Old article and one more recent I across regarding Tommy Virgets, Tommy's former trainer
Tommy Morrison is not lacking for big-time connections.
The heavyweight is co-managed by John Brown and Bill Cayton. You remember Cayton. With his partner, Jimmy Jacobs, Cayton astutely guided Mike Tyson to the heavyweight title in 1986.
Brown owns Ringside Products, a thriving boxing equipment company in Lenexa, Kan. A Neophyte Trainer
It's not as if his managers hadn't the money to hire an experienced professional trainer for the undefeated (28-0, 24 knockouts) Morrison, who gained a wider audience recently when he co-starred opposite Sylvester Stallone in "Rocky V."
So how did Tommy Virgets, who never trained a professional fighter before, end up in charge of Morrison? And just who is he?
Virgets, 40 years old, is a former amateur boxer who was a varsity wrestler and runner at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, La., and then went into coaching and sports administration on the college level. His resume:
1976-79: wrestling coach at the University of Tennessee-Chatanooga.
1979-84: boxing coach at Virginia Military Institute.
1984-86: boxing coach at the United States Naval Academy.
As an amateur boxing coach with a Ph.D. in exercise physiology, Virgets was seen by Brown as just the man to refine Morrison's body and diet. That was how, in 1989, Morrison landed in Carrollton, Ga., where Virgets was by then athletic director at West Georgia College.
"He was a little fat boy," Virgets said of the fighter. "He had 23 percent body fat and weighed 209 pounds. Tommy's idea of breakfast was Twinkies and a Coca Cola." 'This Is the Way'
The reconstituted diet he gave Morrison became part of a high-tech training regimen -- running, weight lifting, aerobic conditioning -- Virgets put Morrison through.
"Tommy's from Jay, Okla., where he'd never had organized training," said Virgets. His idea of training was for his brother and him to hit the heavy bag a few rounds on the porch and then run over to the local bar and see if anybody wanted to spar."
As Virgets was getting acquainted with Morrison, Brown was becoming convinced that his own role as overseer of his fighter's training had hit an impasse.
"Tommy and I had a father-son kind of relationship, and I thought he required and would do better with a teacher," said Brown. "My way was very matter of fact, cold: 'This is the way I want you to do it.' Tommy Morrison likes to have things explained. He wants give and take, and his intake. It was making for a stressful situation."
When a trial period with Tyson's former trainer, Kevin Rooney, did not work out, Brown and Cayton decided to give the trainer's job to Virgets in December 1990.
While Virgets has brought a Ph.D.'s knowledge of the latest in training methods to the job, he doesn't mind pushing himself through the same workouts he designs for his athletes. At V.M.I., for example, Virgets not only trained with his fighters to motivate them but, on one occasion, entered an amateur tournament with them and, at age 32, fought for the first time in about five years. Participatory Approach
"I cut my weight from 172 to 139 for the tournament," said Virgets. "I won my first fight, then lost the next one to a guy named Body Shop Johnson, who came off one of the Navy ships."
He has taken a similar participatory approach with Morrison.
"I do all the running, all the lifting and Stairmasters, neck work, rope climbing and hand grips," said Virgets. "Anything I can do with him, I feel it helps."
The 221-pound Morrison's body fat is now down to around 6 percent. And while Brown says Morrison is a smarter, more elusive boxer than he was before Virgets, critics point to Morrison's April match against the Latvian fighter Yuri Vaulin, as proof that he's nothing special.
That night, Morrison looked easy to hit and was amateurish in trying to set up his best punch, the left hook. While he eventually landed blows that made the left-handed Vaulin quit, that didn't override the poor impression he made. Bothered by Physical Problems
Virgets said Morrison went into the fight with physical problems.
"The muscles of the calves were too large for the compartments that housed them," said Virgets. "Against Vaulin, Tommy's ankles would roll because he wasn't getting an adequate blood supply. The muscles that control the ankles were becoming fatigued. After the bout he had surgery on both legs."
The margin for excuses will diminish as Morrison advances through the ranks. On Oct. 18 he fights Ray Mercer in a bout that should clarify how good a fighter Morrison is and, not coincidentally, the sort of trainer Virgets is.
Now a senior associate athletic director at the Naval Academy, Tom Virgets was Tommy Morrison's trainer. Last week, Virgets was in Kiev, Ukraine, for an international amateur boxing event. During an email exchange with the Tulsa World, Virgets reflected on Morrison's career:
What made Tommy Morrison such an explosive fighter?
Tommy was one of those rare individuals blessed with an abundance of fast-twitch muscle fiber. He was the Usain Bolt of the boxing world. Just as Bolt can explode out of the blocks, Tommy could generate that fast power speed plus strength with his hands. He also had a tight, natural left hook. If he holds any place in boxing history, it should be that he had one of the best-ever left hooks in the game.
When Morrison was at his best in the ring, what were his defining characteristics?
Believe it or not, Tommy's best rounds were against Ray Mercer. For the first four rounds, Tommy was fast and explosive. He hit Mercer at will and moved after his punches so as not to be hit. Unfortunately, Tommy was inexperienced and did not know how to pace himself through later rounds. Mercer took advantage of his fatigue and the fight was over. Tommy was also brilliant against Pinklon Thomas. He never received credit for that bout because everyone decided that Thomas was finished. It would not have mattered if Thomas was 20. Tommy was a machine that night.
Against George Foreman, Tommy showed his most maturity. He was able to stick to a plan that went against everything in his fighting spirit. Tommy wanted to go toe-to-toe against George. I knew that 44-year-old George could not match Tommy's speed if Tommy made George come to him. Tommy did what I asked of him for 12 rounds, beating George to the punch all night. Tommy grew as a boxer that night.
What was Morrison's worst tendency in the ring?
Admiring his work. At times, Tommy would stay upright in the punch zone and admire his work. The opponent usually let him know what he felt about Tommy's work.
When Morrison achieved rock-star status, did it become your greatest challenge as a trainer?
Tommy was an enigma. Most people think that Tommy was a total party animal and that he wouldn't train. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Tommy trained as hard or harder than any boxer in history. When in training, he did three-a-day workouts. Tommy could do six 800-meter runs, each under three minutes and with only one minute of rest between runs. Most middleweights can't do that. He also ran three miles in 18:11 not bad for a 235-pound boxer.
