained a phenomenal record of 48 wins and 3 defeats with 1 draw. 42 victories came through knockout.

However, in the last days of his life, he was hospitalized. He took his last breath in 2013, at 44 years. As of now, the actor and boxer had a legacy behind him.

Was Tommy Gunn’s role in Rocky V inspired by Mike Tyson?

Prior to his retirement, because of tragic truth, Tommy Morrison was supposed to lock horns with ‘The Baddest Man on Planet’. However, the character Tommy Gunn in the movie ‘Rocky V’ was scripted. But there were several similarities between Mike Tyson And Tommy Gun.

That ignites such types of questions in the minds of curious fans. Both were hard crushers and won several fights through first-round knockouts. However, in the initial fights, none faced loss. Apart from this, ‘Iron’ Mike was the most spectacular and one of the greatest boxers of all times that ever lived.

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