Fight:247827
Lenzie Morgan 162 lbs beat Rodney Tatum 159 lbs by PTS in round 6 of 6
- Date: 1987-09-21
- Location: Jackie Lee Entertainment Center, Akron, Ohio, USA
- Judge: Tim Figley
- Judge: Larry Dickey
- Judge: Richard Hussar
This was the opening bout before the main event. Rodney Tatum, the short-statured veteran, entered the ring waving to his hometown crowd as Morgan, the tall and skinny 21-year-old newcomer looked on. Just four years earlier, Morgan's family had been decimated in a house fire. Morgan had suffered serious burns and was in a coma for months afterward. Now here he stood in the ring making his professional debut, very scarred physically and emotionally.
After this bout goes the distance, with Morgan causing Tatum's nose to bleed by the 4th round with his long left jab, the television commentators (as this bout was broadcast live on TV, perhaps ESPN) are certain that Morgan has won. "What a story!" one commentator declares. The ring announcer then informs all of the judges' scores (29-26, 29-26, 29-25)--all for the veteran Tatum. "What a horrible call!" says a TV commentator.
On live TV, the crowd is eerily quiet after the verdict is announced. There are no cheers for their hometown hero. Then a subdued murmur of disagreement with the decision gradually grows into loud boos, as the crowd expresses its belief that Morgan clearly won the bout. Even Tatum himself looks surprised that he has won. Meanwhile Morgan is heart-broken.
Then the ring announcer suddenly returns to announce that a mistake has been made: the names on the score-cards are wrong. Morgan is actually the winner. The TV camera then focuses on Morgan, who was crying but now develops a smile at the news. When the camera turns to Tatum, he looks relieved, eyes-a-swollen but head held high.