Ex-Heavy Weight Champ Tommy Morrison Dead at 44

 Tommy Morrison, a former heavyweight boxing champion who perhaps was more famous for playing Tommy Gunn in “Rocky V,” died Sunday night in Omaha at the age of 44.

Tommy Morrison lost to Lennox Lewis in late 1995 and, several months later, his license was suspended. (Donna Connor / AP)

His former promoter, Tony Holden,confirmed Morrison’s death to the Tulsa World. “It’s true,” Holden told the World. “He was with his wife Trisha when he passed.” The cause of death has not been released, but ESPN.com’s Elizabeth Merrill reported last week that Morrison, who had tested positive for HIV when he was 27, was in declining health and on a ventilator and feeding tube.

As an up-and-coming fighter in 1989, Morrison was cast as Tommy “The Machine” Gunn, in “Rocky V.” He added to his legend by winning the World Boxing Organization heavyweight title in 1993 with a 12-round victory over George Foreman. But less than three years later, his license was suspended when he tested positive for HIV