Metin in front of his original paintings exhibited at the TREE OF LIFE GALLERY of Phoenix, Arizona. (BELOW) Metin with Jim Jenkins, the owner of the TREE OF LIFE GALLERY of Phoenix, Arizona and the founder and leading spirit of the CHILDREN WITH AIDS project
Metin in front of Jim Jenkins's TREE OF LIFE GALLERY in sunny Phoenix, Arizona where his GOD BLESS AMERICA painting (in the background) drew a lot of attention for its bold design and patriotic statement
Fighter TOM MORRISON strikes a warm pose of friendship with Metin. Just like Metin, Morrison also has supported Jim Jenkins's effort to support the CHILDREN WITH AIDS project. Under the slogan of "Help Us Put AIDS On the Roaps," the championship boxer Morrison welcomed his fans to the Gallery and together with Metin helped raise funds to fight the dreaded disease
***** Who is TOM MORRISON?
He's a heavyweight professional boxer from Jay, Oklahoma, who made national news Thursday, Feb. 15, 1996, when he announced that he is HIV positive. He was suspended from worldwide boxing when he tested positive prior to a boxing match against Arthur Weathers in Las Vegas. He said he plans to pursue AIDS awreness activities.
He is the great-nephew of John Wayne
He won the WBO Boxing Championship from George Foreman in 1993. He lost the championship to Michael Bentt in 1994.
In 1989, Morrison had 19 wins, 15 by knockout. Among the fighters
beaten were former Mike Tyson opponents Lorenzo Boyd, Dave Jaco and
Lorenzo Canady, as well as former George Foreman opponents Steve
Zouski and Ken Lakusta.
He won three fights in 1995 before meeting Razor Ruddock for the IBC
Heavyweight Championship.
A huge Elvis fan.
In 1988, his senior year, he won the Kansas City Golden Gloves. In
the Olympic trials, he advanced to the finals and lost to Army
Sergeant Ray Mercer, eight years his senior.
In the Olympic trials, he got to the finals and lost to Army
Sergeant Ray Mercer. Mercer was eight years older.
Now that he has retired from boxing, he is now working his way
toward acting professionally.
Seeing the Stallone classic "Rocky" was what really
inspired him to go pro with his boxing.
In 1988 he won the Kansas City, Mo., Golden Gloves, advanced to the
National Gloves in Omaha and got invited to the western Olympic
trials. He came up short in Concord, Calif., where he lost a split
decision to heavyweight Ray Mercer, who went on to win a gold medal
in Seoul.
Originally aspired to be an actor like his grand-uncle, but with all
the boxers in his family going on at that time, his mother pressured
him to try out for Golden Gloves. He won. He was 25-0 before he
realized that boxing was something he wanted to do full-time.
Always wanted to act, but fell into boxing because of his mother's
wishes. There was so much success in the family with boxing that she
encouraged him to compete.
Made an extremely brief cameo in the film They Live in 1988.
See http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0607338/
