Former champion Morrison makes winning return to ring

WASHINGTON, Feb 23 (Reuters) Former world heavyweight champion Tommy Morrison stopped John Castle in the second round to make a winning return to the ring 11 years after being forced out of boxing because of a positive HIV test.

After passing a number of blood tests, the 38-year-old Morrison (47-3-1) was allowed back into the ring at the Mountaineer Race Track and Gaming Resort in Chester, West Virginia.

He needed less than two rounds to registered his 41st career knockout, dropping Castle with a left hook midway through the second of scheduled four-round fight yesterday.

Morrison beat George Foreman in 1993 to capture the World Boxing Organisation (WBO) title but prior to a bout in 1996 tested positive for the AIDS virus and had his boxing licence suspended.

Reuters AY DB1105