Tommy Morrison was in his hotel room, talking about life, love and Mike Tyson when he suddenly grew silent for a couple of seconds.

"Sorry," he said, "I was just watching myself on the news."



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The news on this day, in the hamlet of Chester, W. Va., was positive. Morrison was ready to return to the ring for the first time in 11 years, eager to resume his former career as a heavyweight fighter.

Even more important was what was negative. He had taken several HIV tests, Morrison said, and they showed no trace of the virus that causes AIDS.

Gone, just like the last 11 years of his life.

"The bottom line is we passed every test on the market, even one they don't have on the market," Morrison said. "That tells me it was never there."

He's 38 now, with nothing left to lose.

The wife, the kids, and the house are all gone. So is the $16 million he earned in the ring, and the manager he claims took a big portion of it.

He's in a hotel room far from the glittering lights of the Las Vegas Strip, a new fiance at his side and what he says is a new lease on his life. He fights Thursday night in a scheduled four-rounder for a few hundred dollars, hoping it will lead to a contract for bigger fights with promoter Bob Arum.

He's been training seriously for a few months now. He believes he can win the heavyweight title, believes he can be bigger than ever.

"I was one of the most popular fighters of my era," Morrison says. "I believe this time around it will be even bigger."

The day before the fight he talked about the time he spent in prison, including 125 days of solitary confinement, the drugs he took, and the ones he refused to take for a disease he now claims he never had.

He wants this to be about what is ahead. But he realizes people will pay attention only because of what is behind.

"It's such a positive story, I don't know why people are not behind it," Morrison said. "It's not like Anna Nicole Smith or Britney Spears, tragic things that sell. This is a positive story, a good story."