Former Heavyweight Champ With Oklahoma Ties Dead At 44

Tommy Morrison, a former heavyweight title holder who appeared in "Rocky V," is dead at 44 according to former manager Tony Holden. Holden said Morrison died Sunday night in a Nebraska hospital.

Morrison was born in Arkansas but grew up in Oklahoma. He attended Jay High School.

In 1990 Morrison appeared as Tommy "Machine" Gunn alongside Sylvester Stallone in "Rocky 5."

Morrison's boxing career peaked when he beat George Foreman to win the WBO heavyweight title in 1993. His last fight was against Matt Weishaar in Mexico in 2008. Morrison's career record was 48-3-1.

Besides boxing and his movie role, Morrison is known for being suspended from boxing in Nevada after he tested positive for HIV just before a fight in 1996. Ten years later, Morrison disputed the test results calling them "false positives." After several negative tests, he was allowed to fight again, though not in Nevada.

Reports say Morrison succumbed to respiratory and metabolic acidosis and multiple organ failure.