I just saw the Morrison vs. Ruddock fight. Saw it online. I had never seen it before.
Previously, I had only seen Morrison vs. Foreman, which did not impress me at all. And I saw Morrison get creamed by Mercer in a worse way than I've ever seen Morrison cream anybody else. And, the only other Morrison fight I ever saw was when he literally fought a guy who had just been invited up out of his ringside seat and offered a job, because the real opponent didn't show. And Morrison beat the tar out of this Joe Six-Pack regular shmoe, but it was embarrassing that Morrison would even stoop that low for an opponent, in my opinion.
However, as I said, I just watched the Ruddock v. Morrison fight. And I thought Morrison, though clearly tiring too early as was his penchant, hung in there fairly tenaciously and yes, landed that beautiful bomb which turned the fight around, and he was able to stop Ruddock. It was also gutsy that Morrison got up off the canvas in round 1 and didn't give up.
So, now that I've seen Morrison in the Ruddock fight, I am willing to concede that Morrison was a very good fighter. Not a great fighter, but the next step down. Had he hit his prime nowadays, it's a lock that he would have beaten one of these 4 alphabet-belted Russian guys who are dubiously labeled "champions," despite the fact that 4 is 3 more than 1, if my arithmetic is right.
Now, Primo Carnooney, I HAVE seen a lot more footage of him, than I ever saw of Morrison. And while I have had a change of heart about Morrison, I'm telling you, Cooney was a puffed up media legend only, not a fighter. Morrison--he was all right. Too bad he didn't keep fighting and had the whole aids thing. Now that he's 38, I don't see him coming back.