Morrison’s Opponent Walks Out, Department Store Worker Fills In

After what might be the only heavyweight title fight in which the champion did not know the name of the challenger, Tommy Morrison was as confused as everyone else.

“I didn’t know I was fighting whats-his-name till I got out there,” he said.

On Monday night, Tommy Morrison made a singularly bizarre defense of his World Boxing Organization crown, scoring a fourth-round technical knockout over Tim Tomashek, a flabby, last-minute replacement.

About an hour before the 12-round bout, Mike Williams withdrew, prompting his own manager to call him “yellow” and “a dog.” Promoter Bob Arum said Williams refused to take the pre-fight drug test.

“It’s an odd feeling; it’s a bad feeling,” said Morrison, who was hoping for a good fight in front of his hometown fans.

After Williams did not show for a news conference last Thursday, Arum called Tomashek, 28, who was working in a department store in Green Bay. “That was my training for this fight,” he said. “I thought it was a joke at first. I said, ‘Oh, I might as well.’ ”